Why Some Old Folk Should Not Drive

stephenb

stephenb

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I used to work for Peugeot and took an old dear out for a test drive in an automatic 206. She wanted to see if it fitted on her drive so I drove her home parked it up and we had a brew. Then it was her turn, now she had been driving an auto for many years and a couple of short start and stops and she was fine " Just like my car" was her comment. So sat outside her house on a cul de sac that was full of kids playing and off she slowly goes. Round the corner and all of sudden we were really motoring, all I could see was a lad on his bike in the middle of the road and next second Bang.
Both airbags went off, we hit the bike and the fence was demolished, but fortunately it stopped us from crashing into the lounge of the old folks home. I leapt out s**tting myself thinking my god we got the kid. I ran round the back of the car and could see his bike wheel sticking out and it stopped me cold. Seconds after the street was full and the boys parents reassured me that he had managed to leap off his bike and was unhurt, I don't know how he got away in time.
Anyhow we were both relatively ok, the police arrived but took no action but they did take this pic for me laughing that there was no way I could explain this to my sales manager without it.
So one unregistered write off, back ache and one sore testicle ( I don't know how) and shortly after I decided that car sales wasn't for me.

The old dear sent me a letter explaining she had no idea what happened, just that the car was quicker than hers and she panicked and thought she hit the brake!

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Sorry for the long story.
 
Looking at where that bike wheel is, its a damn good job the kid managed to jetison in time.

People too old to drive, one of my many motoring hates !!
 
Oh dear, just as well you had the photo :lol;

Brand new Audi A8 hire car +American tourist just off the plane+one way system in the rush hour.......... can you see where this story is going? :thinking:

The Audi lasted for 200 yards :bonk: :police:

The best one I heard was the brand new Vauxhall Calibra, sitting outside the showroom 31st July waiting for midnight so that the new owner can drive off at 12.01am....

New owner gets in, starts car and promptly reverses straight into the garage wall. The Calibra had just been launched and there were no parts available, so the car ended up off the road for something like 3 months until they turned up :shake:
 
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Bit like this one, new bike no brains :bonk:

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i have read so many stories about people unfit to drive - not just old 'uns! it's scary - i cycle to work and i know motorist generally dont like us, however i have been next to the near side rear quarter of a car at traffic lights. The driver was turning left and was waiting for me to pass. once she realised i wasnt going to pass someone on the inside at a junction :cuckoo: she mouthed something i mouthed something and she sped off.

i know the rules of the road and she had right of way at all times. or was she being overly cautious.
 
OMG :eek: Someone could've been killed. There should be compulsory driving tests once you reach 60, and then every few years. I've been stuck behind far too many dangerous OAP drivers :cuckoo:
Hope you are ok :hug:
 
33L said:
i have read so many stories about people unfit to drive - not just old 'uns! it's scary - i cycle to work and i know motorist generally dont like us, however i have been next to the near side rear quarter of a car at traffic lights. The driver was turning left and was waiting for me to pass. once she realised i wasnt going to pass someone on the inside at a junction :cuckoo: she mouthed something i mouthed something and she sped off.

i know the rules of the road and she had right of way at all times. or was she being overly cautious.
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Prolly thought she was doing you a favour, when she saw you mouth something prolly thought "well theres gratitude for you"

Its wrong of her to speed off though.

I've had it myself loads of times, people often STOP on a dual carriageway to let me and my 2 kids cross. Kind and all that, but bluddy stupid. They dont think that other cars might be comming up on their outside which would mow me and my kids down. They get all upset and "well theres gratitude for you" when I beckon them to drive on !!
 
A very, very lucky young man. I like elderly drivers, they keep the recovery industry in work....

I`ve towed them after they driven through the backs of their garages, in no end of ditches etc.

And the one thing they generally have in common? They were all driving automatics...
 
A design problem with Peugeots, the accelerator and brake pedals are too close together, especially on the smaller models.
 
Bloody OAP drivers, do they not realise driving 20 mph UNDER the speed limit is actually more dangerous? DANGEROUS TO MY SODDING BLOOD PRESSURE!!!!

And breathe :D
 
wack61 said:
Bit like this one, new bike no brains :bonk:
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That reminds me of when a friend bought a brand new R1 (1000cc/170 mph bike).

Sales man told him to watch out as the tyres would be slippy & he replied that he knew about tyres / 20 years on bikes / bla bla etc

He was a bit sheepish when he took it back to get fixed after falling of on the very first roundabout :lol:


(it was the bike shop that told us about it )
 
What I like about old age motorists are the ones who insist on having the engine revving at about 3-4,000 revs as if it were a plane preparing for take off. :lol:
 
nilagin said:
What I like about old age motorists are the ones who insist on having the engine revving at about 3-4,000 revs as if it were a plane preparing for take off. :lol:
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What, whilst doing 3 mph in 1st gear !! :lol: Theres one or seventeen like that round where I live .....

Drive me mad
 
mrgubby said:
That reminds me of when a friend bought a brand new R1 (1000cc/170 mph bike).

Sales man told him to watch out as the tyres would be slippy & he replied that he knew about tyres / 20 years on bikes / bla bla etc

He was a bit sheepish when he took it back to get fixed after falling of on the very first roundabout :lol:


(it was the bike shop that told us about it )
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A pal of mine has the dubious honour of being the first person in the country to write off a Yam R1.

Did it in style though, he rode it through a shop window!:lol::lol:
 
Betty said:
Bloody OAP drivers, do they not realise driving 20 mph UNDER the speed limit is actually more dangerous? DANGEROUS TO MY SODDING BLOOD PRESSURE!!!!

And breathe :D
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its the ones that do 40mph EVERYWHERE that are even worse, 40mph on dual carriageways, Aroads, in 60 limits, 50limits, 40 limits, 30limits, 20limits. how unobservant do you have to be to constantly be unaware of differing speedlimits
 
Betty said:
Bloody OAP drivers, do they not realise driving 20 mph UNDER the speed limit is actually more dangerous? DANGEROUS TO MY SODDING BLOOD PRESSURE!!!!

And breathe :D
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It's also classed as driving without due care and attention ;)
 
People do time or face heavy fines & lenghty bans for causing accidents
whilst under the influence of drink or drugs.

If they crash or get stopped then they are in big trouble.

What penalties are set in place for being old & 'unaware'?
 
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I sell cars for both Alfa Romeo and Skoda and I've yet to experience airbag deployment on a test drive.

The Skoda test drives are generally safer than the Alfa ones as the people who want to drive the Alfas always want the thrash the crap out of them thinking that being an Italian built sports car it must handle similar to a Ferrari F430, when in fact most of them seem to handle not especially well, with the exception of the Brera S.

FYI for anyone who is interested. We did a test the other day a Brera 2.4JTDm (210bhp) couldn't keep up with an Octavia 2.0TDi DSG Estate. I always like it when the Skodas are faster/better than other cars people expect them to be!

Sorry for off topicness. Gutted about the 206 test drive, I wonder what she bought in the end? One the plus side one less 206 on the road.
 
minimeeze said:
OMG :eek: Someone could've been killed. There should be compulsory driving tests once you reach 60, and then every few years. I've been stuck behind far too many dangerous OAP drivers :cuckoo:
Hope you are ok :hug:
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I see where you are coming from, but give me a break, I'll be one in five years time, I would be one in a couple of months, but I'm male.

Take a look at the stats on young drivers and maybe you won't worry about me....

:)
 
Betty said:
Bloody OAP drivers, do they not realise driving 20 mph UNDER the speed limit is actually more dangerous? DANGEROUS TO MY SODDING BLOOD PRESSURE!!!!

And breathe :D
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Well Betty's AND subsequent posts sound a bit like 'Grumpy old men / women' to me, a bit like middle aged old farts talking about folks that are a bit older farts than them.

Chill a bit, you are (or should be) in control of your own blood pressure.....or maybe clearly not.:gag:
 
My god, at 60 we are all going to be doddery old age pensioners, and such a danger on the roads it will require a driving test every two years.:shake::shake::shake:
 
Betty said:
Bloody OAP drivers, do they not realise driving 20 mph UNDER the speed limit is actually more dangerous? DANGEROUS TO MY SODDING BLOOD PRESSURE!!!!

And breathe :D
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I'll have you know that many of those careful old drivers have never had an accident in their lives ....... they've seen plenty, though!!! :D
 
shoshone said:
I see where you are coming from, but give me a break, I'll be one in five years time, I would be one in a couple of months, but I'm male.

Take a look at the stats on young drivers and maybe you won't worry about me....

:)
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Galaxy66 said:
My god, at 60 we are all going to be doddery old age pensioners, and such a danger on the roads it will require a driving test every two years.:shake::shake::shake:
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I'm not saying that everyone over 60 is old and doddery, just that i think that everyone should have to be tested to make sure they are still roadworthy and aware of hazards. Older people probably are a minority when it comes to drivers but some of the OAP drivers I've seen are worse than the boy racers out there. One nearly ran me over yesterday in a carpark :eek: I was parked up at the GP surgery where I was going to do an antenatal clinic. I was getting my equipment from the boot of my car when this stupid man turned his car around and missed me by about 1/2".
I'd be happy to take another test to prove I'm still roadworthy when I reach 60.
 
I wonder if the wee old woman who passed me on the motorway a while back would fail a retest? She was on the hard shoulder at the time....


Oh, and she was going in the opposite direction to everyone else :lol:

Another of those "Why didn't I bring a camera?" moments....
 
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That is a very scary story! You must have been scared stiff that you'd find the boy badly injured or worse.

I have mixed feelings on older people driving. My Dad used to be a good driver but now he's not so good, and can't see like he used to. Recently he's proved several times just how poor his sight is, when he hasn't even recognised me when I've been standing within around 20 metres of him. He's also pulled out in front of cars more than once in the last year while I've been with him and I have no idea how he hasn't seen the other cars. However, he is still classed as 'fit to drive'.

If older people were banned from driving though, where would you draw the line? Nobody's driving ability is perfect, and hardly anyone's sight is going to be perfect either. You can't make it so strict that nobody can drive unless they're at the peak of fitness, but the line does at least need to be drawn in a different place. As minimeeze said, maybe a test at 60 would be sensible. Not really for driving ability but for general awareness, and of course far more stringent eye tests.

Now who do I blame for putting me in this serious mood? :woot:
 
we got stuck behind an old lady who was driving along in the 3rd lane (nothing in the slow or 2nd lanes at all) at 55mph causing everyone to have to filter into the fast lane (while it was quite busy) i got stuck behind because of the volume of traffic and the fact i was driving a 1.2 honda jazz which couldnt pull the skin of a rice pudding. i gave her a flash of the lights and a bit of a point to suggest she should move over (she clearly didnt see) a few cars swept right across from the fast to the slow lane infront of her flashing their hazards at her but she still didnt see, i gave her a few flashes again and finally after a mile the fast lane was clear enough for me to get passed. she was clearly in a DANGEROUS world of her own.


shouldnt be on the road.
 
whitewash said:
we got stuck behind an old lady who was driving along in the 3rd lane (nothing in the slow or 2nd lanes at all) at 55mph causing everyone to have to filter into the fast lane (while it was quite busy) i got stuck behind because of the volume of traffic and the fact i was driving a 1.2 honda jazz which couldnt pull the skin of a rice pudding. i gave her a flash of the lights and a bit of a point to suggest she should move over (she clearly didnt see) a few cars swept right across from the fast to the slow lane infront of her flashing their hazards at her but she still didnt see, i gave her a few flashes again and finally after a mile the fast lane was clear enough for me to get passed. she was clearly in a DANGEROUS world of her own.


shouldnt be on the road.
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I've encountered a few people like that, not necessarily all of them old though, they are usually hunched over the steering wheel gripping it tightly and frightened to take their eyes of the road in front of them.
 
nilagin said:
I've encountered a few people like that, not necessarily all of them old though, they are usually hunched over the steering wheel gripping it tightly and frightened to take their eyes of the road in front of them.
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That, in itself is scary isn't it.

Tunnel vision. Police should actively pull these people over and issue a "retake your test" ticket.

Or a least make them take that advanced drivers course.
 
Borats Baby said:
That, in itself is scary isn't it.

Tunnel vision. Police should actively pull these people over and issue a "retake your test" ticket.

Or a least make them take that advanced drivers course.
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Some of the people I've seen, I think the police would need to box them in with four cars and physically move them to the hard shoulder with the cars. I don't think they would notice anything else around them otherwise.
 
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