I had been known in my younger days to shout RETEST!!! at old men who made basic driving errors. I have always been a supporter of driving retests at say 65 and think they should be repeated every 5 years from that time on. I'm 57 now and still think I should be retested at 65, if I'm not good enough I shouldn't drive! A few times I've read " man 84 arrested driving wrong way up motorway". My dad is 83, just bought a new Nissan. Scares the **** out of me when he drives!
There's a petition on the go at the moment - https://www.change.org/p/secretary-...etesting-every-3-years-once-a-driver-turns-70 due to a man losing his wife when an 85 year old driver, mistaking the accelerator for the brake, ended up doing over 50 in a 20 zone. It is frankly ridiculous that an older person can renew his licence after filling in a self-assessment form - no eye test, no reaction test, no test of still understanding and knowing the rules of the road. Crazy.
Old people having accidents makes the news, but the very young are the cause of most accidents. If accident prevention is the aim, young men shouldn't be allowed to drive until they are twenty. Seventeen is far too young. The danger is that the old will become isolated. An old man in his nineties who attends my gym is voluntarily giving up his car but he says he will then be stuck as he lives in a village with no bus service and he only used his car to get to the nearest shop (about a mile and a half away). I have to say people give up cars, but then don't consider using the money they save on taxis....you could afford quite a few trips on the savings on insurance and road tax. I think doctors should be required to inform the authorities if a patient shouldn't drive (I believe that is being introduced), but I understand their reluctance to break confidentiality. Regular eye sight tests should be enforced....probably starting from 45-50 yrs...that can sneak up on you without realising it. My eyesight has actually improved as I used to need glasses to drive, but no longer need to. I don't think the full test at say 80 is strictly necessary....more a competence test. Insisting on a full test....especially with the introduction of sat nav usage would mean too many would be barred from driving when they have no intention on going on a motorway or even driving long distances.
My wife got caught recently and did the course, which only saves you £5 on the fine but she says it is brilliant and, like Fats, she now advocates it being applied to all drivers every 5 years.
I won't be as I am 67 this year and I know that I feel exactly the same as I did at 40....in fact better since my heart ops. I drive less than 2K a year on the Island....why should I have to retake my test when there are younger idiots out there. People have an old-fashioned idea of what is old....several of my friends are well into their seventies and fully compos mentis....80+ is the new old....and many would argue with that. Remember many working people are in their seventies now. I think anyone who buys their first 4x4 should have to have special training as most of them are bonkers and would be happier in a tank.
Saint in Serbia..In case you were wondering how that happens....you get longer sighted as you get older, so if you start short sighted your eye sight corrects. I used to need glasses to watch Saints and I no longer need to. If you start long sighted....tough...it is going to get worse.
Yes do agree mate. I believe the cost of the course varies. Here in Kent it's £87, saving £13 on the fine, in other areas I hear it's more than the fine but really eye opening without reverting to gore or being patronising.
Nail on the head - as you get older you may think your reactions / concentration are the same but they're not. I will admit I'm not the same as when I was young and have driven more defensively as the years have passed to compensate. Still reckon I should be retested at some point.
With all due respect ... here it comes .. isn't this a load of bollards? Excerpt from an RAC report ... Deaths from road traffic accidents are much more prevalent amongst the under 25s than other causes of death often reported by the media such as hangings, shootings, stabbings, alcohol or drug abuse. Between the ages of 15-24 a young person is twice as likely to die from a road traffic accident than be fatally assaulted by firearms, a sharp/blunt object or intentional self-harm via hanging combined. Those in the 15-24 age category are also four times more likely to die from a road traffic accident than from drug, alcohol or other substance poisoning. Therefore, I propose that no-one under 25 should be allowed to drive and we'd all be a lot safer, young and old
Study several years ago on reaction times had a typical young person's reaction time from incident to brake of 0.6 seconds. One bloke in his 80's who was still a regular driver had a reaction time of 6 seconds! You can see the level of risk by looking at insurance premiums. They start to rise when you hit your 70s. Vin
I'm 60 and my premiums are plummeting. Young drivers premiums are astro-blinking-nomical. Re-test them every month I say I have just entered the safest time for me to drive according to this chart, so I'm going to drive faster just to level things up a bit please log in to view this image
I have always driven defensively and this means reaction times become less important. If you drive properly, emergencies are less likely to happen....but recently someone drove right across my path....nothing wrong with my emergency stop. Not saying this isn't important...I do believe that there should be proper medical checks after a certain age....say 70. Ridiculous for people to just say they are OK....should be some proper assessment.
Just had my 3rd Cadburys egg this Easter. Don't believe that they haven't changed the recipe...chocolate wasn't as hard and tasted very ordinary.
I don't disagree with retesting, but it's not just about reactions and concentration. It's also about anticipation, as well as reading road conditions, and what is happening alongside the road, something that improves with maturity and experience. I frequently wonder if the driver behind me thinks my brake lights are defective, because I try to drive without using my brake pedal, until necessary. I go down through the gears, in order to slow down, plus I try to leave sufficient space between myself and the car ahead, to allow me to do this.
