10mph - banned

[Carrotchomper]

Why don't all MB club members in the Bristol area give the poor lady their names and phone numbers. Then they could volunteer to drive her about as needed. Would give members a chance to help someone in need, an excuse to go for a drive and feel good for doing someone a good turn.

Now isn't that better than shouting 'Ban her or get her off the road' and knowing you are also making the roads safer for all motorists.

Er, no.

 

[maddog]

A friend of mine was done for going slowly to the next exit when his car (well, Suzuki Vitara .. does that count as a car? ) developed a problem. If you can't maintain the minimum speed you're supposed to pull onto the hard shoulder and stop. AFAIK it's an offence to drive on the hard shoulder (at any speed), ditto for using hazard lights other than when stationary.

The hazard light thing was changed recently but AFAIK the minimum speed on a motorway is 30mph but imo its unsafe to do less than 50mph on many DC's and motorways .

 

[dino645]

For purely economic reasons, people need to pass driving tests. I can understand this. But toughening up the theory, doesn't ensure good drivers.

There is a large amount of people on the road, that are a danger to themselves and other people. As we all know driving fast is simple to do, but handling a car at speed is something else altogether. The young drivers are equally as bad.

However driving at 10 mph on a motorway is endangering lives beyond reason. Even if we can see a car driving slowly on a motorway, to stop, or manouver at a high speed to almost an emergency stop, is difficult to do safetly. To judge the speed of the car in front from a distance, and to stop would result in heavy braking, that would almost for sure, cause an accident.

I think 7 days, is letting her off extremely lightly.

 

[crockers]

Regardless, it took over 4 months to reach magistrates

so would I if I drove at 10 mph.....:bannana:

 

[crockers]

.

My grandmother developed Alzheimers and used to go out in her Mini and forget where she lived. So I'm afraid we took the rotor arm out.

You're mean............ you could have bought her a TomTom...



Sorry I couldn't resist it.....:bannana: You have to laugh or you end up crying..

 

[neilrr]

If you want a laugh , BRAKE the road safety charity made the following statement

"This case sends out a very strange message to drivers. Mrs Cole was not breaking the speed limit or endangering anyone with her actions, yet she received a seven day ban, when we commonly see drivers caught travelling at 80 or 90mph get away with a fine and three points. While it is not common to encounter someone travelling at 10mph on a motorway, a competent driver should always be looking well ahead and predicting when they need to overtake a slower vehicle"

10 mph on a motorway where everyone else is doing 6, 7, 8 times that speed is extremely dangerous & an accident waiting to happen. The sign in her window indicates it's a regular thing. She should be permanently banned.

How these idiots can defend her is beyond me and completely undermines their position. Just laughable.

 

[glojo]

Are you sure you aren't thinking of me on New Years Eve John ?

I only drive home on New Years Eve, if I'm too drunk to walk.

Regards
John

 

[Carrotchomper]

I only drive home on New Years Eve, if I'm too drunk to walk.

Regards
John

I think you ought to fit the Limo with a remote control like Bond had for the 7-series BMW! That would make for interesting driving...

 

[Mudster]

My neighbour (and friend) has MS, she also has a mobility vehicle paid for under the government mobility scheme.

According to her doctor and the powers that be she is fit to drive, however, I refuse to get in the car with her, she is a distinct liability for the following reasons:-

She has no depth perception (due to MS affecting her sight) on average she wrecks one wheel/tyre a month driving into the curb/traffic islands etc.

Her reaction times are appalling to the point where there is no reaction, at least she has enough sense to admit this and will not drive on a motorway (although legally able to do so).

She simply should not hold a drivers licence, like the woman in the news, she travels at 20mph - 30mph most of the time no matter what the conditions or where she's driving.

The woman in the news (and my neighbour) should both have their licence removed on medical grounds, they are both quite clearly unfit to drive and are obliged (legally) to admit the same under the terms of the driving licence.

 

[280gee]

Someone that I'm acquainted with that has MS and certainly looks and sounds physically disabled nevertheless managed to drive himself to China in a W124. He has also made other very long distance journeys in a Volvo estate.

Although this was a while ago he didn't do it at anything less than normal speeds for the prevailing conditions. His mental state was an important factor and that happily was extremely good at the relevant times. That sadly isn't always the case for many sufferers from MS as the circumstances of this case and the other one mentioned show.

 

[dino645]

I think you ought to fit the Limo with a remote control like Bond had for the 7-series BMW! That would make for interesting driving...

No, make sure the car in front is remote control, and keep a safe distance. If it looks imminent that you are in for a pull, drive it 360 degrees and veer it off into the opposite direction you are heading. Let me know if it works!!!

 

[oldcro]

I totally agree that this lady should not be driving. My previous post was a dig at all those who were treating her as a criminal. Take her licence off her, ban her from driving etc. these are punishments for wrongdoers not sick people. Taking her licence away for medical reasons means she cannot drive again (so the result is the same) but still retains her dignity and self respect.

Just think of how you would like to be treated should you ever end up in a similar situation.

 

[dino645]

It's not about that.

She acknowledged that she was a slow driver to the extent that she had a plackard to let other drivers know.

It wasn't an acknowledgement that she was slow in fact, but more likely a conceited warning to other drivers that she was going to drive slowly in any case.

Shouldn't be on the road.

When old people cannot turn their neck anymore, they hope for the best. With all best intentions, there is a standard that they should concede when they are in knowledge that they are not fit to drive.

 

[CiaranMcKeown]

Only just read all the posts and i have to say there are quite a few different views. What im about to say my cause offence to some people but i apologise in advance as this is only my opinion.

Ok, this lady (like thousands others) should be put through a driving test again to examine all parts of her driving ability. She should also be tested on a motorway where she has admitted that she in nervous driving. If she is then incapable of driving to a very good standard she should not be allowed to hold a license.

My problem with all of this is that fact that there are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people like this including, the elderly and people with mental health problems that hold valid driving licenses that simply cannot drive safely. There should be a re-test every ten years so that standards on the road are kept to a high level.

Example...Man aged 20 passes driving test in 1958, now aged 70. Will this average person have the same reaction times, skill, quick thinking, agility and eye sight now as he did when he was 20 years old? I think not.
What this means is that the standard of driving skill on our roads is gettin worse day by day.

If someone wants to buy a gun they need a gun license. To get this license for a "deadly" weapon they have to get mental health checks to verify they are not going to misuse this deadly weapon. What is dramatically different between this and a car that is capable of doing 100mph and killing anything it collides with, in the wrong hands.

A ban for this lady may have been a bit harsh considering that penalties given today for other road offences but a re-test and possibly retraining on confidence on the road my be on the cards.

I know she was only doing 10 or so mph but she could have side swiped a car on the hard shoulder or a person, god only knows what could have happened had she not been pulled over. The speed she was travelling at was not that dangerous factor, it was her poor judgement and lack of confidence behind the wheel that may and usually does cause thousands of accidents everyday.

 

[st13phil]

(ref: BRAKE) How these idiots can defend her is beyond me and completely undermines their position. Just laughable.

The fact is that BRAKE, through it's obsession with speed and speed limits, has repeatedly demonstrated that collectively it has little or no understanding of what safe driving is all about. This is just the latest demonstration of that fact. The problem is that other equally ill-informed groups listen to their nonsense and give them credence.

 

[st13phil]

My problem with all of this is that fact that there are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people like this including, the elderly and people with mental health problems that hold valid driving licenses that simply cannot drive safely. There should be a re-test every ten years so that standards on the road are kept to a high level.

I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[television]

I would go along with a new test every 5 years after the age of 65 on.


The big snag is the backlog and it would need more testers, and should this test include the theory as well

 

[glojo]

Only just read all the posts and i have to say there are quite a few different views. What im about to say my cause offence to some people but i apologise in advance as this is only my opinion.

Did you actually see this person on the television? I am in no doubt the courts were 100% correct, but in regard to the rest of your post, I'm not sure we will agree. Having a re-test every 10 years might be an idea, but is it a good one and what about costs and punishments for failure to comply?

We all think we are God's gift to driving and we are all perfect and it is everyone else that is incompetent, but that means I'm inferring your driving skills are sadly lacking, and likewise you will be insinuating my driving standard is comparable to yours??

Insurance companies are a good indicator on who is more likely to be involved in a road traffic incident and their assessment might not be in agreement to what we suggest. Yes the elderly have ailments that might appear scary, but it is still the young that cause or get involved in most accidents and the reality is I have no idea how to resolve this and yes he-males are more of a risk than she-males.

John

 

[st13phil]

The big snag is the backlog and it would need more testers, and should this test include the theory as well

I agree that the introduction of such a testing regime would need to be properly managed so as not to cause an unacceptable backlog, but that shouldn't be beyond the wit of man. OK, maybe it's beyond the wit of our Civil Servants

I also think that there should be an element of theory testing to it as well, mainly focussed on revisions to driving law and the Highway Code that have been made in (say) the last 20 years initially, but then shifting to whatever the re-testing interval is. After all, how many "experienced" drivers have actually looked at either of the last two editions of the Highway Code?

My view is that deterioration in driving performance is a bit like deterioration of shock absorber performance in that until an independent assessment is made, the driver doesn't notice that anything's amiss.

 

[television]

I agree that the introduction of such a testing regime would need to be properly managed so as not to cause an unacceptable backlog, but that shouldn't be beyond the wit of man. OK, maybe it's beyond the wit of our Civil Servants

I also think that there should be an element of theory testing to it as well, mainly focussed on revisions to driving law and the Highway Code that have been made in (say) the last 20 years initially, but then shifting to whatever the re-testing interval is. After all, how many "experienced" drivers have actually looked at either of the last two editions of the Highway Code?

My view is that deterioration in driving performance is a bit like deterioration of shock absorber performance in that until an independent assessment is made, the driver doesn't notice that anything's amiss.

From my point of view and in my case I am still working on high tech stuff and I take great care and pride on my driving.

When the time comes, will I recognize myself that I have problems, do I just wait and see.

I think that when a new driver is undergoing their test that the tester will know if that person is capable and confident.

Probably most elderly drivers cause frustration to the younger ones as they play safe and take more time, also they drive slower, and this is not a bad thing in itself. I drive slower than I used too.