OAP s and driving licences

[Fastcar155]

Hi , I have it read that the DVLA is considering making considerable changes to the driving licences of OAP drivers.

I don't have issues with changes but I feel that drivers from all ages groups could do with refresher courses.

With our points system rather than banning drivers could it be you must book into a refresher course ( at your expense ) to evaluate your standard of driving if you have 6 points on your licence.

In Malvern we have numerous drivers who just enter the main road without looking. It's not an age problem !

 

[markjay]

Perhaps a requirement to pass a driving test every (say) 10 years, to renew your driving license, at any age?

(Queue chorus of "but it punishes the poor")

 

[ALFAitalia]

The cost would stop that I would guess.....getting, training and paying loads more examiners. Even with the system as it is leaners sometimes have to wait months for a test......it would be years if you start retesting. Personally I don't think it would make any difference.....everyone would just drive well for the test then back to normal straight after.

 

[Fastcar155]

The cost would stop that I would guess.....getting, training and paying loads more examiners. Even with the system as it is leaners sometimes have to wait months for a test......it would be years if you start retesting. Personally I don't think it would make any difference.....everyone would just drive well for the test then back to normal straight after.

or the DVLA will say at 70 you must stop driving ( removal of driving licence )

 

[TC350]

The cost would stop that I would guess.....getting, training and paying loads more examiners. Even with the system as it is leaners sometimes have to wait months for a test......it would be years if you start retesting. Personally I don't think it would make any difference.....everyone would just drive well for the test then back to normal straight after.

Depends on the format of the test. When I turned 70, I took an IAM test that lasted an hour on a mixture of roads. It wasn’t about knowing the stopping distance at 50mph or being able to parallel park. It’s more about demonstrating observation skills, road positioning and making good progress. Old habits easily creep in during an hour’s drive.

 

[Chrishazle]

My wife was complaining about having done very little driving since I retired, so I offered her one of those as a refresher. I was only in hospital for 2 days afterwards!

 

[Benzowner]

Perhaps a requirement to pass a driving test every (say) 10 years, to renew your driving license, at any age?

(Queue chorus of "but it punishes the poor")

How long is the wait for a driving test now? How long would the wait increase by is all us oldies were in the queue, we can't move along the line so quick now

 

[Darrell]

How long is the wait for a driving test now? How long would the wait increase by is all us oldies were in the queue, we can't move along the line so quick now

My daughter got hers through in about 3 weeks but she’s not 70 yet.

That was in June.

 

[Spider10]

My neice is looking at dec/jan for her test the problem with testing the OAPs or any 1 who's been driving for year's no one will pass to many bad habits as mentioned earlier

 

[rf065]

I know people who have been very poor drivers since they first passed their test, some are shockingly bad, should we just wait until they reach OAP age before we do anything about it?

 

[markjay]

I know people who have been very poor drivers since they first passed their test, some are shockingly bad, should we just wait until they reach OAP age before we do anything about it?

Heart-stopping moment cyclist is hurled into the air

As the silver Seat pulled out into the right lane, a cyclist riding a bright blue bicycle, collided head-on with the vehicle and was flung off his bike into the air.

mol.im

 

[Smiley]

or the DVLA will say at 70 you must stop driving ( removal of driving licence )

I know of a 92 yr old driver who still drives very competently; I have also seen plenty of younger drivers driving like idiots
An arbitary age limit would have huge consequences. I can imagine it would be catastrophic for a place like Malvern where dependency on a car is relatively high - I am guessing it has an above average number of elderly people, relatively poor public transport, quite hilly (harder to get around by foot or by bike) - I guess it would be good news for younger people buying houses there as all the wrinklies would be forced sellers.

 

[Spider10]

An OAP on a push bike sounds frightening enough

 

[baxlin]

I know of a 92 yr old driver who still drives very competently; I have also seen plenty of younger drivers driving like idiots
An arbitary age limit would have huge consequences. I can imagine it would be catastrophic for a place like Malvern where dependency on a car is relatively high - I am guessing it has an above average number of elderly people, relatively poor public transport, quite hilly (harder to get around by foot or by bike) - I guess it would be good news for younger people buying houses there as all the wrinklies would be forced sellers.

Both being in our 70s, Mrs B and I have considered moving from our house to a bungalow, but the first question we ask is ‘because of its location, would we need a car?’. If the answer is yes, we discard it, because public transport ain’t going to get any better than it is now.

 

[ALFAitalia]

I know of a 92 yr old driver who still drives very competently; I have also seen plenty of younger drivers driving like idiots
An arbitary age limit would have huge consequences. I can imagine it would be catastrophic for a place like Malvern where dependency on a car is relatively high - I am guessing it has an above average number of elderly people, relatively poor public transport, quite hilly (harder to get around by foot or by bike) - I guess it would be good news for younger people buying houses there as all the wrinklies would be forced sellers.

Correct....quite a few age-ist posts on here. Saying that you become a bad driver with slow reactions after 70 is as nonsense as saying that all young drivers are dangerous and take risks. It's just stereotyping. My dad is 79, had NCB since before I was born, still takes combine harvesters and massive tractor rigs on the road.....nothing destroyed so far. My mum on the other hand should never have been driving.....not passing until the 7th attempt should have been a clue....she was always dangerous and unaware of her surroundings....luckily she had stopped driving now.....miraculously she never had a claim though.....but I'm sure this is more down to other drivers skill than her own! Driving standards are driving standard, age does not come into it...within reason. There will always be good ones bad drivers and it's difficult if not impossible to legislate against. One thing I have noticed is that most of the drivers claiming to be good are actually some of the worst!

 

[TC350]

One thing I have noticed is that most of the drivers claiming to be good are actually some of the worst!

Agreed. But what constitutes being a good driver? I’m sure it’s been discussed many times within this forum.

I hear very many people saying that they’ve been driving for tens of years and never had an accident, claiming that qualifies them as good. What they haven’t seen is the trail of destruction in their wake!

Are good drivers those who handle cars very well? Not if one of my mates is anything to go by. He’s an ultimate petrol head with a collection that includes a Ferrari 360 and a Shelby AC Cobra. He also has a Peugeot 106 Rallye in which he successfully competes at international rally events (he did well at this weekend’s Rali Ceredigion in Wales.) There’s no doubt that he’s highly skilful behind the wheel, but having been a passenger of his many times, I wouldn’t class him as a good driver. To my mind, he relies too much on his handling skills to get himself out of sticky situations that good drivers wouldn’t have got themselves into.

At the other end of the scale, is a good driver one who drives very carefully everywhere - always well within the pertaining speed limit? Probably not.

If being better than average is thought of as good, then we’re in trouble. The average driver in the UK is better than the average in many other countries, but still the lower end of mediocre at best.

 

[markjay]

I think that it's simply question of statistical probabilities and risk.

In the older drivers group you will find far more people who are not fit to drive either physically or mentally (or both), then in the younger drivers group.

A blanket ban on older drivers is unnecessary and unfair, but more stringent and more frequent monitoring of people within this age group is both a sensible and practical solution.

 

[Stratman]

Let's ask the insurance companies, who aren't known for giving away money, who the safer drivers are. That's if you believe premiums reflect risk. Starter for ten: who is likely to have the lower premium, a tewnty year old or a seventy year old?
Who is more likely to be on car forums asking about chipping, lower and stiffer suspension, performance exhausts, tyres and the like? A twenty year old or a seventy year old?

 

[markjay]

The same applies, BTW, to flats in buildings without a lift, or to houses with a flight of stairs leading to the bedrooms floor etc.

Any one of us can have the misfortune of becoming disabled due to illness or accident at any age, but the probability for developing a disability goes up with age exponentially.

It's another thing to consider.

Then, there's the proximity to health services. Older people are more likely to need routine or urgent visits to their GP or to a hospital. Living within easy access to these obviously helps.

And last, there's the children. I wouldn't want to impose of them in any way, but I know that they will want to help if the need arises, and living in a remote area and far away from them will make life more difficult for them as well.

Not the most optimistic post, I agree, but a very realistic one, I think.

 

[chic0821]

or the DVLA will say at 70 you must stop driving ( removal of driving licence )

Wonder how you would feel if its your 70th birthday tomorrow
Funny how we are all wonderful drivers, its always the one coming towards you or behind who can't drive to save there lives