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Fri 27 May 2011 23:49

any - funny prang - motorprop

Cycling up a gentle hill in North London, traffic crawling on my right due to serious roadworks further on, I admire a 10 reg Maserati drop top, driver on his handsfree. I'm bang between M&S and Waitrose

I then notice a car parked on the left begin to pull out, thinking ' they must stop ' they will stop, stop stop !! ' kerrunch, hits Maserati in rear wheel and scrapes rear wing as Maser drives past. Astonished driver leaps out, I stop .. I said to him 'I saw everything ' , he then proceeds to chat with the driver of the car, a totally battered white P reg Honda. She eventually emerges - lady is at least 90 y.o , If I'd been 5 metres further, she's have crushed me against the Maser

Now, not really relevant , but a backdrop : Both drivers Jewish , and to our astonishment , the old bat wags her finger and croaks ' It's your fault !! ' at the Maser driver !! He , very civilised all along , looks at me in astonishment and at the small crowd building up - some tarmac lorry gave him the finger for blocking the road - and I had to speak up ' Sorry madam , but it was 100% YOUR fault ' - at this I gave my details to the Maser driver, old bat - with her husband , at least her age , wouldn't look at me

My feeling : She has no business being in charge of a car - every panel was testament to previous shunts and it's obvious she was not in full control of her faculties . Maer driver said his excess was £3000..

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Sat 28 May 2011 07:55

any - funny prang - WellKnownSid

Well done for being an honest witness and being prepared to come forward...!

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Sun 29 May 2011 02:04

any - funny prang - Problem_Polo :-/

I totally agree with you. We used to have similar in my old street, an ancient old fella with a big 406 estate which he quite clearly couldn't drive properly. Again, the thing was covered from corner to corner in scrapes and dings, many of which I would happily bet were the result of scuffing his way in and out of tight parking spots, leaving other people's cars similarly scarred and doubtless driving off into the sunset in blissfull ignorance. One day he managed to force his way into a space outside his house which was a good foot or so shorter than his car, by nudging the car behind (which presumably had a less than brilliant handbrake) out of the way!

This will doubtless open up the endless debate of whether we need periodical age-related retesting, but these cases certainly suggest we do to my mind.

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Sun 29 May 2011 02:22

any - funny prang - jamie745

I think at 60 every driver should have some sort of test. Currently they sign a form which says "im safe to drive, honest!" at 70 i think. I dont think they should be made to do a driving test, havent got time or resources for that but some form of reaction/alertness testing every 10 years after 60 is vital in my opinion. If they cannot come up with some sort of method or system for it then we may as well play it safe and take licences away at 65, which would be horribly draconian but something has to be done.

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Sun 29 May 2011 17:41

any - funny prang - galileo

Many drivers are hopelessly incompetent though aged 25 to 55.

Many drivers in their sixties and seventies have adequate eyesight and reflexes and also the benefit of many years and miles of experience.

Most of them learnt to drive when cars had no seat belts, no airbags, no crumple zones, no power steering, no power disc brakes and crossply tyres. In those days it was known that an accident usually led to pain, blood and hospital. This may be why the accident statistics (and insurance premiums) suggest their age does not make them a major risk.

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Sun 29 May 2011 18:52

any - funny prang - unthrottled

This may be why the accident statistics (and insurance premiums) suggest their age does not make them a major risk.

Except it doesn't. Drivers in their 80s are statistically as likely to be involved in serious accidents as teenagers-and their premiums reflect this. Most insurers start raising premiums from the age of 70.

It is a fact that reflexes and eyesight deteriate with age and eventually this outweighs the benefit of experience.

The new driving test is MUCH more rigorous than the test of the 1950s. There are still a handful of drivers on the road who never had t opass a driving test!

Experience can also breed complacency. My father's driving has slipped. The 'select a gear for the day' mentality has crept in. Indicators used less frequently. Road speed morphed into an amorphous 40ish for situations etc.

Then there's the silly old rules they adhere to: 'slow down with the gears to save the pads', 'warm the engine up before driving off' etc.

Yes, there are some good old drivers-but there are some good young ones too.

Edited by unthrottled on 29/05/2011 at 19:01

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Sun 29 May 2011 20:13

any - funny prang - madf

I think at 60 every driver should have some sort of test. Currently they sign a form which says "im safe to drive, honest!" at 70 i think. I dont think they should be made to do a driving test, havent got time or resources for that but some form of reaction/alertness testing every 10 years after 60 is vital in my opinion. If they cannot come up with some sort of method or system for it then we may as well play it safe and take licences away at 65, which would be horribly draconian but something has to be done.

Gee thanbks. Fancy doubling your tax bill to pay for the aged population using taxis..

I write as a 60+ year old.. All of my marbles are still rattling around..:-)

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Mon 30 May 2011 00:25

any - funny prang - bathtub tom

>>All of my marbles are still rattling around..:-)

Any to spare? ;>)

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