They shouldn't be driving

[waynne]

I followed a couple of drivers at the weekend who really shouldn't be driving.

In a 50 they drove at 40 but when a car came the other way they slowed up to under 30.

They also had no anticipation and seemed oblivious to all other road users.

I do wonder how drivers like this get to keep their licences.

[turbonutter69]

I know what you mean. I followed a lady the other day and she just all of a sudden stopped dead in the middle of the road.
Then after a few seconds she decided to put her indicator on and turn left.
Was a good job I was paying attention because she didn't give me much room to stop as it was.

[HDi fun]

It is a great annoyance. Let's chuck some money at public transport and give these people a realistic alternative. I bet they hate driving too.

[Zwaf]

Originally Posted by waynne

I do wonder how drivers like this get to keep their licences.

Judging by police reports main cause of accidents almost anywhere in world are alcohol and speed.
In that light, they will keep their licences forever! They are not speeding, and all they must do to maintain the drivers licens is to avoid to drive while drunk.
Sadly, there is no criteria to value traffic etic and traffic inteligence (no, not spy word - I mean being smart) by the police.
Traffic regulations moves responsibility to other drivers to be carefull about those with lack of logic and skills needed.
Somewhere else in the forum I have write something about road traffic is only kind of traffic where about 90% of participants are amateurs, unlike see, river, air or railroad traffic.

[stamford]

I get allsorts on the daily commute. A strange one last week, following a car home with the road clear ahead of this particluar one, kept hitting the brake pedal for no reason, so I was forever having to watch my distance. I was about to start flashing my headlights to wake them up! Then you get the ones who have to park 1/3rd off their car on the road when exiting a driveway, junction or petrol forecourt, obviously don't have a neck!

[waynne]

I followed someone downhill for about 10 minutes and they had their brakes on the whole way.

[bigbadjoe]

Originally Posted by turbonutter69

I know what you mean. I followed a lady the other day and she just all of a sudden stopped dead in the middle of the road.
Then after a few seconds she decided to put her indicator on and turn left.
Was a good job I was paying attention because she didn't give me much room to stop as it was.

These are the people that cause a lot of crashes. Then you would get the blame for ''driving to close'' or ''driving to fast'' behind if you crashed into them. They are oblivious to other road users and live in a little bubble of ignorance.

They are the sort of people that say ''I have never had a point on my licence and have only been involved in two little bumps, both not my fault''. When we all know it is there fault. But in the eyes of the law, its not.

I tend to overtake jack ass's like this as soon as I can. I have started to develop a sense for this type of driver. Get past em ASAP.

[HDi fun]

I agree. Grab a safe opportunity and leave 'em to it.

[gingerbrother]

Originally Posted by turbonutter69

I know what you mean. I followed a lady the other day and she just all of a sudden stopped dead in the middle of the road.
Then after a few seconds she decided to put her indicator on and turn left.
Was a good job I was paying attention because she didn't give me much room to stop as it was.

exact same thing happened to me last week but she was turning right,i wonder if its the same woman.

[HDi fun]

I'd get them into court and ban them perhaps. But, rather than impose a fine, I'd grant them an allowance so they can use taxis and keep the rest of us safe.

[bigbadjoe]

Originally Posted by HDi fun

I'd get them into court and ban them perhaps. But, rather than impose a fine, I'd grant them an allowance so they can use taxis and keep the rest of us safe.

HDI, that does not sound at all like you. Come on, who has logged onto your acount?

''grant them an allowence so they can use taxis'' Behave. At best, they can have 10% off a buss ticket. Why should they be ferried around in taxi's because of there rubbish at driving?

[HDi fun]

Originally Posted by bigbadjoe

HDI, that does not sound at all like you. Come on, who has logged onto your acount?

''grant them an allowence so they can use taxis'' Behave. At best, they can have 10% off a buss ticket. Why should they be ferried around in taxi's because of there rubbish at driving?

Because they have no other means of getting about. And buses are not especially prealent around here. Maybe that's a different issue.

Bearing in mind that many don't drive more than 3-4 times a month the cost of providing taxis would be minimal and would potentially reduce insurance premiums for the rest of us.

At least my suggestion gets 'em off the road safely and comfortably.

In truth I'd rather they go slowly than drive at speeds where they cannot process information quickly enough to be safe.

But there are also people of my age and younger who are tragically bad drivers. They're the ones I'd like to see 're-educated' at their own expense.

[bigbadjoe]

Still, why should someone be rewarded for being a terrible driver. If your a bad driver, you lose your licence, end of. Deal with it.

Busses arn't that bad are they? I have seen people on the TV use them, and they seem happy

I mean, I'd never use one, but lets face it. I have enough money to pay for a taxi or a group of fat kids to carry me.

[HDi fun]

It's not a reward. It's a means to an end. You want 'em off the road, so do I. They shouldn't be driving so let's make it feasible to stop them doing so.

Buses are rare here - there's no option but to drive a car.

[old-git]

If you get a chance, have a look at their car. I bet there isn't a scratch on it. They are driving to their ability which is good, and is more than can be said of many younger drivers.

Lets just hope that everyone on here stops driving when they start to annoy younger drivers - fat chance

[HDi fun]

Originally Posted by old-git

If you get a chance, have a look at their car. I bet there isn't a scratch on it. They are driving to their ability which is good, and is more than can be said of many younger drivers.

Lets just hope that everyone on here stops driving when they start to annoy younger drivers - fat chance

Perhaps because every panel has been replaced as a result of succesive low speed collisions over the course of a few years.

[old-git]

Originally Posted by HDi fun

Perhaps because every panel has been replaced as a result of succesive collisions over the course of a few years.

I doubt it. Most elderly drivers realise their limits (as opposed to most other drivers) and drive within them. The problem is the impatience of other drivers.

However, I think a retest at, say, 70 would be a good idea, then every 5 years. A sight and hearing test should be a yearly requirement. Although deaf people can drive, being aware that your hearing is not as good as it used to be would be useful to know.

[HDi fun]

Originally Posted by old-git

I doubt it. Most elderly drivers realise their limits (as opposed to most other drivers) and drive within them. The problem is the impatience of other drivers.

However, I think a retest at, say, 70 would be a good idea, then every 5 years. A sight and hearing test should be a yearly requirement. Although deaf people can drive, being aware that your hearing is not as good as it used to be would be useful to know.

Make up your mind please.

[waynne]

I do agree with regular retesting, it will really push up driving standards. If we all had to retake a refresher test and medical every 15 years it would not be a bad thing IMO.

[old-git]

Originally Posted by HDi fun

Make up your mind please.

Not with you there. I am against the blanket assumption that all older drivers should be banned, but I am for the regular testing once you reach a certain age. In fact, regular testing of ALL drivers may not be a bad idea. What other profession lets you loose with a lethal weapon without regular training, refresher courses and testing?

[HDi fun]

OK - that's fair enough. I, too agree that not all older drivers are bad. I also said in a previous post that there are some tragic drivers of my age and younger.

So long as the test accommodates individual's driving styles this would be a good plan. Bad habits aren't necessarily dangerous ones and trying to correct steering 'faults' particularly is a nightmare for any driving instructor.

[Jakeymd]

I understand that the people we are talking about here are just driving within their limits. But their limits are too low. Do you really want people on the road that can't take a bend at more than 10mph or people that slow down for oncoming traffic? What if they unexpectedly need to react to avoid an accident, are their skills up to it? What really annoys me is people who say they can't drive at night. If your can't drive at night you probably can't drive in the day either. Get off the road. As JC said "If you're not interested in cars you probably don't know alot about them, and if you don't know alot about them you probably don't know how they work. And if you don't know how it works how are you supposed to be in control?"

If the speed limit is 50 and their is a driver who's skills can only manage 40 and another who can manage 60 with the same control. Who is safer? The one who will drive upto the speed limit and possibly a little over, but still within their own limits, or some one who believes that it is safe to do 10mph faster than they are capable of?

Rant over. Willing to listen to comments. ( just not ones about spelling or grammer )

[old-git]

Originally Posted by Jakeymd

I understand that the people we are talking about here are just driving within their limits. But their limits are too low. Do you really want people on the road that can't take a bend at more than 10mph or people that slow down for oncoming traffic? What if they unexpectedly need to react to avoid an accident, are their skills up to it? What really annoys me is people who say they can't drive at night. If your can't drive at night you probably can't drive in the day either. Get off the road. As JC said "If you're not interested in cars you probably don't know alot about them, and if you don't know alot about them you probably don't know how they work. And if you don't know how it works how are you supposed to be in control?"

If the speed limit is 50 and their is a driver who's skills can only manage 40 and another who can manage 60 with the same control. Who is safer? The one who will drive upto the speed limit and possibly a little over, but still within their own limits, or some one who believes that it is safe to do 10mph faster than they are capable of?

Rant over. Willing to listen to comments. ( just not ones about spelling or grammer )

The main problem with night driving, as my wife has discovered, is that as you get older you need more light to see by. Not a problem during the day but it becomes a problem at night. Between 20 and 60 years old your eyes deteriorate to the extent that you need twice as much light to see by. This doesn't mean that you have become a bad driver so shouldn't drive at all, just that you should consider whether you should drive at night. My wife doesn't like driving at night but can still handle her remapped 2l turbo Astra very well and is still a wee bit of a girl racer

[Jakeymd]

Ahh, i didn't know that. Thankyou

[HDi fun]

I agree with all you say. But there's nothing to stop you overtaking the slower moving car in front. It can be annoying when there's 55 other cars between you and the slow one in front who have no intention of passing but will not allow you gaps to leapfrog past 3 or 4 at a time.

I find a lot of drivers are very 'inside the car' with poor planning and perception. Not so much about handling - modern cars are incredibly grippy and demand no special skills of the driver. This is not just older drivers either.

Also, I don't want the speed limit on a road set to suit one difficult bend in a twenty mile stretch. This nanny state approach is plain silly.

I would like to see public transport provision increased to allow people the choice. The only way to get reluctant drivers out of their cars is by offering a viable alternative and I cannot think of any other way around this.