OAP drivers

oldone_2

darkpool wrote: »

i do think statistics actually show older drivers are worse....

So why are my insurance premiums now almost half they were before I retired, for the same car and mileage (13,000 per annum).

An older driver doing 20 in a 30 limit may be looking at the road ahead and seeing potential obstructions/dangers, unlike the younger driver who thinks the 30 m.p.h limit is a target to achieve (and exceed) and is paying more attention to their speedo than to the road ahead.

Perhaps everyone passing their test should continue to show L plates until they pass an advanced driving course. This applying to all ages from when it is introduced, and would not be retrospective.

Rosie75

Fluzz wrote: »

What I would like to see is an overhaul of the procedure when someone gets Alzheimers/dementia. A friend of my in laws has quite bad dementia. It has made her more difficult and aggressive and so she was determined that she was still fine to drive. She was still driving months and months after noone in their right mind would let her behind the wheel. She refused to sell her car, and told her children stories of all the near misses she had to rub it in that they couldn't tell her what to do. At their wits end, they phoned the police, telling them that they were fairly positive she'd kill someone if she carried on. They said they couldn't do a thing, it needed to be the DVLA/her doctor. Both of those said they couldn't help either and there seemed to be no procedure in place for revoking a licence of a seriously mentally ill 80 year old woman. Eventually some weeks on her family got her in a relatively peaceful moment and she agreed to sell her car. Unfortunately for them she forgot this fact and they got constant abusive calls for weeks accusing them of stealing it. She still has a current driving licence and is still technically able to drive AFAIK.

I would love to believe that there is a clear procedure in place and somehow this family just got fobbed off/the wrong information, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if there wasn't.

Unfortunately, we had pretty much the same experience with my FIL. On one occasion he got into his car at 2am, drove down the motorway and fell asleep at the wheel - it was a miracle no one was hurt. He also became an even more agressive driver than he had been in the past and was constantly scraping the car and knocking into things. He didn't actually have dementia but had had a series of minor strokes, which effectively resulted in the same kind of behaviour as someone with dementia (leaving the gas on, overflowing the bath, forgetting where he lived). The GP had written to the DVLA to say he was unfit to drive, but when the diagnostic tests said that he didn't have dementia, the DVLA sent him his license back and told him he was welcome to drive again. As awful as it was when he went into a home, it was a relief to know that he wasn't going to get behind the wheel of a car again and endanger others as well as himself.

darkpool

oldone wrote: »

An older driver doing 20 in a 30 limit may be looking at the road ahead and seeing potential obstructions/dangers, unlike the younger driver who thinks the 30 m.p.h limit is a target to achieve (and exceed) and is paying more attention to their speedo than to the road ahead.
.

anyone that drives at 20mph in a 30 shouldn't be on the road. people can run faster than that.

maybe the reason why older people sometimes have lower insurance is because they don't drive that much? but when they do drive they are more likely to have an accident.

Inactive

darkpool wrote: »

anyone that drives at 20mph in a 30 shouldn't be on the road. people can run faster than that.

You are obviously a very poor driver then, I drive at less than 20 mph in a 30 mph limit when driving past schools at opening/closing times.

The speed limit is a maximum, not a target.

Leory

from highway code.....

216 Older drivers. Their reactions may be slower than other drivers. Make allowance for this.

[FONT=Verdana,]83: Do not drink and drive as it will seriously affect your judgement and abilities.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,] reduce co-ordination and slow down reactions
[/FONT]

these sound remarkably similar to me......one is legal, the other isnt

darkpool

Inactive wrote: »

You are obviously a very poor driver then, I drive at less than 20 mph in a 30 mph limit when driving past schools at opening/closing times.

The speed limit is a maximum, not a target.

ohhh you have me there..... oh hold on, you always drive at 20mph past a school at closing time? what happens if there are traffic lights? you drive through red lights? you're obviously a bad driver too.

you never break the speed limit? if you don't you should stop driving.

Inactive

darkpool wrote: »

ohhh you have me there..... oh hold on, you always drive at 20mph past a school at closing time? what happens if there are traffic lights? you drive through red lights? you're obviously a bad driver too.

you never break the speed limit? if you don't you should stop driving.

You are obviously incapable of reading, I said " less than 20mph ".

I do not break speed limits, it is clearly you that should stop driving with an attitude like yours..

unholyangel

oldone wrote: »

So why are my insurance premiums now almost half they were before I retired, for the same car and mileage (13,000 per annum).

NCB? Or now that you're retired you're less likely to be driving during rush hour traffic/commuting and therefore for social and domestic only?

Anyways regardless, i've found in my experience that older drivers (not necessarily OAP's) are more inconsiderate. The majority of the time i'm flashed to continue/pull out/whatever, its a younger driver. That being said, i'm not saying young drivers cant be inconsiderate also.

I'll admit when i first passed my test i was prone to speeding. But now after having experienced driving more fully, i realise that going an extra 5/10mph will literally only get you there 2-3 minutes faster. Not to mention it will take more fuel.

I seem to be quoting my father a lot today but one more cant hurt :rotfl:

He used to say "treat every other driver on the road as if they are an idiot, because they'll certainly drive like one".

Remember, passing your test doesnt mean you are a good driver, it simply means you have reached the level where you are able to drive without supervision.

Although as somone else pointed out, sit the test so many times and you're bound to get lucky sooner or later.

darkpool

Inactive wrote: »

You are obviously incapable of reading, I said " less than 20mph ".

I do not break speed limits, it is clearly you that should stop driving with an attitude like yours..

you've never broken the speed limit? what an exciting person you sound.

Money_User

Inactive wrote: »

You are obviously a very poor driver then,

The speed limit is a maximum, not a target.

He was talking about drivers who do 10 mph below the speed limit for no reason. That is a danger!

http://www.speedlimit.org.uk/art_slowdrive.html

"Similarly, if you drive at 40mph in a 50mph zone when there is no justification for such caution, you should not be surprised if a queue of drivers builds up behind you. And at that point you should take their rights and feelings into account as well as your own. How would you feel if you were held up by someone who shared your philosophy, but regarded 20mph as the ideal speed?

We all have to share the available road space, and to do so safely requires co-operation, courtesy and compassion. Yet some motorists don't seem to understand the effect they have on others. Persistent dawdling and/or obstruction can wreak havoc on the tempers of following drivers who lack a masters degree in patience, and their increasingly desperate attempts to overtake can be highly dangerous."