Saturday, October 29, 2005
Elderly Driving
A side-note to my earlier post "Driving in America" is the problem with elderly drivers. In the event you are elderly, read the entire post before you blast me.
As we get older, our reflexes and motor-skills and concentration abilities will lessen. We will not be able to do the things we used to do as well as we used to do them. Obviously, different people age differently. That is why I propose this.
After age 50, everyone must re-test to keep their license. The test will be repeated every 5 years until age 65 then, every 2-3 years thereafter. My reasoning for this is most people should be able to drive with reasonable skill until age 50. After that, many people start to lose their skills. After age 65, health problems can cause greater diminishment of those skills and health can dwindle more rapidly as the aging process continues.
Of course, these ages are a "blanket" statement. Not everyone will lose their skills as rapidly. I'm sure Mario Andretti will be driving with great skill into his 80's. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine when each of us will lose our abilities. So, there has to be a cut-off.
I personally witnessed an elderly person slowly weaving from the left lane of a 6-lane highway all the way to the right lane for several miles. As the road would curve, he would drift all the way to the outside lane of the curve and sometimes into the shoulder. He forced several people to slam on their brakes and go off the road. Luckily, no one was forced into a collision. When he came to an intersection with a left-turn lane, he stopped halfway in the turn-lane and the lane to the right. He then made a huge turn and almost hit the people waiting on the other side of the intersection! I managed to pass him and get a look at him. He was so old, he had that waxy look to his skin and he was wearing cataract glasses and of course, he was wearing a hat. Rule number one: If the driver is wearing a hat, get away! (trucker hats or ball caps don't count. We're talking Fedoras and bonnets here).
I realize no one wants their driving privileges taken away. However, no one wants to be the cause of someone's death or injury either. We need to what must be done for everyone's sake!
Turbo Ghost
As we get older, our reflexes and motor-skills and concentration abilities will lessen. We will not be able to do the things we used to do as well as we used to do them. Obviously, different people age differently. That is why I propose this.
After age 50, everyone must re-test to keep their license. The test will be repeated every 5 years until age 65 then, every 2-3 years thereafter. My reasoning for this is most people should be able to drive with reasonable skill until age 50. After that, many people start to lose their skills. After age 65, health problems can cause greater diminishment of those skills and health can dwindle more rapidly as the aging process continues.
Of course, these ages are a "blanket" statement. Not everyone will lose their skills as rapidly. I'm sure Mario Andretti will be driving with great skill into his 80's. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine when each of us will lose our abilities. So, there has to be a cut-off.
I personally witnessed an elderly person slowly weaving from the left lane of a 6-lane highway all the way to the right lane for several miles. As the road would curve, he would drift all the way to the outside lane of the curve and sometimes into the shoulder. He forced several people to slam on their brakes and go off the road. Luckily, no one was forced into a collision. When he came to an intersection with a left-turn lane, he stopped halfway in the turn-lane and the lane to the right. He then made a huge turn and almost hit the people waiting on the other side of the intersection! I managed to pass him and get a look at him. He was so old, he had that waxy look to his skin and he was wearing cataract glasses and of course, he was wearing a hat. Rule number one: If the driver is wearing a hat, get away! (trucker hats or ball caps don't count. We're talking Fedoras and bonnets here).
I realize no one wants their driving privileges taken away. However, no one wants to be the cause of someone's death or injury either. We need to what must be done for everyone's sake!
Turbo Ghost
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Diabolical driving is not just limited to the elderly, OR to the US.
Here in England we get plenty of "old bastatrds" whos REALLY should not be on the road. But equally bad are the young drivers, 17 - 20ish, with shitty old hatchback cars fitted with truly HORRIBLE body kits, oversized wheels and totally REDICULOUS exhaust tailpipes.
I agree that the driving test is/was a joke, but it's gotten a bit stricter now in UK - maybe more in line with Europe - that said, I've driven in Germany and while the standards ARE MUCH better than here, there are still some numbwits on the road.
I also think there should be a MAX limit of 3 attempts to get a license, after that you should be deemed unsuitable to drive!! - Seriously, I think it should be so.
As for driving on the "pavement" - that's what we call the sidewalk!!
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Here in England we get plenty of "old bastatrds" whos REALLY should not be on the road. But equally bad are the young drivers, 17 - 20ish, with shitty old hatchback cars fitted with truly HORRIBLE body kits, oversized wheels and totally REDICULOUS exhaust tailpipes.
I agree that the driving test is/was a joke, but it's gotten a bit stricter now in UK - maybe more in line with Europe - that said, I've driven in Germany and while the standards ARE MUCH better than here, there are still some numbwits on the road.
I also think there should be a MAX limit of 3 attempts to get a license, after that you should be deemed unsuitable to drive!! - Seriously, I think it should be so.
As for driving on the "pavement" - that's what we call the sidewalk!!
# posted by 
: 3:06 PM
: 3:06 PM << Home
