wtf is wrong with old people in cars?

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Gryphon said:
Might have to introduce actual testing with genuine skill requirements! Just like other countries in the world (but don't hold your breath)...
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Not only a good idea but it would be interesting to see just how drivers/riders who think they have "mad skillz" would fail miserably and how many "old people" would pass with flying colours. Safe driving on public roads is more about good judgement than quick reflexes.
 
old people (and unskilled younger people)
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How would you define this? Some younger drivers are more alert, know the rules etc coming fresh out of driving school, even though they "might be slow" but they drive according to the speed limit so they don't get Fk'd over for speeding tickets (at least the smart ones)...and I've seen older drivers, navigate better then a middle aged men and women (35-45) many times.

No doubt everyone develops bad habits, that's why every 5 when you renew your license picture, mandatory refresher courses should be in place.
 
I wrote off my car the February before last when a ~70 yr old lady ran a red. Glad I wasn't on my bike.

But that said, the dumbest accident I was in was when a guy 2 years younger than me forgot my car was in front of him and rammed it at a red light with his massive pickup. We had already been stopped for at least a minute. He got out and just said, "I forgot your car was there. Looked up and wondered why I was stopped so far back."

I've missed a stop sign a couple times in my life. I think I missed a red once but it was one of those ones that is just a crosswalk so I didn't really notice it because there wasn't actually an intersection. I've also twice gone straight through an intersection when there was the advanced green arrow for the left turn. Not sure why. Wasn't paying enough attention I guess. Felt like a retard after. Ironically, the second time it was right after bitching about some guy that just did the same thing in front of me two lights before. Duh!

Anyway, people young and old make mistakes. Although it does seem that the elderly are more commonly less aware.
 
S500K said:
No doubt everyone develops bad habits, that's why every 5 when you renew your license picture, mandatory refresher courses should be in place.
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I agree on the concept, but not courses, a retest with low/zero tolerance for failure!
 
jeffjones said:
I must say I am proud of my grandfather.
All he has left is his car and is a very proud man but, He went through a stop sign the other day because he thought it was a yield sign and almost got in an accident, so he went for an eye exam and failed so he called me and said he is afraid he might do that again and if he does he might injure someone or worse so he got me to drive him to the MTO and handed in his license and told them isn't fit for the road anymore.
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Tell your gramps that he has a lot of respect from many people here. Very few are willing to sacrifice their independence even with such noble goals. I had a few close calls due to people who should have followed his lead.
 
I work in that area..there are a lot of old people driving there. It's ridiculous that some of these seniors are allowed to drive! On slow days at work I spend a few mins watching the drivers in the parking lot. At least 3-4 times a day I see an old lady/man reverse their car out of a parking spot, and simply look in their sideview mirror. Pedestrians behind them have to jump out of the way last min when they realize the car isnt gonna stop. Hint: If you're too old to be able to turn around and see the people behind your car...sit at home or call a cab. Call me politically incorrect if you want, but after a certain age, drivers should be tested annually to see if they are still fit to drive. The worst is watching someone reverse out of a parking spot at 2km/hr, oblivious to the dude in the $80,000 car behind them honking away to get their attention as they form a nicely placed dent on the quarter panel.


/rant
 
DOHC1 said:
The worst is watching someone reverse out of a parking spot at 2km/hr, oblivious to the dude in the $80,000 car behind them honking away to get their attention as they form a nicely placed dent on the quarter panel.
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Sorry.. I forgot to replace my hearing aid battery :(
 
DOHC1 said:
The worst is watching someone reverse out of a parking spot at 2km/hr, oblivious to the dude in the $80,000 car behind them honking away to get their attention as they form a nicely placed dent on the quarter panel.
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Yes, everyone knows that the correct way to do it can be found at any night-time meet, backing up at 20 kmph while reclined in a gangster slouch with a cell phone firmly clenched between shoulder and ear, and with half an eye on the passenger-side rear view mirror and the other scanning for cops because of said cell phone.
 
Gryphon said:
This is why traffic is controlled and speeds are limited - to the lowest common denominator, to minimize any requirement for quick reaction times, to accomodate old people and pedestrians, and for all the many other users of the roadway besides motorcycles.
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When I was doing highway design in university the standard used for perception-reaction time was something like 2.5 seconds.. I thought, are you kidding me? So from the time you perceive brake lights to the time you apply the brake pedal is 2.5 seconds?? But you're exactly right..it's the lowest-common-denominator factor. People on cell phones, reading, eating, talking..whatever. And not every situation is perceived correctly. It may be an emergency stop situation, or just a mild slowdown. So they're fairly conservative in their design factors.
 
turbodish said:
Yes, everyone knows that the correct way to do it can be found at any night-time meet, backing up at 20 kmph while reclined in a gangster slouch with a cell phone firmly clenched between shoulder and ear, and with half an eye on the passenger-side rear view mirror and the other scanning for cops because of said cell phone.
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your point being ???
 
I can't count how many times I've seen this. lmao


turbodish said:
Yes, everyone knows that the correct way to do it can be found at any night-time meet, backing up at 20 kmph while reclined in a gangster slouch with a cell phone firmly clenched between shoulder and ear, and with half an eye on the passenger-side rear view mirror and the other scanning for cops because of said cell phone.
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turbodish said:
Yes, everyone knows that the correct way to do it can be found at any night-time meet, backing up at 20 kmph while reclined in a gangster slouch with a cell phone firmly clenched between shoulder and ear, and with half an eye on the passenger-side rear view mirror and the other scanning for cops because of said cell phone.
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While this deffinately happens, it doesn't describe all "young" people, especially where I grew up...
Somehow, I managed to be a young male and survived driving without talking on my cell phone, blowing any stop signs etc. I did however get a couple tickets here and there, and did have an accident in a blizzard that was caused by an old man who didn't even stop when he forced my car in to the ditch where I rolled it.

What I like, is when I tell people to hang up their f-ing phone while driving and they give me the finger... Sorry that I'm trying to protect everyone from your self absorbed behaviour.
I hold the same view for the driving impaired old people as I do the pretty girl putting on her make up, or the "business" man chatting on the phone.

I say that every 5-years we have a CHALLENGING road test. Not only including that I can signal and park my car, but that you can perform avoidance maneuvers and especially since we live in canada, control skids.

The gf bitches at me that I don't reply to her texts while I'm driving, but I still don't do it.
 
turbodish said:
Yes, everyone knows that the correct way to do it can be found at any night-time meet, backing up at 20 kmph while reclined in a gangster slouch with a cell phone firmly clenched between shoulder and ear, and with half an eye on the passenger-side rear view mirror and the other scanning for cops because of said cell phone.
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Funny.

So you're okay with people reversing out of parking spots, oblivious to their surroundings (including the ones that are honking at them from 5 feet away)?


EDIT:
Just to be clear, I am NOT saying that at XX age, people should loose their license. After a certain age however, drivers need to be re-evaluated to ensure that they can safely react to a potentially dangerous situation.

[video=youtube;LPUsmefcQBs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPUsmefcQBs[/video]

How in the world is it safe for this man to be driving?
 
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DOHC1 said:
Funny.

So you're okay with people reversing out of parking spots, oblivious to their surroundings (including the ones that are honking at them from 5 feet away)?
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Nope, I'm not ok with that, regardless of driver's age or reason for being oblivious of things around them.

Riding down Yonge St the other day I was surprised to see how many people were so consumed fiddling with laptops, GPS displays, game controllers(!), texting or dialing on cells. You see it on the 401 too, head down, steering with knees, wandering in lane, slow to accelerate when traffic moves and slow to notice when traffic starts to slow with the inevitable panic braking being the next act to come. I did see someone trying to parallel park while texting, and while everyone else patiently waited for him to complete one or the other.

The one thing I noticed about most of THESE oblivious drivers was that they were all what I would consider to be in the younger half of the driving population. I don't think I noticed even one gray or blue-hair among any of them.
 
DOHC1 said:
EDIT:
Just to be clear, I am NOT saying that at XX age, people should loose their license. After a certain age however, drivers need to be re-evaluated to ensure that they can safely react to a potentially dangerous situation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPUsmefcQBs

How in the world is it safe for this man to be driving?
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For one thing, THAT man is in the State of Michigan. Who knows what programs they have in place to assess older drivers in Michigan?

We live in ONTARIO. While some doctors are loathe to do it, Ontario law requires them to report patients of any age whose medical condition substantially interferes with their ability to drive safely.

Ontario also has mandatory complete retesting of all drivers aged 70 or more who are involved in an at-fault collision.

On top of that, Ontario requires mandatory vision and written retesting together with an in-person "awareness" assessment every two years after a driver reaches age 80. Even if the senior passes the vision and written tests with flying colours, an examiner with any doubts about a given senior driver may require the senior to pass a road test, or the examiner may simply choose to lift the license outright.
 
DOHC1 said:
SO we wait until they potentially kill someone before retesting them?
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You're right. I think that anyone of any age who is at fault in a crash should be retested. And that includes single-vehicle crashes involving motorcycles, assuming the rider survives.

We'd have to drastically increase the number of testing centers.
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