General Chat

I am absolutely steaming!! Have just read a letter in today's Daily Mail from some cheeky bird called Stephanie White, Sandbach, Cheshire, who is advocating that all drivers over the age of 70 retake practical and theory tests every two years on the gounds that if they venture on to motorways they are incapable of dealing with the speeds they encounter and stay at 60mph or below. They drive below the speed limit elsewhere, with no spatial awareness andlittle understanding of how to enter roiundabouts. They drive about 25 mph holding up the traffic behind them and forcing other drivers to overtake. Apparently this occurs on A road, B roads and dual carriageways. She is of the opinion these tests will create jobs for examiners and help reduce the amount of traffic on our roads.

I have just done a reply as follows -

Stephanie White, how dare you! I shall be 72 this June, God willing, and have driven safely and competently for nearly forty years now. I have never incurred any points on my licence or received a parking fine or committed any other driving misdemeanour. I don't know how old you are but you look about the age of all those people who constantly use their mobile phones whilst driving. You would do better to turn your attention to boy racers rather than lump one generation into one block and accuse them all of being doddery. I drive according to speed limits and am quite able to keep my speed to an appropriate rate on motorways. My eyes are tested annually, there is nothing wrong with my eyesight. Who do you think you are to make such sweeping statements.


doubt they'll print it though - we'll see

go ann go - she really rattled your cage, didn't she?

Entirely agree with you. How very dare she!!

Speed limits are just that a limit.
You do not have to drive at that speed but can drive slower if you wish.


Spud

she certainly did - what a cheeky cow!!

LOL Ann,
i agree with you who does she think she is
i have been driving since i was 18 yrs old and am now 66yrs, like you i drive according to the speed limits and hope to keep driving
Hazelx

Well at the risk of being shot down in flames........................I actually agree that some older drivers can be a menace.

I live in an area where there are many elderly drivers and time and again I stop at a roundabout and wait................and wait..............and wait, until I am the first of the three to move.

The others are elderly and seem to have no idea that they can go if the road to their right is clear.

I have also twice witnessed automatics drive straight across pavements and into shop walls.......................both really elderly drivers.

But...........................I don't judge all older drivers by the ones I have seen.

xx

Kitty I agree with you.

I'm not saying that a retest should be taken at 70 nor that everyone should stop driving once they reach retirement but I do feel at 96 & deaf as a post, my Mum's neighbour would be a lot safer on the bus!

where does this 96 year old live please Claire - which part of Wales exactly, so I can avoid that area like the plague!!!!

I'm a bit on the fence on this one.

OH is now 63 and drives like a wannabe boy racer when he gets the chance! (Up until a few years ago I had a great little Rover Metro 1.4 GTA wide wheels and went like the clappers!)

I admit to getting frustrated behind some drivers who always indicate right at roundabouts and then go straight on - and these ARE usually elderly - I think they must either have been taught that way or do not understand roundabouts!

I usually accuse people (under my breath when I'm with anyone - or out loud if on my own) of being a grandad when they're dithering about in front of me! Particularly on motorways when I drive at "70" (unless I'm overtaking when I speed up a bit) and woe betide anyone who gets in my way.

Having said that, I always stick to speed limits in towns and drive slower around back streets as I am very conscious of children and teenagers who seem to think they are indestructable!!

(I'm 51 going on 17 by the way!)

Jill

I suppose it is the over 80's mostly.............I know that would make life much more difficult for them, but when they abandon the car instead of parking it properly, then peer through their glasses to see their shopping list it makes me wonder if they are safe driving.

xx

Have to say that I agree with Kitty. The amount of times I have been on the Motorway or a major A and got caught behind an "older" driver, who has been happy to go along at 35 miles an hour, not having a clue what is going on around them and the amount of havoc they are causing. I appreciate that you do not have to drive at the limit all the time, but driving too slowing causes as many problems than driving too fast. I have been caught in a line of traffic, where people are forced to overtake because the driver in front is quite happily doing 30 in a 60 zone. I know there are good and bad drivers of all ages, but the majority of those causing problems do seem to be of the older age group.!
JACKIE

Kitty - with automatics, that can happen to anyone of any age!!

maybe not you ann but i have to say there are some people of a certain age who drive like that, one day i was coming back from a shopping tip leaving plenty of time to pick my son up when i came upon this long que of slow moving traffic i mean about ten miles an hour after half an hour of waiting to take over what i thought would be a tractor when i got there i found it was a well aged old man which made me late for my son so there are some out there an my grandad i dont think he should be on the road but he wont hear of it when i tell him but i wont go in a car with him. some old people are like it.

gotta say that follwoing my experiance with an older driver today...... retest them.
She was pulling up next to the garage for some work to be done I presume but although there was no dropped kerb at that point she mounted the pavement and missed my son by a hairs breath literally. And despite the fact I said some choice words and used some choice gestures i was ignored!! So can only assume she was deaf and blind LOL

BUT I wouldn't tarr every older driver with the same brush!!!!
In fact my OH(38) could do with a restest every couple of yrs..... his favourite saying is I don't think I own the road... I DO own it!!!!

Just to let you know,

just missed a collision this evening by a few minutes. Went down one dual carriageway to collect my son, drove up the other way to go home and there is a smash on the other side of the road.
Whose involved....20 somethings thats who!!!

More care and attention thats the clue.. not age

Ann,
I read the letter and thought she was trying to wind us up.
Thirty years a policeofficer, so protect me from people who think they are top quality drivers and consider others to be the opposite. I found that they are the dangerous ones.
My immediate thought was that 30 miles per hour is the maximum speed in a built up area - late 20s is OK in a busy situation.
I see nothing wrong at driving at 60 mph on motorways - there are usually three lanes and I know who would be mostly involved in a bad accident on the M roads.

Happy days

I'm in two minds about this one too.

My own husband who is 11 years older than me was always a very good driver but I've noticed his reactions are nothing like as fast as they were.

I know several elderly people in our area who drive so slowly that it can also be dangerous when other drivers are trying to overtake them.

If making a general rule about older drivers retaking a test saves some lives and means drivers who ought not to be driving get taken off the road then that is a good thing.

Sue
x

Ann Go Girl !!

Was out driving yesterday........

1. Girl in car behind me (at the lights!) on mobile
2. Young lad parked lengthways across THREE bays in car-park.
3. Man in 4x4, with young children, at zebra crossing on the flipping mobile! grr.I pointed at him but he just looked the other way!

Dreading the day i can't drive any more (not for a long time yet I hope) but it's something we can't generalise on,there are good old drivers and bad young drivers!

Mau

Daughter kept on a OH saying he drove too slowly etc., so he joined the IAM Institute of advance Drivers they go through training to see their ability and see if they are safe drivers -all ages- they then take a driving test by the police examiner and glad to say my OH passed - he's been an HGV driver most of his working life. He went on to become an observer, helping others to get through the test he was 65 at the time and proved not all older drivers are dangerous. The younger mobile phone user/drivers are more dangerous even with hands free I watched one behind us through my visor mirror yeasterday his hands were waving all over the place.As I've said before I don't drive , I' a bad enough passenger .

I agree with Ann.
I am a year older than her,73 in June,and have been driving ,or held my license since 1962.
At one time I was a sales manager for 20 years and drove 1000 miles a week,and some of the mad driving you see is from the young men who think they are Lewis Hamilton.
It has nothing to do with age as some people are fitter and healthier than younger people.I do agree that some older folk over the age of 80/90,who have shrunk so much that they can hardly see over the steering wheel should give up,but I think your own common sense will tell you this.
My O.H gets cross at the farmers(with flat caps) round here who drive so slowly and agree that sometimes this is as bad as speeding.
You cannot generalise .There are good women drivers and good men drivers no matter what age!
Brenda x x