Opinion's on OAP driver's.?

[dubber36]

I don't think a re-test, or you lose your licence is a good idea, but some sort of medical and refresher course could be a consideration.

Im sick of all of these "safe" (read incapable of driving faster out of fear of losing control/getting pulled for speeding/lack of spacial awareness to take in what is occuring around them) drivers who feel it is fine to drive at 30 in 40 zones or think that the speed limits are gospel everywhere. Im also sick of the twits who live along fast roads who ask the council to lower the speed limit for supposed safety reasons. This just leads to the inevitable trails of people following one twit (usually over 50) who insists that 30 is a fine speed for such a road or a tractor that just cant go faster and then ends in people taking ridiculous risks to overtake the lot of them in one go since everyone bunches up due to the low speed and no-one will overtake.

I tow a caravan, so it's very often me that will be driving at 50mph in a 60 with a string of cars behind me. That's because I have to. It's the law. It's not me that's doing the holding up tho', it's the car who is following be far to closely to be able to see when it is safe to overtake, therefore making it more difficult for the cars behind him. Sometimes it will be appropriate for me to tow at 30mph in a 40. That's my call. As said before, the speed limit is a maximum, not a target.

Going back to my point about refresher courses, I think regular driver training would improve the driving standards of some, but not all, which can only be a good thing. Also, as for people getting wound up by the driving of others, just chill. Does it really matter? No.

[R32UK]

People die every day from all sorts of things, donkey kicks, lightening strikes, OAP's mowing into them because they forgot to brake, that one random dickhead driving far too fast on a road he barely knows careening off the road and smashing into an inocent........ Unfortunately and understandably, random occurances tend to breed an irrational fear of such random occurances resulting in an overbearing response to someones opinion and an inevitable kneejerk response from a multitude of well meaning people who believe that the opinion given by the "offending" poster is the most hatefull response ever given because it doesnt sit well with their very pleasant sensibilities...... This is that one...... I have given my opinion on an internet forum, it clashed with an overbearing forum personality and now with everyone it would appear, I am now heinous and shall consider myself as the worst thing in the world. Have fun with it (you probably will), Im off to read other things :rolleyes:

start by reading something that will help you break up your text a little.. we can then move on to all the b0ll0x you talk later 

[houston]

my dads 65, a taxi driver, does summit like 40k a year and has never had an accident where he is at fault.

saying that i have noticed his concentration slipping, little things, like looking at stereo longer than he usually would. but that could also be me finding faults

most people of age know that they shouldnt be driving, my lass's grandad is in his late 80s now and still drives, he seems capable but he drives slower, he admits his reactions arent as good but drives slower to compensate.

what about disabilitys? ive seen oaps that struggle to walk without aid and yet drive a car, surely that should be a point where there licence is removed. 

[Martz]

what about disabilitys? ive seen oaps that struggle to walk without aid and yet drive a car, surely that should be a point where there licence is removed. 

My Neighbour(s) is registered disabled on both sides of me and both have extended lines outside my home that stops me parking outside my house. if you saw it you would be shocked how much extra room they apparently need. in my opinion if they can't carry out simple manoeuvres then they should not be driving.

[Seanl]

I deffinately think they should retake a test at some point. This should also apply to women, and be even more frequent! It's things like crossing lanes and not indicating that I find most common, also a combination of both in alot of instances. Have been almost wiped out by OAPs doing this in the past. I get the rage whenever I see it happen, and 99 times out of 100, it's an old person or a woman. This includes the wife, hence the reason she is not driving ATM as she had 3 accidents in her first 8 months of driving, so couldn't afford her renewal.

[mk3.owner]

Ok.. First of all, This was not meant to be "Let's all argue" thread/poll.

This was a simple question asking for personal opinion's on the matter in hand.

I did not intend for people to start pointless cheap shot's at one another. Some elderly people might be better driver's then other's but that doesn't change the fact that more than half of them cause a hazard to other road user's.

It's quite obvious that people have different view's on this matter and to be quite honest i cant be arsed to sit here and read through all of them. As i said before some older people cause hazard's and as a result police/insurance companies take the elder person's side regardless. 'There more mature and have better driving experience' So what.!! Still doesnt change the fact THEY ARE TERRIBLE DRIVER'S.

Some people need to get there idea's bucked up and stop having cheap shot's at other people comment's.!

Read the top of the page it clearly say's

Help and sarcasm since '02

 

Not cheap shot's and argument's since '02

[Jay]

Read the top of the page it clearly say's

Help and sarcasm since '02

 

Not cheap shot's and argument's since '02

Maybe it should 

[bob23]

mk3owner

People say "the speed limit is a maximum not a target" then perhaps you would care to explain to me how I failed my test for not doing the speed limit, I was on the A1 doing 10mph under the speed limit in really heavy rain, I felt 70 was too fast as the windscreen wipers were on the fastest setting and couldn't keep up with the rain. failed for not going the speed limit, made no other mistakes just that and failed.

Or why I was pulled over by the police for only doing 50 on the A47 where it's 70, when asked why I was going so slow I said I had left work early and my boss was a few cars ahead doing 50 so if I overtook he'd have seen me (I had started work 3 hours early so I could leave early but my boss didn't believe in that, didn't matter what time I started I couldn't leave early) and the copper was thinking about giving me a ticket for dangerous driving.

Also a driving test doesn't mean anything I failed 6 times in London (lets see how long it takes for someone to take the pi55 out of me for that) on stupid things like getting cut up by an OAP on a roundabout and because I didn't swerve out the way the examiner grabbed the wheel and pulled me left, didn't brake though, sent me up a curb and I nearly hit someone waiting to come on the roundabout, it's only because I put the brakes on I didn't hit it, had the examiner not done anything nothing would have happened as the examiner done it after I'd been cut up.

There is no such thing as a good driver, just bad, capable and experienced, I've only been driving three and a half years so I'm not experienced, but I'm not dangerous I've never crashed into someone and even though I might speed sometimes, I am not stupid with it, if I don't know the road I drive slow and if I'm holding people up I pull over and let them past, me failing 6 tests doesn't mean anything as I am a better driver than people I know who passed first time, and crashed within a week, in my lessons I was taught how to pass and told when I pass to forget what I had been taught and to drive sensibly.

what scares me is people that passed that long ago that they didn't have a theory test so don't know what most signs mean, a bloke I worked with was in his late 60s drove well but didn't know what give way lines were or what the minimum speed limit signs meant, the no motor vehicles signs where there is a car with a motorbike above it, he thought it meant that only cars and motorbikes were allowed, didn't know how to use bus lanes.

people can drive well at 20 and be sh!t at 50, or an accident can change the way people drive for the worse, a lot of old people are cr*p and shouldn't be on the road, but that goes for all ages, 17 to 90 there are loads of people who shouldn't be on the road.

[stevesdub]

personaly i think many drivers could do with doing an IAM test...now i used to think i was a good driver, highly capable of showing people up on track days having being doing them for over 20 years  in some seriously quick vehicles and bikes.

i was then talked into doing an IAM test.. as my other half drives with blue lights for a living..
i always thought i was very aware of my surroundings and my position...but this course tought me a good few things...and i get even cheaper insurance to boot.

give it a go...they arnt all stuffy old farts...

im not that old, but i do fart alot

[danny_p]

there are a lot of thingys on the road who cant actualy handel a car properly -  FACT

there are some really stupid speed limutes on some roads - FACT

putting people on a track probaly not a bad idea TBH  it may teach some of them how to contoll car if something unexpected happens rather than slamming on the brakes and screaming then promtly crashing into something that chould have been avoided with ease  if they were thinking about driveing rater than panicing

IMO  the roads are over singposted with useless infomation that no one really needs and just distracts you from driveing.  then ther speed limutes that keep going 50, 40, 30 , 50 , 30 , 40 , national, 40, 30.   it's like make your fuccking mind up and varible speed limutes are worse makes driveing more stressfull / tireing and thats a pain in the arse on a long trip