Old folk on the road.

[mad1]

Who here has a Grandma/Grandpa who is still driving about, and be honest, is their driving very good for their age or do you find yourself covering your eyes when out on the road with them!



Okay I realise its a bit cruel, but hey many talk about them, I find I have to think for if I see one. Its amazing how many old folk have made an error and gone through a red light (I know, anyone could do that, but I have seen older do it more by accident) - or in general, some are driving and you wonder how they survive everyday on what you may have just witnessed!


My Granda was NUTS! in his later years, couple of times I was out with him and he drove into oncoming lanes and by gawd you would have found me somewhere under the passenger seat!

 

[Liesje]

What I've noticed about old folk driving around here is that they can't multitask or think on their feet. Something happens on the road and they just freeze, ie come to a STOP in the middle of traffic! Then they end up causing accidents b/c they get frazzled and make more mistakes.

I live and work off a pretty busy street that also has several old folks homes (retirement communities and various nursing homes) so I am very aware of them and their driving! Especially on days like today when the roads iced over and the city cannot afford to salt yet.

 

[indra]

This reminds me of that joke:

I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandpa - not screaming in terror like his passengers.


And that reminds me of riding with my dad once. We were driving on the interstate and I was snoozing in the passenger's seat when all of a sudden we hit something. He pulled to the side of the road, as did another car, and before he got out he asked me, "what happened?" I said "I don't know. I was asleep." To which he replied, "I think I was too." Ack!!

 

[kafrun]

My grandma drove til 92 with no problems. She's finding it hard to get around on her own when she goes out though, so she just recently gave it up.

 

[Night & Day]

If I see an old person driving, the first thing I look at is their mouths.
If their mouth is dropped open, I get the fuck out of their way.
Seriously.

I call out 'Corpse Driving' to as many people/drivers as possible.
Just doin' my part.

 

[bammo2]

An old lady drove onto a city centre tramway bridge in my home town today and her car got stuck in the rails. They had to shut down the tram system for a few hours whilst they recovered the car

I've already told my mum that I'm going to throw her keys out the window the minute she gets to be a danger to herself or anyone else. Working for the police, I see too many accidents where old people hit folk/other cars and just don't even notice. Having said that, there are many, many older drivers out there that are a damned sight safer than the young drivers who have just passed their tests

 

[coolian2]

I can assure you no old person is ever going to cause an accident by following you two inches off your back bumper.

That infuriates me more than anything.

 

[Zoobaby14]

My grandfather is an excellent driver and he's a few years off 70.

Well I guess you have to be a good driver to teach me how to drive.

my mother on the other hand, makes up her own road rules

 

[The Sad Punk]

My granny's a better driver than me. She's eighty... two?

 

[indra]

Actually it's the young ones you really have to watch out for! Here's a study which shows that the group most likely to wreak havoc on the roads is young drivers (under 25).

Some of the results from this study:

-- Statistics show older drivers are 16 percent likelier to cause a crash than drivers aged 25 to 64. But younger drivers are 188 percent likelier than those aged 25 to 64 to cause a crash.

-- Older drivers, who represent 15 percent of the driving population, cause only 7 percent of all two-car crashes, while younger people, who comprise 13 percent of drivers, cause 43 percent of all two-car crashes.

-- Drivers aged 70 and older are less likely to cause a crash than those aged 55 to 65. Of course, older drivers also drive far fewer miles per capita each year than younger people. But on the basis of crashes per licensed driver, they look pretty safe.

In general, these studies show that while your grandparents may dawdle in the slow lane, they are likely safer drivers than the whipper-snappers that pass them.

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