Fit to drive?

alastairq

mikey72 wrote: »

Doesn't stop you driving though. So quite how they're taken into account doesn't seem to affect the dvla.
Unless as Paradigm says you tick the yes box.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_4020730.pdf

well, yes, it does, actually....certainly as far a using vocational categories of licence is concerned......but then, what many folk don't realsie is, vocational categories [C and D] can be suspended by the roadside...there are agencies that have that power...

Strider590

alastairq wrote: »

HAmmyman is right in his assertions......although he was allowed to make an assumption initially by the OP.....so the response is a tad unfair.

However, what Hammyman didn't hilite is the problem that lorry drivers [and bus drivers] particularly can find themselves involved in a collision that they were 'unaware' of...


As for Strider and others.....I sincerely hope that when you folk get to 60, you will promise to surrender your licences to the DVLA, and take taxis....


What's that you say?

No chance?

The very first time I start saying things like "look at all these impatient drivers behind us!!", "it's not a race", "look at this guy overtaking me in his little sports car, with his little L(oonatic) plates", "oh it's ok, I can park in the middle of the road on a pedestrian crossing, im too old for them to stop me!!".

This is the day I post my license back to the DVLA.

The only thing I have to say in defence is that for some reason car manufacturers design cars for them, which do nothing but sap away the drivers confidence...... Like the Yaris with it's huge convex mirrors that make it look like everyone is tailgating you aggressively when in fact they're 1/4 mile behind.

I firmly believe that getting old is 90% mental attitude, if you think your old and past it and that everyone should give way for you, you'll end up adopting that persona.... There was a documentary that proved this some years ago.


On the driving front, driving "like an old duffer" will only result in p!ssing people off and being made to feel intimidated on the roads, thus squashing your confidence as a driver and turning you into a dithering wreck. It's a vicious circle of behaviour that only leads to worse driving and more anger from other road users.

Just like that woman on "bad driving school" who was afraid to drive at any sort of reasonable speed, her behaviour was worsened by the negative impact it had on other drivers "they're scaring me, im going to slow down".

lindopski_2

I drive a real old wreck - a falling to bits late 90s Diesel Rover 400
every time I park it up at a supermarket I come back to a new scratch or dent, the lucky thing is 'I dont care' the car cost £300 three years ago and has ran fine so far and passed 3 MOT's with next to no work.
It owes me nothing and was a wreck when I bought it having been a Cat D write off at some point.

I aim to buy a Mk2 Jag next year and it will go no-where near a supermarket or anywhere the public park anywhere near to me. If you go to places where there are humans you must expect trouble regardless of age.

buy yourself a heap for the day to day stuff and hide the nice car away for safe (or as safe as you can get) motoring only.

alastairq

The only thing I have to say in defence is that for some reason car manufacturers design cars for them, which do nothing but sap away the drivers confidence...... Like the Yaris with it's huge convex mirrors that make it look like everyone is tailgating you aggressively when in fact they're 1/4 mile behind.

Surely not suggesting that makers re-design cars to not be user-friendly to oldies?

I thought not!.

The Yaris observation doesn't just affect oldies..it affect young drivers too.....

When Ford were looking to replace the Escort [with what turned out to be the Focus]...they were concerned their sales figures [for the Escort] made but small inroads into the burgeoning older-car-buyer market.

So they collaborated with [ I think?] Loughborough Colleges to produce a 'suit' that would allow a young designer to experience what it is like to be 'old'....to experience the physical limitations age brings about.

The first thing they discovered with the Escort was....the difficulties experienced by older folk, simply trying to reach for the seat belt!

Anyway, the end result was the Focus...a car designed for the over-70's!

Strider590

alastairq wrote: »

Anyway, the end result was the Focus...a car designed for the over-70's!

Not disputing that, but I think many small/medium cars have been designed toward that market. As is evident by the way you can ID an elderly driver JUST from the car they're driving. I mean.... Who doesn't see a Suzuki Wagon-R and think "oh !!!!!!, not another one, I don't have time for this ".

alastairq

Who doesn't see a Suzuki Wagon-R and think "oh !!!!!!, not another one, I don't have time for this ".

knowing of life's little ups and downs as I do....be careful, else a Wagon-R may well be the only car you can get into, at some point in the future?

iolanthe07

The fact that at 65 my comprehensive policy for a 1.6 Hyundai is under £200 a year, whereas a nineteen year old would likely have to pay ten times as much, says it all. Older drivers are statistically much safer (up to about 75) and insurance costs reflect that.

pulliptears

I think realistically you have to hope that these people have friends or family who will have a quiet word. When my (late) Dad was ill I'd noticed his reaction time was a lot slower. Dad had been a test driver for Michelin for years and drove all over the UK and USA with his job. He too was an advanced driver and never had an accident.
It was little things I noted, he drove close to the kerb or struggled to park when he's not usually had a problem. I had a quiet word and he decided that I was probably right. He was 74 at the time and struggling with terminal lung cancer but to his credit he recognised he was becoming a risk and did the right thing.

jase1

I would hope that the old driver in the OP's post didn't realise what he did.

If he did, it matters not how old he is, he's a morally-deficient scumbucket for lying to he OP and I hope he chokes on his cornflakes.

Mrs_Ryan

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

You don't need to be an old duffer to have none declarable major heart surgery. Unless he had a heart attack, his heart fell out or a surgeon was still operating when he crashed, was it relevant to the accident or are you just throwing it in for effect?

Lol, no he was driving dangerously. But after the crash the police werent interested in whether we were injured or the fact I also have a heart condition, they were just interested in interrogating OH and telling him how poorly this old duffer was. To which i said if hes that poorly he shouldnt have been on the road, should he???