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Compulsory annual driving skills tests for the over 70's

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  • OctafishOctafish Frets: 1937
    Octafish said:
    Octafish said:
    Octafish said:
    I think the test should be much harder to begin with. 
    Yep and limited to how many times you take it. If it takes you more than 3 or 4 attempts you likely to always be a bit crap at driving and just relying on chance to pass.
    And then make people more likely to just drive anyway, albeit illegally
    That's a ridiculous argument, might as well not bother with driving bans or policing driving standards etc if you follow that logic.
    And I'd agree, judging by the quality of the driving here there's no way at least 40% of people passed a test, or pay any attention to that test at least
    Well their driving might make it look like they don't hold licences, but there's clearly not 40% of drivers driving without a licence.
    You've not been to Birmingham have you :)
    Once and it was by train. Safe to say I've never been back =)
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  • NiteflyNitefly Frets: 4902
    edited December 2019
    Once you reach 70 you have to re-apply for your license every 3 years.  *edit* renew, not re-apply!

    As @ICBM points out above, it's up to you to disclose anything that might impinge on your ability to drive safely.

    My dad stopped driving when he was 80, after he got done by the police for going the wrong way around a roundabout - he hadn't, it was a mini-roundabout and he'd just gone straight across it.  He got a fine and 3 points, and a good moaning-at by my mum, so he chucked his license away.

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  • Jimbro66Jimbro66 Frets: 2418
    edited December 2019
    As no one has mentioned it I'll chip in that from 70 onwards drivers have to renew their licence every three years and have to make full medical disclosures. They also lose the right to drive larger vehicles without taking medicals and sight tests. So there is some control. What it doesn't cover is a deterioration of awareness and reactions. So maybe a test every three years as part of licence renewal is warranted, firstly to assess practical driving abilities and secondly to bring the person up to date on the present highway code which will have changed a lot in the maybe 50 years since they passed their driving test.

    I remember my dad being livid after his GP prevented him from renewing his licence on medical grounds when he was about 73. I suspect Emp would be too
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  • phil_bphil_b Frets: 2010
     
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  • merlinmerlin Frets: 6597
    Jimbro66 said:
    What it doesn't cover is a deterioration of awareness and reactions. So maybe a test every three years as part of licence renewal is warranted, firstly to assess practical driving abilities and secondly to bring the person up to date on the present highway code which will have changed a lot in the maybe 50 years since they passed their driving test.
    My dad's favourite line is "drivers are so rude nowadays, they beep their horns at me all the time". Once when I was a passenger with him, he drove over a curb, I saw it coming but it was too late to warn him. He said, "What was that? Must have been something in the road". 

    Another time, some 7 years ago, him and my mum collected me and my wife from Newport station to drive us to Usk. It was dark and raining and between the station and the motorway, he made 7 (yes 7) really bad mistakes involving driving with in other people's lanes (with the line down the middle of the car), leaving a roundabout without signalling, etc etc. Eventually we got pulled by a police van. My dad wouldn't stop, the blue light was flashing and I said "dad pull over, they're flashing you". He said "no they're not". I repeated my statement. Eventually as we entered the motor way (FFS) the siren went off. "Dad, pull over", says I".

    The copper had film evidence but was very polite and just wanted to make sure my dad driving was OK. He got away with it but I haven't been in the car with him driving since. 

    After his stroke a year ago he got assessed by his doctor and was given to go-ahead to carry on driving. What a fucking quack. 
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  • phil_bphil_b Frets: 2010
    the safe option seems to be to not allow people to drive until they are 30
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  • skunkwerxskunkwerx Frets: 6838
    edited December 2019
    Octafish said:
    I think the test should be much harder to begin with. 
    Yep and limited to how many times you take it. If it takes you more than 3 or 4 attempts you likely to always be a bit crap at driving and just relying on chance to pass.
    I can only speak for myself here, but 11 years ago I passed on my 6th attempt.
    Failed on clipping a kerb during a parallel park twice, and a few other small things. 

    Since then I've spent that time commuting around London daily, driven ambulances for a year of it, and never caused an accident, never had a single point on my license. Compared to the majority of knuckleheads on the road, it appears I actually learnt the highway code as well. 

    I must also be the only bloke in the town who put a set of alloys on last year and has managed to keep all 4 mint.. guess I learnt how to not hit kerbs too. 

    Compared to my 2 friends at the time, both passed first time, one ended up writing his and a third parties car off, the other gained a TT99 and was banned for 6 months. 

    See I had to work for it, it cost me 6x the money, whats that like £600, pretty sure it was £100 a pop for the car and the test + a lesson beforehand, for a teenager that was a huge investment for me, + all the lessons in between. 

    I was working in Ilford (East London) at the time, when I was 17-18. Half the motivation to pass was through the constant shit that would kick off during the bus ride home. Scared me it did. 

    But I see absolute dickheads of all genders and ages daily who will end up killing someone, or who feel the highway code or law does not apply to them, or driving vehicles with defective lights etc. 

    The standards around here are virtually non-existent these days. Hell, I feel at a higher risk because I do obey the rules half the time! 






    The only easy day, was yesterday...
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  • skunkwerxskunkwerx Frets: 6838
    phil_b said:
     
    Yeah but what it doesnt state is what killed the drivers... 

    Cyclists. 
    The only easy day, was yesterday...
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  • phil_bphil_b Frets: 2010
    edited December 2019
    skunkwerx said:
    phil_b said:
     
    Yeah but what it doesnt state is what killed the drivers... 

    Cyclists. 
    yea some of the 80+ would have died in their sleep before impact so technically should not be on the list
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  • boogiemanboogieman Frets: 12314
    Octafish said:
    I think the test should be much harder to begin with. 
    Yep and limited to how many times you take it. If it takes you more than 3 or 4 attempts you likely to always be a bit crap at driving and just relying on chance to pass.
    My ex wife took 9 attempts to pass her test. Even then I’m not sure how she passed, she’s quite possibly the worst driver I’ve met. Even my kids refused to get in her car once they were old enough to realise how shit she was.  “Err, no thanks, we’ll wait for dad to take us”. 
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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    edited December 2019
    ICBM said:
    While there are clearly going to be exceptions in both directions, to me it seems that 80 would be a probably justifiable cut-off point for being allowed to drive at all - almost all the accidents which make the news involving elderly drivers having a 'senior moment' are over-80s.
    Disagree. My mother's in her 80s. She looks like she's 60, she's sharp as a pin and drives every day. She's been driving since she was 20 and has never had an accident or made an insurance claim. My father gave up in his late 60's as he lost his coordination. He'd been wounded in the RAF and then had a heavy accident in ice in the 1960s. He admitted he wasn't fit enough to drive and gave up.

    On the other hand, I network with an overweight 50+ business guy who I wouldn't get in a car with. He's wrecked more cars than I've owned and whilst he hasn't killed anyone it's just a matter of time before he kills himself. He has zero spacial awareness and lacks coordination - he also likes powerful cars.

    I think people over a certain age should have a regular test and GP assessment if they want to drive but I think an arbitrary age misses the point. I also think some people, like the business guy I mentioned, shouldn't be allowed anywhere near high-performance cars. Maybe you should need to have passed an advanced test to drive a high performance car.

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • DominicDominic Frets: 16012
    My friend's father is 92......still goes into the office every day ,drives an Aston Vanquish like he's on a racetrack (he was a fairly serious racing driver at one time ) ,skis 3 times every winter and Horse rides 2 or 3 times a week .
     My grandmother was a terrible driver ,my father wouldn't let any of us go in her car as children and she was in her late 40s at the time ,she was very short , sat on a cushion, couldn't really reach the pedals and looked through the steering wheel .She should never have been allowed to drive in the first place !
    I think it varies massively from one driver to another.
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  • phil_bphil_b Frets: 2010
    Fretwired said:
     


    On the other hand, I network with an overweight 50+ business guy who I wouldn't get in a car with. He's wrecked more cars than I've owned and whilst he hasn't killed anyone it's just a matter of time before he kills himself. He has zero spacial awareness and lacks coordination - he also likes powerful cars.


    extremely obese drivers? I have seen people who a to big to fit properly into the drivers seat and can not turn their head sufficiently to have a proper view of the road. they rely solely on using their mirrors.
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  • You only have to enter into 'discussions' on social media to realise how many current drivers aren't up to speed on current legislation. If only for that then there should be regular re-assessment of theory if nothing else.
    General driving skills are also nothing to be proud of so some sort of re-test would also be sensible.

    Whoever keeps making cars wider needs a good kicking mind as they're making life a misery...
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  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11790
    ICBM said:
    While there are clearly going to be exceptions in both directions, to me it seems that 80 would be a probably justifiable cut-off point for being allowed to drive at all - almost all the accidents which make the news involving elderly drivers having a 'senior moment' are over-80s. My dad is now just approaching 82 and I would have to say that over the last couple of years the standard of his driving and his ability to judge and react to road conditions and other vehicles has diminished rapidly, to the point that I think he may be becoming a risk to other road users. He had a fairly minor bump a few months ago which I think was a combination of lack of situational awareness and slow reaction time, although he says the sun was in his eyes (sound familiar?) - how long we let him continue, I don't know. It's hard to take away someone's freedom when there is no real *proof* that they're dangerous... until they kill someone.
    that's outrageous
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  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11790
    phil_b said:
     
    by ICBM's logic, no one should be allowed to drive until they are 30
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960

    Whoever keeps making cars wider needs a good kicking mind as they're making life a misery...
    It’s partly for safety. If you’ve ever sat in an old car and realised that your arm is touching the door at all times - and the door is made from something not much more substantial than a biscuit tin - then wider cars with thick reinforced doors suddenly seem a good idea.

    It can be a pain to get them into garages, driveways and parking spaces that were designed more than about 30 years ago though.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • crunchman said:
    ...Sometime in the next 5 to 15 years, driverless cars should become available.  Older people will be able to keep their independence without needing to keep driving.
    Do you think driverless cars are EVER going to mix with driven cars?
    I think there will always be segregation while any human has control of any vehicle on any road.
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  • KilgoreKilgore Frets: 8599
    A timely thread.

    I went to the barbers yesterday. There was an old fella in the chair before me. When he was finished the barber had to help him out of the chair. I say "help" , but it was closer to physically lifting him out of the chair.

    The old chap then spent the next couple of minutes putting his hearing aids back in and his glasses on. . He started talking about how important it was to keep busy at his age and not just sit in front of the TV.

     At this point he exclaimed that he was 94 and still driving. In fact classic cars were his great passion.

    I wished him well as he hobbled precariously out of the door on his stick.

    I shuddered. 
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    My dad finally stopped driving at 80 and thank god he did because he really wasn't capable of driving safely anymore.  Shame because for 50 years he was an excellent driver, it's just age got him and his reaction time and eye sight just weren't up to it anymore. My mum took 7 attempts to pass her test at 65 years old and thankfully stopped driving soon after. She was pretty bad as well !

    Personally I think everyone should be made to stop driving at 60 and not allowed to start till age 20. Not a popular decision but the roads we have simply can't cope with the ever increasing traffic. Either that or make petrol so expensive people won't use the car unless they really have to 
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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