Elderly drivers

[davidc4430]

Elderly drivers: Grieving family calls for greater political courage to deal with 'growing deadly problem

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-20/grieving-family-calls-for-older-drivers-to-be-taken-off-the-ro...

i see where this mother is comming from but geeez, attacking all older drivers because 1 killed her son!

how many sons and daughters are killed by younger drivers each year? is that a "deadly problem" too?

its not worthy of a story.

same as the 'we must kill the sharks because someone got killed by one'

people of all ages die from all sorts of things, we have rules and laws to help protect us but in the end, life is fragile. you can die in a thousand ways, and accidental death is very common.

[davidc4430]

the boys father look quite old, will he be running down to DMV to hand his licence in? how old is mum? perhaps she is too old too?

[shoppingbag*]

People should be judged on their driving history, not their age. How many fines and accidents they have had etc. Some people drive all their lives with never an accident or fine, others rack them up weekly.  I wish we could send our dash-cam footage directly to the police. Or I wish they would come and sit by the stop sign near my home and see how many don't even bother to slow down. The biggest danger are the ones who text while driving. The person who rammed into a family member' car travelled a whole street without ever looking up or slowing down, while he was waiting at the lights. Dashcam footage was sent to the insurer, so I hope she said he slammed on his brakes. Good to have cameras front and back windows, it saves any disputes from arising.

[not_for_sale2024]

I think there are some concerns with aging and driving, but I am not singling out the elderly. Some young drivers can be impatient, impulsive and take poorly judged risks placing themselves and others on the road in danger. But with aging can come visual impairments, decreased alertness and a reduced ability to focus and concentrate. I think it would be sensible and safer for all mature drivers over a certain age if they were tested for these normal, but varied reduction in abilities.

[kopenhagen5]

You CAN send footage to police.

I have often emailed footage to the local police station with complete details.

My father is about to turn 90 and just passed the medical to renew his licence.

He is a strong fit person and a very good driver, always has been.

But he himself has decided to not drive any longer.

That is the difference, those knowing/accepting that they are perhaps not what they used to be as opposed to those in denial/stubborn and being deceitful about their diminishing abilities.

[lyndal1838]

In NSW drivers have to have a medical every year to continue driving from the age of 75 and an actual driving test from the age of 85.

My OH did not rely on the eye test done in the doctor's surgery....he was due to see his optometrist so made an appointment before seeing the doctor for the rest of the test.

He drives for a living and still has a 65% no claim bonus on his insurance.

My father drove up till his late 80s but made the decision not to renew his licence even though he had passed the medical....he cancelled the actual test.

Not all older people are in denial....most can make their own decision when it is time to stop driving and for those that can't the current system in NSW is sufficient to weed out those that are no longer capable IMO.

[springyzone]

I think the biggest killers on our roads are probably the young & in a lot of ways, it would make more sense to not allow anyone under 21 to drive. So many think turning over 18 is the licence to go out drinking (and driving).

But we'll never see that happen. Once you give a privilege to people it is hard to try to take it away.

With the elderly, they can become frail, perhaps their reactions aren't as quick. But in a lot of ways the main danger is to themselves as they are more likely to suffer more physically from even a minor accident.

That's true though whether they are driver or passenger.

Most elderly drivers know their limitations & either stop driving or only drive short distances in well known areas.

I have an aunt who is 91 & drives. But she also walks 4 km or more every day, she does her own housework, cooks for neighbours etc

Should she be deprived of her licence because of her age? No. She has never had an accident.

Perhaps a medical report could be in order for the over 75s. Just a set of standard tests/tick the box type form to say that sight is at minimum requirement etc

I don't believe it would be fair to give the elderly an entire driving test with the simulator part. My young daughter had trouble with that twice. Passed her actual driving no worries but the computer screen gave her troubles. And she uses computers all the time. Not fair to elderly who maybe never use a computer.

[the4masters2013]

You basically said what I was thinking about the young drivers.

Bahurst can be a nightmare around October when drivers think all the roads have a 300km an hour speed limit!!

Even though, in reality , the ordinary car isn't buit to go quite that fast.

It's a matter of the quick or the dead if crossing the roads around here.

Minimal arrests during the last Bathurst 1000 (3 0r 4 which isn't bad for an extra 204,000 people in town.)

The police handed out hundreds of speeding tickets between Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange.

Yes, they were mainly the young drivers.

[davidc4430]

Melbourne toddler struck by car in Avondale Heights driveway

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-21/avondale-heights-toddler-struck-in-driveway/9278182

kids getting runover by reversing cars is a growing problem! we must remove 'reverse' from car gearboxes!

and driveways, no more driveways, its the only way to curb this growing dangerous situation!

[lyndal1838]

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@springyzone wrote:

Perhaps a medical report could be in order for the over 75s. Just a set of standard tests/tick the box type form to say that sight is at minimum requirement etc

---

NSW has had medicals for over 75s to continue driving for many years as well as actual testing once they turn 85.

My father had his first medical in 1988 and it was not new then.

My OH had his first medical last month.....he brought his optometrist visit forward and had a full certificate stating he met the NSW sight requirements for holding a licence.  So a little more than a chart on the doctors wall.

The rest of the form was filled out by the doctor who has been his doctor for over 30 years, so there was no way of hiding anything there.