spanj Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 The roads would certainly be a lot safer and the cost of insurance would come way down. insurance come down.........get real Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanj Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 I know statistics point to young male drivers being dangerous. However, elderly drivers really are a menace. As has been said above, elderly drivers are a menace, they crawl through 60 roads at 40 then drive through 30s at 40 too. They have shocking lane discipline, and seem to be unable to comprehend city roads. I think that EVERYONE should have 10 yearly retests. Although the retests should test for awareness and driving ability, not shuffling hands on the steering wheel. dont start me on lane discipline and people joining motorways jeez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westley Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 Never had an accident, but caused loads, springs to mind.. A bus pass is given for a reason.... There is no such thing as an 'ACCIDENT' ! There is always someone who has got it wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jam1e Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 There is no such thing as an 'ACCIDENT' ! There is always someone who has got it wrong. It used to be called an "ACCIDENT" when the saying came out many moons ago... Although these days it's referred to as a collision... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 All anecdotes about an elderly driver, a female driver or a young driver are fine, but the reality is that there are bad drivers in all walks of life. I just don't see why the elderly are singled out. I come back to the shooting analogy - people are quick to point the finger at someone who has made into the news today. Tomorrow, it will be another target. Some shooters never question why some of the public don't like us - perhaps they get caught up in the witch hunt - just like this subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armsid Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 we are all going to be old drivers ourselves one day how would you like to be tested at 70 then every 5 yrs just think if they gave gun owners a test how many would fail where does test the elderly stop ? i think atest after accruing a number of points, drink driving, dangerous driving, or aserious accident . if the same reasons for owning acar as was applied to gun licencing there wuold not be many people driving Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanj Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 (edited) we are all going to be old drivers ourselves one day how would you like to be tested at 70 then every 5 yrs just think if they gave gun owners a test how many would fail where does test the elderly stop ? i think atest after accruing a number of points, drink driving, dangerous driving, or aserious accident . if the same reasons for owning acar as was applied to gun licencing there wuold not be many people driving LGV drivers have to have a medical at 45 and every 5 years thereafter, not exactly arduous is it Edited October 14, 2015 by spanj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 Why 45? How about a medical for gun licence holders every 5 years. then again, why not yearly? Witch hunts are rarely logical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsonicnat Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 I am 72: I am a reasonable driver, I go fast when I can and avoid points when town driving, admitted there are people who should not be driving in MY opinion, Younger drivers are manic, I do hate 22 mph drivers, but they vary in age too: I think I am a better driver than when I was younger, not because of drink either, My radio is at a reasonable level,,, Except when I get on Motorways, Then I let Rip, and Enjoy the ride::::: We Are Not All Brain Dead either, As long as I can SEE, I will continue to run these thugs off the road, Yaaaaahhheeeeeeee.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanj Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 Why 45? How about a medical for gun licence holders every 5 years. then again, why not yearly? Witch hunts are rarely logical. Dunno you would have to ask DVSA or whatever they are called this week. My point was that a high risk group are tested frequently, so why not all drivers ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonepark Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 we are all going to be old drivers ourselves one day how would you like to be tested at 70 then every 5 yrs just think if they gave gun owners a test how many would fail where does test the elderly stop ? i think atest after accruing a number of points, drink driving, dangerous driving, or aserious accident . if the same reasons for owning acar as was applied to gun licencing there wuold not be many people driving I suggested everybody should be tested as there are bad drivers through all age groups that should have further training or be removed from the road, question to ask is how many dead people does it take for the licensing to change. In shooting it only took the deaths of 16 H or 18 D to severely limit what people could have and how they get it, yet 100's die on roads annually, £billions are lost in traffic jams due to accidents, etc due to poor driving skills and people won't accept that some sort of further training is required for all to drive. All other machines when used for business or even privately to get insurance cover have normally 5 year tickets, then you have to get re certified, car driving should be exactly the same. Just because you can drive, doesn't mean you are safe to drive or are a good driver or that you should be able to keep driving just because you passed a test (or not) when you were 17. We can all learn to be better drivers, no matter how experienced we are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 insurance come down.........get real Simply because statistically, the over 70's make significally fewer claims than the under 25's. Therefore, if all drivers were over 60 they would not have to subsidise the claims of young and middle aged drivers. And I am being real ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorismyhero Posted October 14, 2015 Report Share Posted October 14, 2015 That may be true but again there are penalties for doing that speed, when was the last time you ever heard about anyone been pulled for driving 20miles below the speed limit. Both are equally dangerous.in some instances the slower speed is more so. only because of the impatient a** behind ...who should have got out of bed 10 mins earlier ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyshooter Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 only because of the impatient a** behind ...who should have got out of bed 10 mins earlier ...... Spot on. You are only as fast as the car in front what ever you drive, it's not about good drivers, it's all about good stoppers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Never mind about good stoppers. The big problem is breaking distance, good stopping is superfluous if you have no distance to stop in. I must admit I don't get so many boot huggers since I got the Defender although their is still the odd moronic individual who can't visualise what would happen if their "bean tin" hit the back of the Landrover at any speed. My other pet hate is cars that cram up at junctions. My instructor many moons ago always taught me to leave a pull out gap between me and the car in front at junctions. It means you can get out if the car in front breaks down and gives a gap if they roll back some especially on a hill start. It also stops the domino effect if someone behind doesn't stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyshooter Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Never mind about good stoppers. The big problem is breaking distance, good stopping is superfluous if you have no distance to stop in. I must admit I don't get so many boot huggers since I got the Defender although their is still the odd moronic individual who can't visualise what would happen if their "bean tin" hit the back of the Landrover at any speed. My other pet hate is cars that cram up at junctions. My instructor many moons ago always taught me to leave a pull out gap between me and the car in front at junctions. It means you can get out if the car in front breaks down and gives a gap if they roll back some especially on a hill start. It also stops the domino effect if someone behind doesn't stop. Why haven't you enough room to stop in, car in front reversing perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norfolk dumpling Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Our casualty rate is the lowest in Europe albeit increasing after years of a steady decline, so we should be thankful for this. The elderly cause far fewer serious incidents than youngsters - young males are virtually uninsurable. This is the usual Press hype around one incident. If you are interested, and this may not of course apply to the oldies, it appears gadgets are the cause of the deaths increase: sat nav, hands free phones, iPods etc etc coupled of course with poor driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Why haven't you enough room to stop in, car in front reversing perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Funker Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 As I normally write in every thread about driving.Buy roadcraft and the highway code, read them, put into practice prefrably by having some advanced driving lessons. Be smoother, faster and most importantly safer than you thought possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 (edited) I am old. As far as I know that is not a crime - yet. My wife, The Memsahib, is, unfortunately disabled. We live in rural Suffolk. Ipswich hospital is 30 miles one way and Norwich is 30 miles the other. The village has one bus a week. It goes four miles in to the close market town at 9am on Wednesday's and returns at noon. Now I read all the comments above about bus passes and ring and drive, whatever that is, and have to smile. In the last fortnight I have had to do the journey to the hospital on eight occasions. How on earth am I supposed to do that without driving? The country wont and can't pay for taxis. Ambulances can't cope with the workload that they have now. Our close friends are the same age as me. My young friends are at work. The majority of accidents are caused by the young - not the old. This is reflected by what the insurance companies charge young and old drivers. My grandsons would give their back teeth to get my insurance rates. Wise up you lot of testosterone fuelled youngsters - If I can't drive then me and the Memsahib may as well climb in the box - and we are not ready to do that just yet. One event, leapt upon by some young reporter, does not reflect the real situation. Edited October 15, 2015 by Grandalf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 I am old. As far as I know that is not a crime - yet. My wife, The Memsahib, is, unfortunately disabled. We live in rural Suffolk. Ipswich hospital is 30 miles one way and Norwich is 30 miles the other. The village has one bus a week. It goes four miles into the close market town at 9am on Wednesday's and returns at noon. Now I read all the comments above about bus passes and ring and drive, whatever that is, and have to smile. In the last fortnight I have had to do the journey to the hospital on eight occasions. How on earth am I supposed to do that without driving? The country wont and can't pay for taxis. Ambulances can't cope with the workload that they have now. Our close friends are the same age as me. My young friends are at work. The majority of accidents are caused by the young - not the old. This is reflected by what the insurance companies charge young and old drivers. My grandsons would give their back teeth to get my insurance rates. Wise up you lot of testosterone fuelled youngsters - If I can't drive then me and the Memsahib may as well climb in the box - and we are not ready to do that just yet. One event, leapt upon by some young reporter, does not reflect the real situation. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Grandalf and norfolk dumpling - totally agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonmick Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 My insurance for the xjr is £260 a year full comp.And for the invincible and the ranger both under 200 yet the younger and alleged better driver ( on here anyway)1.2 fiesta or clio etc 2 to 4k tells a story I would say.As for retest I believe these are already in place but only for the new young drivers within the first couple of years of driving so if they found a need to implement this there is another story there.Maybe we should have tests for firearms ownership and a retest before each renewal or would that be the nanny state interfering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Well put Grandalf, if only I could have put it so well. I particularly liked the bit about bus passes and the ring and drive. For me, it's a 10 mile walk to the nearest, once a day, bus stop and if I phoned the bus company they would think in needed sectioning. But, hey ho, these young bucks will be old one day, I just wish I was going to be around to hear them bleat when the nanny state decrees them too old to drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 (edited) Yes younger drivers are at a higher risk but this is all part of the learning curve which you all have to go through and their accidents are normally due to inexperience or lack of concentration. Whereas older people cause accidents due to different reasons: reduced vision and depth perception, confusion, lack of confidence or simply their brain not being able to process the information they are receiving quickly enough....unfortunately it will be something that happens to all of us at some point assuming we make it that far. I do not think regular retests are the answer.... I see no reason to give the government another excuse to take even more of our money or impose more restrictions. It is the responsibility of everyone; friends, family, doctors, carers for when older people do get to the point they can no longer be considered safe that they actually do something about it rather than ignore it....you speak to most people and they will know someone who should no longer be driving. IMO there needs to be the help available to families etc to sit down and say to their loved ones "you should no longer be driving" Maybe even have an assessment system available (not official but regulated) where older people can prove their loved ones wrong or right. Having an instructor tell you grandad he doesn't consider him safe to drive would sink in a lot deeper than a family member nagging them....of course it also works the the other way where they are considered safe. This test would not be like normal driving test as we all know its a crock of **** but just a relaxed general overview. We have had the situation with both my grandads, one due to his health meaning he cant move his legs fast enough to jump on the brakes and the other one due to the onset of dementia....very difficult in both circumstances as one made his living lorry driving and the other one used to race cars and motorbikes in his early years so they both loved driving. Of course us younger lot are not saying all old people cant drive and there are plenty who can, my grandad was still a very good driver at 85 just his legs where packing up on him.... but when you get to the point you are an increased risk and people are concerned about you no matter how far you live from the bus stop and no matter how many times a week you have to go to hospital it is no excuse to put others at risk. Can you imagine the heavy conscious of loved ones, who knew their grandad or likewise shouldn't really be driving if they run over a child, or cause a motorway accident. Edited October 15, 2015 by ferguson_tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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