To old to drive?

[Bob97531]

Originally Posted by entwisi

why someone who passed their test even just 20 years ago like me when roads were a lot quieter, cars were slower, safety features non existant ( abs, traction control etc ) can now be driving an almost supercomputer controlled 140mph family saloon car without any further tests is simply crazy.

this...

[derekgas]

Elderly drivers use their mode of transport as exactly that, many dont see why they should do 30 in a 30 etc, they would feel stupid getting a speeding ticket, so they stay well within the law, there are no rules that state you HAVE to do 30 in a 30 zone, and anyone who insists is both impatient and reckless in my opinion, the people that should be retested (in particular), are not the people who drive below the limit (though I think there should be a minimum for motorways), but the people who regularly exceed the limit, dont indicate lane changes or turning, use wrong lanes, cut up other drivers because they realised they were in the wrong lane etc etc, I am not saying that elderly drivers shouldnt be retested, but there are more serious issues to deal with before this. Some of these problems are made worse by police vehicle drivers, who also seem to have adopted driving without indicators whether in emergency or not. All that said, it sounds very much like nothing would have prevented the very sad events near water street.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by BLACKBURN RAVER

personally i think that after you reach retirement age you should be made to have a medical every year to deem you fit enough to drive and be made to sit a re-test every two years, at a minimal cost, i hear what your saying about the young uns but to drive slowly is just as dangerous if not more so, nothing worse than being stuck behind an old dear doing 15-20 in a 30 or 30 in a 50,

Everyone is happy to quote the doddering old lady scenario when commenting on older drivers.......this morning I have witnessed 7 people of varying ages(but none of them appeared to be of retirement age) using mobile phones whilst driving......one of these people was driving a very large lorry whilst going around a corner.

We are all heading towards becoming an old person.......and yet we talk about these older people as though they were a sub species, of lower intellect and intelligence.

Older people are very easily isolated....and to suggest that a medical every year and re-testing every two years......this will take much planning and resourcing(not to mention the cost of adminstration...paid by whom exactly), and will intimidate and isolate older people more t han is necessary.

Can anyone tell me the last time they read of an accident of this nature?
Yet we hear of drivers who kill under the influence of drugs and alcohol, or recklessness and this is accepted. We don't ask these drivers to suspend their activities and re-take a test.
You assume that all older drivers are not fit to drive......too big a generalisation in my opinion....and it is just my opinion.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by derekgas

Elderly drivers use their mode of transport as exactly that, many dont see why they should do 30 in a 30 etc, they would feel stupid getting a speeding ticket, so they stay well within the law, there are no rules that state you HAVE to do 30 in a 30 zone, and anyone who insists is both impatient and reckless in my opinion, the people that should be retested (in particular), are not the people who drive below the limit (though I think there should be a minimum for motorways), but the people who regularly exceed the limit, dont indicate lane changes or turning, use wrong lanes, cut up other drivers because they realised they were in the wrong lane etc etc, I am not saying that elderly drivers shouldnt be retested, but there are more serious issues to deal with before this. Some of these problems are made worse by police vehicle drivers, who also seem to have adopted driving without indicators whether in emergency or not. All that said, it sounds very much like nothing would have prevented the very sad events near water street.

What a sound and sensible post. Well said.

[firefighter753]

It's proven that drivers over 70 have the same reaction times as somebody twice the drink drive limit. Hgv drivers have to have a medical at 45 and then every 5 years, which includes eyesight, blood pressure and heart and lung function. Car drivers over 50 should have same tests.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by firefighter753

It's proven that drivers over 70 have the same reaction times as somebody twice the drink drive limit. Hgv drivers have to have a medical at 45 and then every 5 years, which includes eyesight, blood pressure and heart and lung function. Car drivers over 50 should have same tests.

When research of this nature is quoted I want to ask who did the research?
What were the criteria used for testing? and who funded the research.

Having a medical would not stop accidents from happening, and it would not stop people from driving recklessly.
While reaction times of older drivers are quoted as above, older drivers are much more likely to drive within speed limits, and are less likely to contravene other road rules......older drivers, (in the main) will have more experience, and if they drive every day, will have adapted to busier roads.
You can prove anything with statistics and research.

[firefighter753]

It's not about driving recklessly, it's about identifying people with potentially life threatening diseases being behind the wheel of a one and a half tonne lump of metal.

[Less]

Originally Posted by firefighter753

It's not about driving recklessly, it's about identifying people with potentially life threatening diseases being behind the wheel of a one and a half tonne lump of metal.

How do we go about that then?

I've known of young men apparently fit and healthy that have keeled over and died from aneurysms What if they had been behind the wheel of a one and a half tonne lump of metal at the time this happened to them? Would it be less tragic for the accident victims and their relations to know that it was a 30 or 40 year old that had the accident?
Somehow I don't think so, accidents are just that, accidents, they happen when one set of circumstances are effected by another set of circumstances beyond peoples control.

Sadly pointing the blame at one group of motorists won't undo what has happened.

RoSPA : Road Safety : Advice : Driving : Older Driver Policy Statements

[Margaret Pilkington]

Less, Thank you.....that was the point I was trying(unsuccessfully, it seems) to make.

[Barrie Yates]

I would even dare to suggest that there are many younger drivers who are not as fit as many elderly drvers in their 60s & 70s, either physically or mentally.
Watch the idiots around you on the road, watch the Police TV shows - the majority of the ones causing problemsof one sort or another seem to be well below pensionable age.

[shillelagh]

ive been in a car accident while i was driving .. i had a fit while behind the wheel ... luckily i didnt hurt anyone other than myself i ran into a wall ... i was lucky .. i could have if i'd gone the other way .. i'd have ended up in someones house or into a car .. but because id took the snicket i went into the wall ... but i was allowed to drive .. id gone 3 years without a fit and then learned to drive and eventually passed my driving test. The DVLA had brought the 3 years clear down to 1 year without a fit .. i got my driving licence back 18 months later .. and 5 days later i had a fit .. since then i havent driven .. but will say this if i do manage to go a year without a fit .. i will reapply for my licence .. thing is am i safe to drive?

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by shillelagh

ive been in a car accident while i was driving .. i had a fit while behind the wheel ... luckily i didnt hurt anyone other than myself i ran into a wall ... i was lucky .. i could have if i'd gone the other way .. i'd have ended up in someones house or into a car .. but because id took the snicket i went into the wall ... but i was allowed to drive .. id gone 3 years without a fit and then learned to drive and eventually passed my driving test. The DVLA had brought the 3 years clear down to 1 year without a fit .. i got my driving licence back 18 months later .. and 5 days later i had a fit .. since then i havent driven .. but will say this if i do manage to go a year without a fit .. i will reapply for my licence .. thing is am i safe to drive?

You've been driving Spugs round the bend for years Jen

[Neil]

Originally Posted by firefighter753

It's proven that drivers over 70 have the same reaction times as somebody twice the drink drive limit. Hgv drivers have to have a medical at 45 and then every 5 years, which includes eyesight, blood pressure and heart and lung function. Car drivers over 50 should have same tests.

I can't see a problem with that at all.

I also agree with extra testing like entwisi mentioned. After a few years, once it had become an excepted part of driving no one would complain or decide not to take the tests, unless they thought they were no longer safe enough to pass them. I think the cost should be reasonable for a 1/2 hour test though, maybe £20 or something. It costs me £60+ to fill up with diesel so it would become an excepted cost of car ownership.

Maybe if the rest of the people posting against extra safe guards such as this did your job and had seen the results of car accidents and had to deal with the horrific things you deal with on a regular basis they may think differently.

[accyman]

another question worth asking is why with this roads terrible reputation does it not have railings down the pavement just liek it does further up on the same section of road.All teh way from teh castle pub to the junction at burnley road tehre are railings protecting a carpark and a back alley area yet no railings along the stretch which is basicaly smack center of town

[Barrie Yates]

Originally Posted by firefighter753

It's proven that drivers over 70 have the same reaction times as somebody twice the drink drive limit. Hgv drivers have to have a medical at 45 and then every 5 years, which includes eyesight, blood pressure and heart and lung function. Car drivers over 50 should have same tests.

Please would you give us the reference of the first sentence of your post?