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Thread: Re-testing OAP's?

  1. #41
    Guest mark basford's Avatar
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    I absolutely agree.

    Noticed on the BBC website that there were a couple of stories about 80+ drivers getting into situations which could have been avoided.

    Not only should there be re tests at say, 65, I think that there should also be a doctors certificate of road worthiness to accompany insurance/tax issued annually.

    My Dad (RiP) was driving up until the day he died and the poor old sod could barely walk further than 20 yards at a time because of his declining health yet he was still driving about. He was probably safe enough while things were easy on the road but I constantly worried about his ability to cope with something happening and his reaction time and physical ability to be able to control a car.

  2. #42
    Self confessed player of the pink oboe docwra's Avatar
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    I think the main difference between the old timers and young hoons is that many old timers simply dont have the faculties to drive anymore.

    An 18 year old might not have road sense or want to stick to speed limits but his eyes, arms, legs, reactions, judgement of distances, brain speed, hand speed etc. are all going to be as good as anyones.

    Your oldtimer could have any number of health issues, will definitely have reduced eyesight and hearing, may well be on medication and almost certainly will react and move slower. I wouldnt view it as test of driving skill, like the one you take when you are 17, more a test to see if you are still physically capable of driving.

    Lets be honest, how many 17 year olds end up driving the wrong way up a motorway?
    Quote Originally Posted by scimmy ben
    I get the feeling that this would only work if we could pursuade Ernest Borgnine to drive the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth hovercraft.
    Quote Originally Posted by sprout
    After I shave my balls swarfega helps soothe, but means the hair grows back quite quickly, so give it a go

  3. #43
    Guest AUTO1's Avatar
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    How many accidents are caused you think through, being young/old, lack of skill, poor eyesight, poor reactions, ect ect.
    In my opinion after many years of driving in the UK, Europe and recently the USA.
    The UK drivers seem generally aggressive in the way they drive carving people up, rude hand signals, overtaking for little advantage , just to get in front, hogging lanes, tailgating, not allowing for others making a mistake(you are a Nob, dickhead or some thing worse just for being a stranger in the area)
    This year I have driven 4000mls around Europe and seen very little of combative behaviour of this type.
    I have just returned from a 7,000 mile road trip of the USA and found them, to be courteous to a fault.
    So to sum up if every body chilled out a bit, a little forgiveness for others making a mistake, or getting in your way,
    Let some one out of a side turning or the wrong lane, after you, be polite it will help you live longer.
    BUT GET OUT OF MY WAY ON TRACK DAYS

  4. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by docwra View Post
    Lets be honest, how many 17 year olds end up driving the wrong way up a motorway?

    No they are usually 20-40 and being chased by the police

    But i do agree with your points in general, i have realised that my responses are not as sharp as when i was in my 20-30s, however there are other factors, as i believe you learn and adapt to the changing driving environment,
    and i think that this coupled with some peoples natural reflexes and abilities, can either improve or detract in their overall driving performance.

    I have actually been very surprised with some youngsters reflexes and abilities, in that i would have expected them to be far far better than they exhibited, so i am not totally convinced that this is always a major factor.
    Last edited by Tricky-Ricky; 15-12-2011 at 18:00.

  5. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by AUTO1 View Post
    How many accidents are caused you think through, being young/old, lack of skill, poor eyesight, poor reactions, ect ect.
    In my opinion after many years of driving in the UK, Europe and recently the USA.
    The UK drivers seem generally aggressive in the way they drive carving people up, rude hand signals, overtaking for little advantage , just to get in front, hogging lanes, tailgating, not allowing for others making a mistake(you are a Nob, dickhead or some thing worse just for being a stranger in the area)
    This year I have driven 4000mls around Europe and seen very little of combative behaviour of this type.
    I have just returned from a 7,000 mile road trip of the USA and found them, to be courteous to a fault.
    So to sum up if every body chilled out a bit, a little forgiveness for others making a mistake, or getting in your way,
    Let some one out of a side turning or the wrong lane, after you, be polite it will help you live longer.
    BUT GET OUT OF MY WAY ON TRACK DAYS
    A very valid and pertinent point

  6. #46
    Self confessed player of the pink oboe docwra's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AUTO1 View Post
    So to sum up if every body chilled out a bit, a little forgiveness for others making a mistake, or getting in your way,
    Totally, Ive just come back from 1500 miles round Europe and said the same, but its not going to happen. We are a nation of impatient, selfish drivers who think they are better than they are

    Ricky, you are right, but the point is you cant test someones ability not to get angry or their roadcraft accurately, certainly not so you can take someones license.

    You can quite easily test their eyesight, reaction time and knowledge of the laws of the road though.
    Quote Originally Posted by scimmy ben
    I get the feeling that this would only work if we could pursuade Ernest Borgnine to drive the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth hovercraft.
    Quote Originally Posted by sprout
    After I shave my balls swarfega helps soothe, but means the hair grows back quite quickly, so give it a go

  7. #47
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    Unfortunately i fear this its all conjecture, as in reality the government is not going to shell out for blanket tests, of whatever variety,
    and the same goes for forced tests at our own expense, as it would cause such outcry by the very people that the motoring industry make the most money out of, IE those who buy new cars on a regular basis, and have all the work/servicing carried out by main dealers/garages etc.

  8. #48
    Guest mark basford's Avatar
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    Driving is a privalige and not a right.

    If you want to continue driving as you get older, then a nominal fee to be re tested plus a doctors certificate is a small price to pay to maintain safety on the roads.

  9. #49
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    your all going to be elderly drivers at some point dont forget. taking retests every 5 years or so will really start to piss you off.

    what if the government decided that everyone will take a new test much more difficult? bet most of you wouldnt be happy about that!!!

    everyone thinks they are great drivers and the problems on the roads are always other peoples fault. this is the problem

    what do the elderly do thats so bad anyway? get in your way? slow you down?


    relax on the road and be patient
    Last edited by ads.r; 15-12-2011 at 18:58.

  10. #50
    Guest mark basford's Avatar
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    Personally, I wouldn't mind a jot taking a retest or wandering down to the GP to get a bill of health to keep me on the road; its not like a retired pensioner has much else to do!

    A few hours every 5 years is a very small price to pay in my opinion.

    I'm sure the majority of pensioners on the road are safe enough but isn't the chance of saving one life worth the trouble?

  11. #51
    Guest frisbee's Avatar
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    If older drivers were dangerous they would pay more insurance.

    We should ban all young drivers from driving until they are the downward slope of the age accident curve.

  12. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark basford View Post
    but isn't the chance of saving one life worth the trouble?
    no

    you could say that about anything tbh.

  13. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by frisbee View Post
    If older drivers were dangerous they would pay more insurance.

    We should ban all young drivers from driving until they are the downward slope of the age accident curve.
    isnt the age accident curve to do with experience though?

  14. #54
    Guest mark basford's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ads.r View Post
    no

    you could say that about anything tbh.
    Maybe that was a bit of an over dramatic statement but I'm sure people get where I'm coming from.

  15. #55
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    top 10 reasons for RTA's from google there slightly debatable.

    1. Cell phone use
    2. Changing CD/Radio
    3. Eating in the car
    4. Rubbernecking
    5. Drinking and driving
    6. Drug use
    7. Driver Distraction
    8. Speeding
    9. Recklessness
    10. Shoddy road maintenance

    basically the lack of concentration is the cause of most accidents

    i caused and accident once from not concentrating hard enough i was 19.

  16. #56
    Guest frisbee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ads.r View Post
    isnt the age accident curve to do with experience though?
    I would say its more to do with maturity.

  17. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by ads.r View Post
    top 10 reasons for RTA's from google there slightly debatable.

    1. Cell phone use
    2. Changing CD/Radio
    3. Eating in the car
    4. Rubbernecking
    5. Drinking and driving
    6. Drug use
    7. Driver Distraction
    8. Speeding
    9. Recklessness
    10. Shoddy road maintenance

    basically the lack of concentration is the cause of most accidents

    i caused and accident once from not concentrating hard enough i was 19.


    I think you missed the jumping on the brakes because you just noticed the speed camera, cos you where over the limit

  18. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by frisbee View Post
    I would say its more to do with maturity.
    This.

    I drove like a complete bellend when i was 17. I thought i was nikki fuccccking lauda innit!

  19. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by ads.r View Post
    1. Cell phone use
    2. Changing CD/Radio
    3. Eating in the car
    4. Rubbernecking
    7. Driver Distraction
    Surely all of these fall under number 7??

    Quote Originally Posted by ads.r View Post
    8. Speeding
    9. Recklessness
    These are pretty much the same thing too

    So you could condense the top ten into:

    1. Not Paying Attention
    2. Driving like a bellend
    3. Shit Roads

    Regular testing of all probably would improve things quite significantly.
    Last edited by R3k1355; 15-12-2011 at 20:25.

  20. #60
    Guest dow's Avatar
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    Rip Grandma... but oh strewth she was bloody awful behind the wheel and I was worried about children, other road users and in particular, sheep, everytime she was out and about.

    She got rid of her old Escort, (well gave it to me, my first car, Utter Joy that was except the smell of piss) because she could no longer feel her feet and this was probably the same time she should have given up driving. Instead of giving up however, she bought a Vauxhall Corsa, Automatic. This is the very reason I refer to Jem now as Ethel for driving one as it looked just like the one he has.

    She was very slow, and usually had a car full of similarly aged old ladies in the back, and was mainly used for going out to play Whist, and maybe Dominoes... The game, not pizza they were gamblers, not into pizza or anything I don't think they thought much of foreign food really. Anyway, this was a women who could barely walk either. She had a stick for years but ended up with a zimmer in the end.

    Well our worst fears came to pass eventually. The whole not being able to feel her feet thing went wrong one day when slowing down to turn into our drive she hit the accelerator and accelerated through a hedge and was bloody lucky really not to take any sheep out. She decided to stop driving after that. Bless her, she didn't last much longer after that. One of her dominoe playing friends died too. I wonder if that was all that was keeping them alive really.

    She might have been slow but she didn't cause many accidents, well apart from a cyclist maybe but no-one really cares about cyclists do they? Well no serious accidents but she must have annoyed the buggery out of other road users because those Vauxhall Corsa's automatics are darn slow even before you put an 80 year old lady who can't feel her feet behind the wheel. She was darn slow, but I guess that's how she avoided accidents for so long. (The cyclist was probably attempting a dodgy overtake or something too.)

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