Bosses mum got the arse with all the school kids at the bus stop because they always got on first and took all the seats. Determined not to let that happen again, the bus came and she barged her way to the front, she got on and got a seat. Result! All well and good until it dropped her off at the school instead of her friends house. It was the bloody school bus. Ended up bloody miles away. Kids must have just sat there sniggering.
The older I get, the more time I have for what society classes as the elderly. Majority have been there done that, the majority have paid their way, they get a little slower. Shout me down here, but I think that other nations actually look after their elderly, whereas the great UK, gives them a few quid a week and abandons them to a society that doesn't give one fiddlers. Am I wrong?
My 70 year old dad is not a racing driver but I'd give him better odds getting round a track in a fast car than my 30 year old brother. My dad was a petrol head when he was younger. My brother like so many drivers has no interest in anything with an engine and these are the types of people causing more issues on the road on a regular basis but they can pass tests. If we are talking about dementia or mental illness or that kind of behavior that's a different matter. The ability to drive would be picked up by family, friends and even insurance companies because these types of drivers have more scrapes parking etc than most and there would be other signs too. A medical that tests eye site or cognitive function is perhaps more fair than having some Hitler type instructor looking to pick faults, no one drives to test standards 3 months days after passing.
Nothing kind of about it. When he told the office we were in fits for ages. You'd think the bus driver would have said something but he was probably just as confused as her.
It's like someone told me, quick cars nowadays have so many driver aids that it makes them think they are better drivers than they are. He even said that if he switched the aids off, he would be in circles.
I agree with a refresher & eye-sight test (not those static 'quick remember the bottom lines' posters) but the trouble is there are so many people at or around the age of retirement. It should take place as the same coffin dodgers are just lowering the speed limit due too their own diminishing abilities & reaction times.
I don't recall reading about young drivers going up the motorway the wrong way but I hear about the old drivers who do it It's not easy to get onto a motorway and drive the wrong way it's a sharp right and I thought motorways were CCTV maned
Police can only act so quick. No doubt they would have seen it on cctv. You are right though, quite a difficult feat of stupidity.
I have turned off nearly all the gimmickry in the car I now have........The only one left on are the reversing sensors for Mrs Al's benefit........although she was always bad at reversing, she has a neck injury so she can't turn her head so easily.......and she could never master using just the side mirrors. Even with all the stuff turned off in the current car, I wish I still had my TR4 (or a TVR)........'kin great engines, no power steering etc etc......Nothing better than simple basic cars.......
Nope, the 'kids' just do this.......Video shows Kyle Careford and Michael Owen before crashing and dying in Sussex | Daily Mail Online
What is the problem with a compulsary re-test? I have been an advocate of it for years... Is it that too many people are afraid that they might fail it themselves? And as for "looking after our elderly" - surely taking their license away if there is a possibility of them killing themselves and other people is actually a good thing? We have to have our vehicles checked every year to prove they are safe to be in the roads (with the excdeption of older vehicles, which is another thing that I disagree with - but that's a different argument) so why should drivers not also be checked to ensure they are safe? As I have said before - a friend of mine was hit, head-on, by an 80-odd year old bloke who had crossed a line of illuminated red studs, ignored several big illuminated red cross warning signs and was in the wrong lane. Mike was riding a BMW R1150 with the (85W) headlight on - he was lucky not to have been killed. And yes, the driver did say "sorry, I didn't see you". Why was a senile old fart who admitted that he can't see and who had no idea where he was going or what he was doing allowed to drive a car to the point where he very nearly killed a motorcyclist before someone thought it was time to tell him to stop driving? A compulsary re-test would have removed him from the road well before that happened. I suspect that the relatives of both people killed in the M1 accident would rather the driver who caused the crash have been tested and had his licence removed than what actually happened...
Firstly sorry about your friend Mike, glad he survived but individual experience is a poor basis for legislation. Failing a retest on an off day could ruin the lives of people who depend upon a vehicle for day to day living. It is about balancing risk and reward and despite the occasional tragedy I think we are probably about right. See post #4, for which there is quite a bit of support. Now which group of road users shall we apply this logic to next ?
MOT information - ABS I hope you have informed your insurance company that you are driving a car that is not in a fit state to pass its MoT...
Nope, because it can be turned off according to the manufacturer's UK Handbook.....the option is there so it can be used, as can the 'Ignore' facility for a door open or a seatbelt not being used. Same goes for turning off the passenger airbags. Besides, it's a brand new car........so it isn't going to get an MOT test for a while is it?
