An 87 year old man has managed to circumnavigate his car the wrong way down a motorway slip road into head on traffic on one of the busiest motorways in Britain kill himself seriously injure the driver of the van he hit and kill the 27 year old passenger!....when are the powers that be going to introduce a re-test?
There are plenty of dickheads about that sail under the age of retirement who have committed worse Offences.... Saw a prick yesterday (about 30) reversing up a non hard shoulder slip road off motorway as he'd missed his turning.... Saw a dude who must of been 90 at snet hold his own against younger guys on modern machinery.... Not always down to age, just the individual....
An 89 year old 'war veteran' from Widnes has just been banned from driving having caused the death of a cyclist in a road accident. The authorities go on about young inexperienced drivers and their accident rates which I can understand but some of the old duffers you see driving need to be tested more strenuously as i understand that the current requirement after 70 is just to confirm that you think your competent and none of them want to lose their independence.
I spoke to a guy recently in the bike shop who spent months in hospital after an 84 yr old fell asleep at the wheel, drifted into the other lane and hit him head on. He nearly lost his right leg, it was smashed to bits, and even 2yrs after recovery he still has only minimal use, plus many other injuries, lost a finger. The 84yr old got a £50 fine and handed his licence in the next day, that was it. I'm not saying all older people are $hite drivers, but many are a real danger, and in a different way to younger drivers being intentionally stupid.
Valid points Jimbo there will always be exceptions but a re-test would filter the good/ competent drivers from the poor generally older drivers. It seems crazy in today's mad fast world that you take your test at 17 years old and aside from health checks carry on driving until you drop, re-test/ training for drivers I'm sure will eventually happen.
Then surely in the PC world we live in, we should just test everyone every ten years.... Not disagreeing with what your saying but it's just not old drivers who have a bad rep Many other minorities including women, ethnic and even bikers are steriotyped heavily.....
I'm not sure if this has changed, but when my ex wife's father turned 70/75 (whatever it is), he was simply asked if he was fit to continue driving, by letter, at the time he had quite advanced Parkinsons disease and was in no state to drive, yet there was not even a requirement for him to get his GP to sign saying he was of reasonable health.
I'm all for a Retest for every fecker every 10 years, especially since I'm 'ACE' and have passed my IAM with a Grade 1! All is not as it may seem re the Accident! 87 year old out at 2am on a Motorway? Smacks of a Suicide Mission 2 me!
I'm all for every ten years plenty of other walks of life tested far more often, I used to be in the building game registered sparks every year and gas fitters tested every 5.
Ok but retesting everyone every ten years or so has its own issues not least the extra monetary expense that would be burdened upon the already heavily taxed and easy money sitting duck motorists! Would it require retests of all parts of the licence ie bike car and lorry requiring three separate tests every ten years? What about all the retards on bicycles that don't need any testing or insurance just head into halfords or the like hand over some cash and then head out onto the roads with absolutely no understanding of the Highway Code or in a lot of cases no common sense either?
So how many of you have written to your MP to get the rules about ancient drivers changed. I thought so.
Agree with you there. yes they are slow. but they seem to also get in the media when things happen and often the wrong way down a motorway. Blame the media for the hype. As for a retest that will be just another way to get us to part with more cash to drive. Don't we have enough to put up with. Agree something needs to change. But why should I need to go for a re-test say every 10 years when I have never had a accident and feel personally that i;m a better driver after driving for more than 20 years then I was when I passed my test at 17?
The idea of a retest every 5 or 10 years was seriously looked at about 15 maybe 20 years ago. The DSA did not have capacity or enough examiners to be able to deliver so they approached advanced examiners such as myself tosee whether we would be prepared to help out. 90% of us were more than happy to conduct tests as we say it as a way of getting rid of the really bad driving standards and getting some of the idiots off the road without having to go through the courts (although we appreciated that we would not be examining to advanced standards) but it would also allow us to make a bit of extra money on our days off. Things were progressing, when someone in the civil service pointed out that every 90% of drivers are voters, and this woud be a guaranteed vote loser. Surprisingly, plans to introduce a re-test were quietly dropped and forgotten about and are unlikely to be resurected anytime soon.
This is why we need to introduce driving skills monitoring. Just because you have never had an accident doesn't make you the safest most skillful driver/rider in the world. It is this I'm alright jack, it's everyone else that's at fault attitude that causes the problem. Im sure you'll agree we all get things wrong occasionally and what harm can it do to give up an hour of your time and £100 (I know it could be more, probably will be but who knows) to take a test that that may prove you are not of the required driving standard or physical or mental ability, if that saves someone's life. The skills assessment should also involve a medical included in the fee, where eyesight and reaction times are monitored. After all how do we know if a driver has started to suffer tunnel vision if they never tell anyone, that little secret would go with them to the grave but could well be the cause of the accident. Old people cling onto driving as it gives them the independence they need, but are we all paying the cost in lost lives and accident investigation costs. I can think of four recent elderly drivers having accidents that has resulted in lost lives. It is time the UK lead the way with having the best driving standards in the world. Worst roads, best drivers. A line has to be drawn and standards need to be set and the sooner the better, it is no longer acceptable for the DVLA to ask the 70 year old if the think they are still OK to drive. That is just the DVLA's get out of jail free card. They need to take responsibility for the standard of elderly driving on our roads. By the way, yes, I have written to my MP.
Oh yes the test should be every three years, a lot can happen in three years to your health and eyesight. We don't want anyone slipping through the net do we?
@ Remal Perhaps because with experience sometimes complacency sets in, i hold my hands up I am guilty of this not only when driving but everyday tasks.I can't see a problem if you can drive properly then you should be able pass a test to the required standard,my view is every day should be a school day. Just had a thought I wonder if some of these older drivers ever took a test in the first place!
The test was introduced in 1934 so if someone was 17 by then they would be an 100 in just over a year. So there could be a few out there. And just because I've not had an accident in 20 years does also not mean I've hot paid for training. Which I have No matter what each feel's about this. As the gray Army vote in great mass I doubt any political party will want to upset them. Even if a retest is a good idea or not
Driving in the correct direction on any motorway is for little girls, i often drive the wrong way down the motorway at high speed, although i often get lost as the sign posts are the wrong way around
