Scary older drivers
Danny_Girl
Posts: 2,763 Forum Member
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Last week I narrowly avoided being hit by a car that was straying over two lanes on a dual carriageway. When I plucked up the courage to overtake them and get the hell away I saw the driver was a very old lady who could barely see over the wheel of her car and was seemingly oblivious to the accident she had nearly caused. Today I was reversing slowly out of a parking space and was very nearly hit by a man who looked in his eighties and had driven forwards from his parking space without looking. Luckily no damage to my car as I slammed on my breaks and hit my horn just in time.
Both of these drivers IMO shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car and are an accident waiting to happen. How do they keep a driving license? Is it up to them when they decide to stop driving? Have to say that I have made a mental note to let my kids tell me when I should give up and to listen to them when they do.
Anyone else had similar scary near misses or had to tell an older relative it was time to start taking the bus?
Both of these drivers IMO shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car and are an accident waiting to happen. How do they keep a driving license? Is it up to them when they decide to stop driving? Have to say that I have made a mental note to let my kids tell me when I should give up and to listen to them when they do.
Anyone else had similar scary near misses or had to tell an older relative it was time to start taking the bus?
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http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2036617
No, never had a problem like that.
But I have had many a scary near miss with young boy-racers, many of whom should be kept well away from any form of motorised transport until they are in their 30s!
Teenagers and early twenties drivers are statistically far more likely to kill you than OAPs so I suggest that you Alert yourself and get the thread title changed to just "Scary Drivers".
Around here age doesn't seem to have much affect on driving skills, as there are lousy drivers of every age.
It's the idiots in their late teens and early 20's that worry me.
The other thing that's increasingly pissing me off, is drivers closely tailgating me when I am strictly observing the speed limit, then as soon as we hit a straight stretch of road with nothing coming in the opposite direction, making a point of zooming ahead of me at top speed. Several have made unpleasant gestures and honked their horn at me.
You get done for speeding if you want to matey, but stop encouraging others to fall into the same trap. I will continue to observe speed limits to the letter. Indeed, I drive slightly under the limit in case there is an issue with my speedo.
What does her ethnicity have to do with it?
BUT, a risk which comes with (mainly) old age is dementia. Undoubtedly has an effect on driving at some point. Diagnosis doesn't stop sufferers from continuing to drive but there will inevitably come a time where its best not to. It might take an "incident" first though.
There's a stretch of road that I use regularly that, after a 30mph stretch through a village, goes into a roundabout and then onto a dead straight run for about a mile and a half. Toward the end of this stretch (but not so close to the next roundabout that you'd be normally be braking at that point) there's a speed camera.
It's quite entertaining when those who aren't familiar with the road but believe the NSLto be "80 if nobody's looking" spot the camera and slam on their brakes. So far I've not seen anyone who hasn't spotted it, but I live in hope!
Yes, that would be amusing, I must say
I'm amazed he never killed anyone. He was twice done for driving without due care and attention, rolled a car by clipping a bank while trying to retune the radio and (my favourite) crashed into a petrol pump as he moved off after filling up. His excuse for this was that he forgot his wheels weren't straight when he pulled away! He was forever pulling out in front of people as though they just weren't there, and getting in his car required nerves of steel.
Before he learned to drive a car, he rode motorbikes. Ime, motorcyclists are generally among the best drivers, and my dad was pretty safe on a bike. I've no idea why the road sense acquired while motorcycling disappeared when he got behind the wheel of a car, but he managed to take out a motorcyclist on two occasions, so had completely lost his bike awareness as well.
Thankfully, he gave up driving when he was about 70, he finally realised he wasn't up to it.
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/northyorkshire/yorkharrogate/11235373.Car_smashes_through_supermarket_window/?ref=rss
There was a similar story in a town closer to Lostville a couple of years ago where an OAP reversed his Range Rover over the top of a couple of hatchbacks outside a newsagents. Fortunately, both crushed cars were empty at the time!
Sounds like he was driving the car like he was still on a bike. He'd know the wheel was straight on a bike because of the handlebars. He'd also be able to pull out and accelerate away a lot faster on a bike.
I never thought about the handlebar thing, which is a good point, but if his reactions had been any good he'd have slammed the brakes on before he nearly flattened the pump, the old loon.
I'm not sure he ever had any proper fast bikes. His last few were C90 step-throughs, so his 1300 Escort probably had better acceleration! Before that, he mostly had a succession of Bantams, although he did trade up to an Ambassador Supreme at one point.
Was driving home for xmas a few years ago, sat behind a lorry, chilling out, listening to a play on R4.
Got to a section of dual-carriageway and, even then, I wasn't that fussed about overtaking the lorry.
Road started going uphill, there were "crawler lane" signs and then the lorry started indicating left so I figured it was time to overtake him.
Checked my mirrors, indicated, started to pull out and... there was a car RIGHT in front of me, heading straight toward me.
I swear, he was already past the front of the lorry when I pulled out so around 50ft away.
Slammed the brakes on, swerved back behind the lorry and then had to pull over for 10 minutes to get my head straight.
While I was stopped I noticed a couple of cop-cars whizz past, lights and sirens blaring, on the correct side of the road, going in the same direction as the car that I nearly hit.
Next morning it was all over the local news that some old duffer had got confused at a roundabout and driven for 10 miles along the wrong side of the dual-carriageway.
Having said that, the thing that REALLY pissed me off was the way the lorry driver slowed down and stuck his left-hand indicator on, offering the standard invitation to overtake.
The lorry driver MUST have been able to see the car approaching on the wrong side of the road and I'm convinced he signalled for me to overtake with the deliberate intention of provoking a head-on collision.
C**T! >:(
Retired stockbroker, 85, jailed for killing young mother after losing control of his Mercedes
A retired stockbroker who killed a mother in front of her husband and toddler after confusing the pedals of his vintage Mercedes has been jailed for 18 months.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/retired-stockbroker-85-jailed-for-killing-young-mother-after-losing-control-of-his-mercedes-9941216.html
You took your time...;-)
Surely if it's that difficult to do that how it's safe for them to drive and perform emergency stops etc..
I don't think there is any evidence that they are worse than any other group, but they do get media coverage for the more extreme incidents that rarely occur eg the one above mentioned by si_crewe. This undoubtedly colours how they are perceived.
Around here very small Indian women seem to invariably drive large cars. Maybe they have huge husbands? I'm not racist at all, OH is black and South African, it's just when ever we see a 4x4 it always seems to be driven by a dark skinned midget. OH thinks it's funny.
Of course there is a need for strength, braking is proportional to how hard the pedal is pressed.
I have been intimitated three times with incidences of road rage and all by men in their 30's
So lets not lump a whole generation i together as being a problem
Driving an Aldi.
Are you sure about that?