Fit to drive?

wullien4900

Hi All
My car was recently hit by an elderly driver who was trying to get into a parking space beside my parked car. i was climbing in the driver seat at the time and had signalled for him to wait. He bumped into the back of my car then reversed and parked else where. When challenged he said he hadn't hit me and as it was dark it was hard to see the damage.
Next day i got a quote to repair and good photos of the damage to his car (scuffs on paint) and mine (scuffs and bent rear bumper).
He is denying liability saying he never hit me. My point is that he is very old and probably shouldn't be driving since he didn't even know he had bumped me! Can i ask his insurance company to assess his ability to drive?

Thanks in advance

Will

Hammyman

No you can't ask. What he has done is no different than people of any age do. And it is possible to hit another vehicle and not know, especially at low speed.

I could ask are you fit to drive? As a holder of a HGV licence, I had to have a medical and eyesight test to get mine and have periodic medicals to retain the licence. Have you ever had a medical and eyesight test to determine your fitness to hold a licence?

The_Turner

In a word no.

Strider590

Had one hit my car a year or so ago, hit it, drove off, couldn't find anywhere to park, parked opposite me, someone saw him do this and put a note on my car.

Old driver's are a f**king menace.... And it's not because of their reduced driving skill, this you can almost excuse!! It's because they think being old will excuse them of all wrong doings!!!

AND guess what? with age comes arrogance, so they're older and they always know better than you :mad:

I've seen them parking in the middle of a road, parking over two spaces, parking half in/out of a space, parking diagonally, leaving the handbrake off, opening their door repeatedly into the next car (because the other car was in the wrong for parking correctly) and the best thing is, they get out of the car, look at their failed attempt and just walk off as if it's fine (because they know nobody will dare say anything).

Some are vindictive barstewards too, if you drive a "nice car" and you do or say something they don't like, you might come out of the supermarket to find your cars been keyed from front to rear. As my mum found out when one tried to dart into a space she was already reversing into.... New BMW Z4, £800 worth of scratch damage.

It costs £5 to take a Taxi across town, it costs upwards of £50 a week to keep a car sat on the drive (which only gets used once or twice a week). They don't need cars....

wullien4900

Hammyman wrote: »

No you can't ask. What he has done is no different than people of any age do. And it is possible to hit another vehicle and not know, especially at low speed.

I could ask are you fit to drive? As a holder of a HGV licence, I had to have a medical and eyesight test to get mine and have periodic medicals to retain the licence. Have you ever had a medical and eyesight test to determine your fitness to hold a licence?

Yes I am fit to drive, I work for the local authority as a professional driver, have held advanced driver licence for 21 years, never had an accident or points.

I could have posted my smugness like you but thought it wasn't relevant as i was PARKED at the time. Please read the post if full and only respond if you can provide a valuable contribution to the post, not use it as a vehicle for your ego!

SailorSam

Maybe there are some older drivers that should consider hanging their car keys up, but lets not come down on them all just 'cos of a few. The roads would be a lot safer if many of the young drivers kept to public transport.
Wullien if it was that hard to see any damage the old man must have given your car the slightest bump and in that case, any driver could be unaware. Why didn't you get headlights on the mark and point it out at the time.

scheming_gypsy

wullien4900 wrote: »

My point is that he is very old and probably shouldn't be driving since he didn't even know he had bumped me!

oh he probably knows he hit you... but can you prove he hit you.
Just because he's old doesn't mean he's stupid enough to admit to an accident when you won't be able to prove it happened.
Why else do you think he parked somewhere else.

wullien4900

Hi Sailorsam

To say he was uncooperative is an understatement i had to threaten to call the police just to get his details, he was more interested in getting to his bridge club that sorting things out.

On hindsight i should hive just called the police there and then.

McKneff

Strider590 wrote: »

Had one hit my car a year or so ago, hit it, drove off, couldn't find anywhere to park, parked opposite me, someone saw him do this and put a note on my car.

Old driver's are a f**king menace.... And it's not because of their reduced driving skill, this you can almost excuse!! It's because they think being old will excuse them of all wrong doings!!!

AND guess what? with age comes arrogance, so they're older and they always know better than you :mad:

I've seen them parking in the middle of a road, parking over two spaces, parking half in/out of a space, parking diagonally, leaving the handbrake off, opening their door repeatedly into the next car (because the other car was in the wrong for parking correctly) and the best thing is, they get out of the car, look at their failed attempt and just walk off as if it's fine (because they know nobody will dare say anything).

Some are vindictive barstewards too, if you drive a "nice car" and you do or say something they don't like, you might come out of the supermarket to find your cars been keyed from front to rear. As my mum found out when one tried to dart into a space she was already reversing into.... New BMW Z4, £800 worth of scratch damage.

It costs £5 to take a Taxi across town, it costs upwards of £50 a week to keep a car sat on the drive (which only gets used once or twice a week). They don't need cars....

Just out of curiosity, what age do you class as old.

I've been driving approx. 40 years, my driving ability hasnt been reduced because of my age. More experience, to me, means a better driver and certainly not stressing over other drivers. You are so full of angst, Im not sure I would actually like to be in the passenger seat of your car.

rdwarr

SOME old drivers are poor just as some women can't reverse and some men drive too quickly.

I was surprised when I first joined the IAM to find so many active members over 60 who were far better drivers than 95% of their younger counterparts. Let's not drag this forum down to a platform for airing outdated ageist stereotypes.

SailorSam

wullien4900 wrote: »

On hindsight i should hive just called the police there and then.

If you'd called the police you'd still be waiting now.
If there are no injuries a small bump will be way down their priorities.