Bananaman Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=25358&utm_source=Facebook%2B&utm_medium=Social%2B&utm_campaign=OAP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibby Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 What happened to balanced, un-biased journalism? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 hey be careful there is a few old timers in here you know - no names Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 In my old stomping grounds of California, you used to be eligible for a learner's permit at fifteen years and six months old, and your first license at 16, which was good for three years. If you got through those three years without an accident or moving violation, you could get a four-year extension, and then another four years and so on as long as you didn't screw up. If you dropped a clanger, you had to resit the driving test - theory and practical - when your current one ran out, which is a real pain in the and promotes safer driving. They also run a Mature Driver Program. The Mature Driver Program is an eight-hour course for drivers 55 and older. This course covers a variety of topics of special interest to the mature driver and is available from the DMV approved course providers. Their insurance company may offer discounts for those who complete the class and receive a completion certificate. The certificate is valid for three years and can be renewed by completing a four-hour course. Once you hit 70, you can only renew your license at the local DMV office where they check your hearing, eyesight, and physical condition. Seemed to work pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (smokey mow) Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 IMO the problem is not necessarily age and there are plenty of other groups we could have this discussion about as well such as foriegn drivers that have never taken a UK test, and new or inexperienced drivers. We have seen a decline in visible road side policing and a greater reliance of ANPR and speed cameras for bringing prosecution, but neither of these are capable of catching the dangerous driver who unless spoken to may not necessarily be aware of their errors. I can familarise with the US system having lived and worked out there for a while, and was supprised how law obiding all the drivers were, religiously sticking to the speed limits even on the empty roads for fear of being caught even a couple of mph over the limit. Also what amazed me was how in some states you would be required to retake your driving test if you moved there from a different state. This made me smile since I was living in Cincinnati at the time which crosses the border between Kentucky and Ohio, if you moved to the other side of town you'd need to retake your test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo1968 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 The mature driver program sounds like an excellent idea - up to a point. I think maybe there should be an upper limit to age though - maybe. In my job as an ADI I have to sit next to 17 year old's all the time and would quite frankly be much happier to do that than to sit next to quite a few elderly drivers that I know! A few years ago my wife's dad (was about 85 at the time) got confused with his automatic's pedals and thought the brake was the gas pedal - he ended up shooting out of a side road in reverse at high speed across a main road and through the wall of a pub on the other side. Luckily no one was walking or driving past (or sitting in the pub) and he only suffered some bruising. He said to me later he kept pressing the same pedal as he couldn't believe what the car was doing and he really thought he was pressing the brake (it didn't occur to him that he was pressing the wrong one!). Up to that point he was showing no signs of confusion and was still a very confident driver - which makes me think that perhaps there should a cut off of maybe about 80 or so after which point we should all be made to hang up our driving gloves and let the younger ones take over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibby Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 It's when people get that old they can't read the road signs and don't have the reaction times to deal with modern traffic. All they have to do is get someone to tick the box after 3 years and renew the licence. Stubbon pride will stop them admitting they aren't that safe any more and there is nobody to say they are unfit to drive apart from them. Wouldn't say it's an age thing, someone 90 years old may well be able to drive as well as a 60 year old, it's all down to the individual but a simple test - can you read the numberplate from this far? The touch-screen reaction test so you're not discriminating on age but on ability and basically - are you still safe on the road? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo1968 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I agree with you Dibby, it's just that after what happened to my wife's dad it got me thinking as before the accident he was as sharp as a button and extremely confident - he drove me many times and I never felt unsafe. I'm pretty sure he would have passed any assessment given him. His eyesight was excellent too. He just lost his sense of reasoning all of a sudden - which makes it all the more scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Yep sorry to disagree, sort of, Dibby; while the reaction and eyesight things are perfectly valid tests, they won't catch the "confusion" aspect, which really is the most dangerous. I know exactly what Robo means talking about his father. I've seen similar things happen, (though not in cars) many times. The person concerned usually thinks they're doing the right thing and can't understand why something unexpected is happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 having just past 65 am I allowed to continue driving? Just thought, matters not, as I have a French driving licence. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Surely the possession of a French license should rule you out of driving? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo1968 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 having just past 65 am I allowed to continue driving? Just thought, matters not, as I have a French driving licence. I'll be happy to arrange an assessment? (as long as travelling costs are added in) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibby Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Yep sorry to disagree, sort of, Dibby; while the reaction and eyesight things are perfectly valid tests, they won't catch the "confusion" aspect, which really is the most dangerous. I know exactly what Robo means talking about his father. I've seen similar things happen, (though not in cars) many times. The person concerned usually thinks they're doing the right thing and can't understand why something unexpected is happening. Ah aye, there needs to be a whole range of tests to judge whether someone is safe on the roads. It's not just the elderly, there's medical conditions that can get younger people confused without notice- diabetes, epillepsy, narcolepsy... all sorts you have to declare to your insurer and the DVLA but when the time comes to tick the box on the form to say you're fit and safe there is no audit of your judgement. After living next door to an elderly woman who was blind as a bat, her Vauxhall Chevette was covered in dings but she clung onto her licence until the bitter end and shouldn't have been on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robo1968 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Yeah agree again. It's far too simple just to tick a box and hide all sorts of conditions. Time for law to change... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 The person concerned usually thinks they're doing the right thing and can't understand why something unexpected is happening. Kindly stop talking about me like that. It's just everyone else that's wrong, is all. Sheesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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