howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Guest 716- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 4,010
Sixty percent of our drivers are over seventy................but their accident rate is lower than the other forty percent....
Hanging up your licence is a big upheaval in ones life....GP`s `advice` should be included in any decision to remove it...
How would GPs be funded for that advice, reg?
Sorry -I couldn't resist. No offence meant.
Guest 700- Registered: 11 Jun 2010
- Posts: 2,868
It would be very useful, and I would happily take another test after 53 years of driving.
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Lincolnshire Born and Bred
Guest 700- Registered: 11 Jun 2010
- Posts: 2,868
When I took my test the roads were not crowded like they are today, although cars were simpler but perhaps not so safe.
I agree that a driving course would be very useful for the over 65s/70s.
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Lincolnshire Born and Bred
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
"...new figures show that as many as six million over 70s are now on our roads, compared with less than a million 35 years ago. "
World wars will tend to do that... to statistics. The final casualty of war.
Our ears ring with the incessant telling and retelling of how we must suffer from the fact that we are living longer. At last there is talk of education and training in how these 'extra' years could be enjoyed to the full.
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
g.p.'s cannot be trusted on this issue as seen by the number of elderly drivers found driving the wrong way on motorways.
my late neighbour was passed as suitable to drive many years after he should have had his licence taken away.
Guest 717- Registered: 16 Jun 2011
- Posts: 468
My grandad it well into his 90's and still drives, only in the day though. If he didn't he would not get out the house as he lives on a steep hill and cannot walk it anymore, no busses until the top of the road. I live far from him so never see him drive as I do it when I visit. However, judging by some of the scratches on his car, perhaps a retest may be in order!
Keeps politics to myself
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
it can come down to the individual
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
that is the point of the retest keith, if someone proves capable then they will keep their licence.
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
Just recently an elderly driver put a small dent in the bonnet of my wife's car as he was looking through the wrong bit of his varifocals while reversing and nudged it with the spare wheel on the back door of his 4x4. Oops, senior moment, forgot for a minute, it was me.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
well maybe theres some merit in it
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 686- Registered: 5 May 2009
- Posts: 556
I can think of a few under 65's that could do with a retest!!!
Phil West
If at first you don't succeed, use a BIGGER hammer!!
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i believe that nowadays some drivers caught driving erratically or over the limit are given the option of taking a course at their expense.
if you asked most drivers about stopping and braking distances a blank face would ensue.
Guest 686- Registered: 5 May 2009
- Posts: 556
Howard: The same goes for simple things like road signs too. One of my favourite questions to ask IAM motorcycle associates that I take out is "What is the national speed limit?" I sometimes get some very odd answers and few get it exactly right.
In my mind the difficult question to answer is at what age should re-testing be done? Or should re-testing be done at all? Those who take their driving seriously may well have done some additional training with the likes of the IAM or RoSPA or even just a local driving instructor. These people may well be better drivers than their contemporaries merely by the fact that they recognised their need to be "updated" and their bad habits tamed.
Phil West
If at first you don't succeed, use a BIGGER hammer!!
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i would go for 70 phil as that is the age that drivers need a note from their g.p.'s
you mention some that take additional training but i would guess that is a very small number and in any case they would pass a retest easily.
it took me a year roughly after my test to be a responsible driver and another 2 years to forget all i had learned and adopt bad habits.
another problem is that many people think they are good drivers and everyone else is not hence the accidents.
There is a specialist unit which was based at Preston Hall hospital which does specialist assesments for any driver refered by a doctor to fully asses thier driving skills , it does a fantastic job
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,895
I would like to see some kind of test or assessment at least every ten years regardless of age, even a thirty year old can develop eye problems and bad driving habits.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
would probably be too expensive to implement jan.
i am in favour of every driver found to have broken the law having to face a retest at their expense after a course paid for by them.