Elderly drivers - if and when should they be re-tested?

[givemeaspell]

I used to be a regular poster on these boards, however been MIA for a while.  However just wondering what peoples thoughts are on licences with elderly.  There have been quite a few accidents recently, accelorator being mistaken for brake etc.  I know there are also alot of accidents with P Platers.  However, when should someone give up driving?  Who makes that decision? Speaking to a local shop owner the other day and he told me about a guy that is very unstead on his feet and in his opinion should not be driving, is it the shop keepers responsibility to report him? Have people had to tell elderly parents they should no longer be driving (when the time comes?)

interested in thoughts.

[bluecat*dancing]

You're a spring chicken, Jean.

[***super_nova***]

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@jean2579 wrote:

It is very difficult living in a country or regional area where public transport is non existent.

In our case to get to the local bus stop involves a very long walk which my husband cannot manage.

The alternative of a cab involves a fee of $30each way making for a very expensive day out.

Once I can no longer drive we will be effectively isolated in our home.

I do not know the answer.

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I do not think there is much point of having certain age when people need to be tested.  Some should never have a license in the 1st place, while others are competent drivers in their 80s.  i am in my late 60s and I am very conscious of the fact that nowadays need to concentrate harder, and I would not attempt any long trip without staying over night half way.  But i have friends who seem to be totally unaware that their driving abilities are not what they used to be, and I have experienced some hair raising rides with them.  People need to stop and have a really good look at themselves.  Some years ago friend of mine mentioned that she is worried about her dad's driving, and that she is afraid her dad will hurt himself, but that she hasn't got the heart to suggest to him to stop driving.  Few weeks later he fell sleep at a heel, crossed over to the wrong side of the road, and killed young man, father of 3 small children, as well as himself.

Also there is a big difference driving in a small country town, and in the city.  There should be restricted license for old people, which would allow them to drive locally, like to the nearest shops, railway station, bus stop etc. 

[lurker172602]

As I get older I think some people's perceptions of what 70 is like is a bit warped.  I look around at some of my friends who are in their 70s, or fast approaching it, and there is nothing wrong with them.  A lot of them are volunteering all over town.  Many are playing golf (walking, not riding in a buggy) 2-3 times a week.  All of them are in sound mind.

Thats not to say all 70 year olds are okay to drive.  I just think it needs broader thinking than just a number on the calendar.

[jean2579]

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@bluecat*poledancing wrote:

You're a spring chicken, Jean.

Aw shucks blue at. Lubs U. 😘

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[lyndal1838]

Here in NSW drivers have to have an annual medical examination from age 75 but not a driving test till in their 80s.

There is also a restricted license....the terms are usually discussed with the person's doctor.  Some people cannot drive at night, others are restricted to certain daylight hours and certain areas.

[givemeaspell]

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@i-once-was-bump wrote:

I was horrifed at the thought of my father getting a restricted license because a limit of 10km from home would have seen him on some of the busiest roads in the area and the state.

My sister and brother in law decided to come up one weekend and put it to mum and doad that dad could no longer drive and if there were any problems my brother in law would drive their car back to Sydney (I was going to gather up the keys in the morning they were coming up).

I know of too many elderly couples where they drive the car together, one does the physical part and the other does all the directions and that scares the bejesus out of me.

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this is what my parents do bump! she says its ok if im in the car with him I said you cannot  put your foot on the brake!

[the_great_she_elephant]

I hate the word 'elderly.' Every time I hear it I think of this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLlTlYfqQV4

I don't mind being old though. As I tell everyone, age is the price we pay for the gaining of wisdom.

[cee-dee]

Listeners must have been very patient in 1957 listening to that and I guess lotsa people would have wanted to do Tweedly a mischief?

The thing is, up to a point it was an indication of the Political Correctness to come?

[lurker172602]

My grandma, who lived to 101, said the trick to getting to her age was to just keep breathing and it will happen 

[viewmont1071]

Had more than one white knuckle trip with old "Joe" they took his licence off him at 90... but he still drove to town

anyways.

At 95, being blind in one eye and not being able to see out of the other, he memorably swerved around the 30 odd cattle he was looking for in a 70 hp 4wd tractor took out 200 metres of our front fence and his first words to me were

"#uck I thought I was going to hit that school bus... he drives too fast..., you need to fix your bloody driveway there's potholes and logs all along it, lucky I had the blade down...... 'ave you seen any of my black 'eifers"?.

He navigated the tractor by keeping the left hand wheels in the table drain.... pulled him out of more than one culvert.

The local consensus on what to do if he was driving towards you was "pull over, stop and prey"

It was the d3 bulldozer incident that finally stopped him driving to town... he pushed his falcon through the back of the
shed and into a Tallowood because he forgot he was driving the bulldozer and thought he was in the car.

Having said that he was navigating his 300 acre farm on foot following the cow tracks until about 12 months before he

died.

Thank you Joe for your service, knowledge and friendship

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20150603019

More than 5,000 people gathered at Bowraville to attend the Nambucca Valley commemorations. Whilst many of the communities in the Nambucca Valley held their own dawn services, it was wonderful to see the people of Nambucca Heads, Bowraville and Macksville come together to attend the service, which commenced with a welcome to country and wreath laying ceremony. Importantly, the Nambucca Guardian News reported that on 15 April, just 10 days short of Anzac Day, the last surviving Light Horseman in the Nambucca district, Hilton "Joe" Mitchell of Mitchells Road, Valla, had passed away at age 97 years.

A guard of honour was formed by members of the 15th Light Horse Brigade at his funeral. In 1939 Hilton enlisted in the army and in January 1945 he joined the 2/32 Transport Platoon and sailed to New Guinea to join the war. He returned home in December 1945 after the war.

His story is a good one

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MY-VALLA-STORY-by-JOE-MITCHELL-1st-ed-SIGNED-c1996-/321961004987