What age will you stop driving?

Steve182

I will probably stop driving when I am unable to safely and confidently keep up with the flow of traffic driving at the speed limit.

knightstyle

I don't think it is a matter of age.  We are both in our 70s and still driving, we have an agreement with our daughter that when she says we must stop driving we will send our licenses back.
It is important for people to have someone else with them for a drive from time to time to check their driving as they get older.

Ibrahim5

The important bit is to be able to access other forms of transport. We walk, cycle, use buses, trains, taxis, Uber. When I stop driving I will just use more of the other forms. Some people are so dependent on their cars and never use anything else. When their cars go they can be lost.

marlot

I persuaded my mum to give up her car and put the money into a taxi fund.

Nothing to do with her age though - she's always been a very poor driver.

marlot

>> What age will you stop driving?

I'd rather like to see some top-up training (not necessarily a test) for every driver every five years.  Even just a couple of hours with a driving instructor.

We all pick up bad habits.

It is bonkers that I can pass my test at 17, and never have to have another day of training in my life.  I'd be struck off from my professional body if I didn't do my annual training.  But the most dangerous thing I do is driving a 1.5 tonne lump of metal each day.

Someone who is 80 might have passed their test in 1958.  There have been a lot of changes to cars, rules and roads since then.

BOWFER

I'm 54 and would happily pack in driving now if there was a viable alternative, I take no joy from driving any more at all.
Busy local roads, potholes everywhere, average speed cameras making long journeys a chore.
Thank god for motorbike track days to release my speed demons.

motorguy

The problem is for old people, by the time you get to that age, you are otherwise extremely limited in mobility, so having a car is likely the last freedom you have.

Very difficult for them to give that up and effectively make themselves housebound - no more visiting friends, no more going to the shops.  It also is seen as a step nearer the grave, so hard for people to accept and do.

motorguy

BOWFER said:

I'm 54 and would happily pack in driving now if there was a viable alternative, I take no joy from driving any more at all.
Busy local roads, potholes everywhere, average speed cameras making long journeys a chore.
Thank god for motorbike track days to release my speed demons.

I'm 53 and experiencing similar.  Fortunately i dont need to frequent busy towns / cities and we live out in the country so still some capability for enjoyable motoring.  

But yes, there is no pleasure in general driving now - even just heading to a supermarket or having to go for a specific errand is soul destroying, let alone if someone has to commute.

I do still regularly just go "out for a drive" and i've a weekend car for that purpose, but even that has to be timed to avoid being stuck behind cyclists, lorries and caraners.

Our plan is in the next ten years to sell up and move out the country.  The ideal would be somewhere on mainland europe and live somewhere low / zero maintenance and within easy walking distance of shops, bars and restaurants and then give up on driving altogether.  

Even if we dont leave the country i'd like to move somewhere within real easy access of good amenities - maybe some nice country village or small town, and then just not drive at all.

motorguy

marlot said:

>> What age will you stop driving?

I'd rather like to see some top-up training (not necessarily a test) for every driver every five years.  Even just a couple of hours with a driving instructor.

We all pick up bad habits.

It is bonkers that I can pass my test at 17, and never have to have another day of training in my life.  I'd be struck off from my professional body if I didn't do my annual training.  But the most dangerous thing I do is driving a 1.5 tonne lump of metal each day.

Someone who is 80 might have passed their test in 1958.  There have been a lot of changes to cars, rules and roads since then.

The problem when you hit that age onwards for most is reaction times and ability to read the road ahead.  

BOWFER

motorguy said:

I do still regularly just go "out for a drive" and i've a weekend car for that purpose, but even that has to be timed to avoid being stuck behind cyclists, lorries and caraners.

I've given up on that.
I live about 30 miles from the Cairngorms and used to love an early Sunday motorbike thrash up there. you'd literally have the road to yourself and could play Isle of Man TT.
Not any more.
It's the same with the NC500, the sheer volume of traffic on those once-deserted roads is becoming a huge problem.