Elderly drivers

RichardtheSane said:
I don't think anyone is saying that about all older drivers.
But it is hard to ignore the fact that there is a certain age demographic who are much more likely to be found driving significantly slower than other traffic on the road. Fortunately for the most part the ones who do this often buy the same sort of vehicle and are therefore easier to spot at a distance.

It's no different to folk who generalise and put all drivers of a certain german car brand in the same bracket. Or 4x4 drivers. Etc. It's a generalisation based on experience...
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Copied from an earlier post in this thread.

Scone hunting, coffin dodgers are a bloody pest on the roads. The end!!
 
I am 97 years old and drive a Ferrari Testarone at over 120 mph everywhere and have never, ever watched Top Gear without a tear in my eye and a yearning for Jeremy Clarkson's body. Yes. Let that be a lesson to you young Eddy.
 
If we are talking bad habits & things that peeve us..... I went over to Wales the other evening about 8:30. As I got onto the Severn Bridge I had a few cars behind me in the distance, a handful of cars in front of me the closest by a good half a mile if not more & a single car in the 3rd lane doing about 65mph......

I couldn't tell you if the person was old or not. I can tell you they were obviously a tw*t though :)
 
StewartR said:
...When I was learning to drive, I was taught to look at the cars around me, imagine what is the most stupid thing they could do, and make sure I was prepared for it to happen. Apparently you weren't taught the same way.
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I was never taught it but it was the philosophy that got me through 25 years biking without a scratch.
 
LeeRatters said:
If we are talking bad habits & things that peeve us..... I went over to Wales the other evening about 8:30. As I got onto the Severn Bridge I had a few cars behind me in the distance, a handful of cars in front of me the closest by a good half a mile if not more & a single car in the 3rd lane doing about 65mph......

I couldn't tell you if the person was old or not. I can tell you they were obviously a tw*t though :)
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:lol:...just laughed out loud at that...how very true !

Round here age doesn't seem to matter......NSL lane I use every day....regularly follow people doing 25-30mph who then promptly whizz up to 40-45mph as soon as we get to the 30mph limit....does my freaking head in :mad: & yes....drive like everyone is out to get you ......was taught that when learning to ride my motorsickle & it's served me well
 
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Another biker here who drives as defensively as he rides. Or will when the rectal orifices at the DVLA extract their digits and give me back my license!
 
I see bad driving from loads of people on my 35 mile round trip to work and back, not just nit-picky stuff but fundamental mistakes that are just dangerous.

Not sure if it's an old/young/male/female thing (although there are statistics proving young males are more likely to crash in a big way) but one of the most dangerous traits I see is people turning right on a roundabout from the left hand lane when you can use both lanes to go straight across.
Obviously there are some roundabouts where this is permitted and there are signs to say use both lanes for right turns but otherwise you've got decent potential for a collision!

Then there's speed limits..... like others have said, some people seem to have no comprehension of what the NSL sign means or have a clue about lane discipline. The same people seem to have the attitude of "I'm doing the speed limit, I can be in the 'fast lane'" regardless of whether there are any cars in lane 1.

I know a lot of people are more conscious of fuel economy now and will stick to 50-60MPH to save fuel, that's fine on a single carriageway NSL road but if they're doing it on a dual carriageway/motor way they need lane 1 unless they're overtaking... simples.

While we're talking about saving fuel...... a guy I used to work with said his elderly mother drove EVERYWHERE at 56mph as she was told that was the most economical speed!!!

I got stuck behind a few Sunday drivers yesterday. Had to pick up an eBay purchase for a friend and whilst I was in no real hurry but it was around a 60min drive each way, I wanted to be there and back as quickly as I could whilst obviously being safe ;) So people who want to use the limits to their maximum to make good progress when it's safe to do so aren't just those who haven't left enough time and are late. Some of us have got better things to do than sit at 40-50mph on a road that we could safely do 70mph on. By making good progress where possible I saved myself about 20mins...... although I was greeted by my in-laws when I got home so perhaps I should have gone slower :lol:
 
Pretty sure I've read somewhere that 56 is pretty much the most economical speed. It's where official consumption figures are taken so manufacturers tune their engines to be most economical there. Not tried mine at 56 to see how it does at that point but it is actually a little more economical a little over the NSL (about 78-9) than it is at 70. I reckon the 1st turbo kicks in at those revs. I know that at 20 it insists on 2nd gear but at 24 it's happy in 3rd.
 
Nod said:
Pretty sure I've read somewhere that 56 is pretty much the most economical speed. It's where official consumption figures are taken so manufacturers tune their engines to be most economical there. Not tried mine at 56 to see how it does at that point but it is actually a little more economical a little over the NSL (about 78-9) than it is at 70. I reckon the 1st turbo kicks in at those revs. I know that at 20 it insists on 2nd gear but at 24 it's happy in 3rd.
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The biggest factor when you get above 60mph is wind resistence, I can't remember the exact scientific reason but it's along the lines of wind resistence increases in a non-linear way with regards to speed.

For example if the wind resistence is 0.6 at 40mph at 60mph it'd be 1.5, at 70 2.7 etc (completely made up figures to illustrate a point).

However...... I find with my car there are speeds that are a bit "in between" gears where going a bit faster might give you better MPG relative to that gear but there's still a definite drop off once you get over 60-65MPH.......... I certainly see a difference when I maintain a constant 70MPH...... I can only imagine what it's like when you get to 80-85mph ;)
 
78 in mine is a meagre 1750 revs... The joys of biggish Diesels!!! (And I don't mean large Aussie lesbians!) Mrs Nod's car hunts a little at 30 going up steepish hills - happier at 33 though. Just got to keep an eye out for the Volvo that leaps out a metre or so into the road before he stops to see what's coming. Bloody crumple zones!!!

The slightly scientific reason behind the wind resistance is that air is quite thick, hence a falling body reaching a terminal velocity in air. IIRC, the resistance increases logarithmically in relation to the speed - but it's 30+ years since school so don't quote me on that!
 
Lynton said:
Now for the $64,000 question. Generally, Did boys price come down to meet girls price, or did girls price go up to match the boys?
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<worlds most sarcastic tone of voice ever> Was it the girls price that went up perchance?
 
Nod said:
78 in mine is a meagre 1750 revs... The joys of biggish Diesels!!! (And I don't mean large Aussie lesbians!) Mrs Nod's car hunts a little at 30 going up steepish hills - happier at 33 though. Just got to keep an eye out for the Volvo that leaps out a metre or so into the road before he stops to see what's coming. Bloody crumple zones!!!

The slightly scientific reason behind the wind resistance is that air is quite thick, hence a falling body reaching a terminal velocity in air. IIRC, the resistance increases logarithmically in relation to the speed - but it's 30+ years since school so don't quote me on that!
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That's the word I was looking for!!! :lol: and it's only 20(ish) years since I was at school.

Mines a 2.0TDCi, find I have to be doing at least 65MPH on a flat road before it's worth putting it into 6th gear.

I did a run to Center Parcs at Elvaden Forrest (about 100 miles each way), had my in-laws in convoy so it probably wasn't the most economical run there and back....... Kept the speeds reasonable on the way there as it was a bit wet with plenty of spray and got 53MPG, on the way back I *averaged* 58MPH but and got 46MPG.

On a trip to Wales there were lots of 50MPH zones on the M25, M1 and M6, then we hit some nasty rain with lots of standing water so I was spending plenty of the journey (boringly at 50-60MPH) but averaged nigh on 60MPG!
 
I find the worst drivers in this area are the young -ish women they tear around as if there is no tomorrow. Today I was slowly reversing out of the parking space at the local Asda when this stupid young women came tearing past the back of me.
 
swiftflo said:
I find the worst drivers in this area are the young -ish women they tear around as if there is no tomorrow. Today I was slowly reversing out of the parking space at the local Asda when this stupid young women came tearing past the back of me.
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My brother's niece is nearly 20 and has been driving for a couple of years, she fits the description you've highlighted. Harsh acceleration, late braking etc and seemingly clueless to the laws of physics and potential hazards, especially on busy residential roads.
 
Nod said:
Pretty sure I've read somewhere that 56 is pretty much the most economical speed. It's where official consumption figures are taken so manufacturers tune their engines to be most economical there. Not tried mine at 56 to see how it does at that point but it is actually a little more economical a little over the NSL (about 78-9) than it is at 70. I reckon the 1st turbo kicks in at those revs. I know that at 20 it insists on 2nd gear but at 24 it's happy in 3rd.
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Engines are "tuned" on a dyno with no gearbox, so there is no way of telling what the road speed would be at it's most optimum. Engines are just mapped according to fuel rating availability and the ecu adjusts makes it's own adjustments to other elements in the combustion process.
The turbo will be spinning at considerable rpm (17000rpm if I remember rightly) just on idle.
 
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realspeed said:
If you can't plan your trip to allow time for the unexpected then possibly taking a driving course again would be a good idea.
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How much extra time would you allow for the unexpected? Last Monday as a result of the high winds a mate got stuck in traffic waiting to join the M25 to use the Dartford Tunnel. At the point he hit traffic it was 7:00am. On a normal day it would have been no later than 7:45 that he reached his destination after getting through the tunnel. By 2:00pm he'd reached the next junction just before the Dartford tolls, turned off and went back home.
 
Very handy them smileys.
 
swiftflo said:
I find the worst drivers in this area are the young -ish women they tear around as if there is no tomorrow. Today I was slowly reversing out of the parking space at the local Asda when this stupid young women came tearing past the back of me.
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Being completely frank and open, that was me at one point (without being a woman). When I first started driving alone, everything was very much slow and steady. After about six months I became overconfident and started accelerating hard and braking hard in my 1.2 litre hatchback. I then calmed down and have been driving relatively sensibly since.

One thing I've always done though is check blindspots before pulling any manouvre.
 
Cheers again Gramps and subsequent posters for replying to my plea.
I decided not to give specifics in an email to the company, but if they do want to act, they can always ask for more details.
 
Eddzz!! said:
The conditions were empty NSL road. He was joining my route of travel from a T-junction. It was my space that he was pulling dangerously into, not the other way around. I was driving at 60mph and he decided it was safe to pull out in front of me. That's somehow my fault? :cuckoo: If there had been a driver who was perhaps 'less aware' in my position, there could have well been a serious collision. Notice I say collision and not 'accident'. I feel that word suggests no one is to blame when clearly there would have been :shrug:
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Its called hazard perception, I believe its part of the test now. If your approaching a junction and there's a stationary vehicle you should be aware of the potential danger and adjust your speed appropriately.

Steve
 
steve_v said:
Its called hazard perception, I believe its part of the test now. If your approaching a junction and there's a stationary vehicle you should be aware of the potential danger and adjust your speed appropriately.

Steve
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Conversely, if you can see the stationary vehicle the stationary vehicle should be able to see you......

If everyone slowed down every time they saw a stationary vehicle at a junction no one would go anywhere fast ;)
 
It occurs to me that if all the usual driving Gods who post on Talk Photography were as good with their cameras, there'd be a lot better pictures to critique, especially in the Transport section! :whistling:

The only thing I can say about my own driving as I've grown older is that I've slowed from "If you didn't want to be overtaken you should have driven faster" to "If you want to overtake, no problem but you'll have to drive faster!" :naughty:
 
Yves Geza said:
It occurs to me that if all the usual driving Gods who post on Talk Photography were as good with their cameras, there'd be a lot better pictures to critique, especially in the Transport section! :whistling:
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At least they have cameras
 
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