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.

[this-one-time-at-bandcamp]

The war department's nana had to be convinced that the police were looking for her before she gave up her '64 Thunderbird.  She had a habit of hitting the sherry, then trying to drive by feel.

[performance_parts_clearance_centre]

Friend of mine well into his 80's (fellow presenter at a community radio station) did the "mistake the brake for the acccelerator" bit in the car park of the shopping centre where the radio station lives - wrote off his car (property damage only, no other vehicles or people involved, happily), scared himself badly, and handed his license in straight away.

[springyzone]

My husband has to go for regular eye checks for a Dr report so he can keep his licence. I think they were 6 monthly for a while but have now been put to 5 years.

He's not into the elderly bracket yet but has diabetes & apparently most people who have diabetes are supposed to have regular checks as part of keeping their licence. Probably depends on how serious the condition is though.

[domino-710]

I drive distances - I love driving.

How many - crosses - how many bouquets - how many tributes - do I see for Grandpa or Grandma.

Not yet - not one.

These are tributes for drivers - that should not be drivers - just because they gained a licence.

No matter the age - the question is - CAN you drive.

[lyndal1838]

Springy, all diabetics are supposed to have regular eye checks.

I have always had 2 yearly checks since I started wearing glasses but since being diagnosed with diabetes I have been going every year.

I have a hole in my macular in my left eye but my right eye is good and there is no sign at all of any diabetic changes in either eye which is very good according to my optometrist.

My OH has age related degenerative changes so he also has yearly checkups.  This year we bought the visits forward 2 months so he could get the latest results for his medical for his licence.  All was good.

[cezm]

... and do people of all ages know the road rules ... on a FB page last night people were discussing whether or not you could overtake in certain conditions ... some thought it was ok to overtake when there was a solid white line on their side, down the centre of the road, because there was a broken line for traffic coming the other way. One person stated that they were a safe driver as they had only ever had 2 tickets - more by good luck, I suspect.

I think written tests should be taken every 5 years so people make an effort to keep up to date with road rules.

[domino-710]

And what is it with roundabouts - they should be renamed - freeforalls.??

[not_for_sale2025]

I witnessed a clash between my BIL and his aging MIL. He got stuck into her because she was driving in the outside lane on a two-lane highway. He complained that other drivers were forced to overtake her on the inside lane, where she should have been. She replied that she was driving at 100 kmh in a 100 kmh zone and they were all speeding and therefore breaking the law. He said, "So what, that's the way it is and that's the way it works. Everyone seems to know that but you".

If he is right, then the road certainly is a dangerous place to drive. And no wonder the police get so frustrated!

[kopenhagen5]

The rule is "keep left unless overtaking". irrespective of speed.

That way the fast lane is clear for emergency vehicles or perhaps ones speedo is not as accurate due to lower profile or larger tyres.

It also avoids confrontations with anyone choosing to speed. Leave it to the police to deal with them.

(Not directed at you NFS, just a general remark)

[domino-710]

I do hope they have made up.