Old people driving cars?

Question

I over took an old man and his wife today. he was doing 40 mph on a 60 mph road. He followed me and pulled up behind me at traffic lights, got out of his car and had a go at me. If anything was coming the other way there would have been an accident. He took my number plate and and followed me for another half an hour.I am a 30 year old woman who is on the ball and a good, careful driver but come on, there is a limit to even my patience. Why do old people drive soooooo slow. Do they not realise it is unfair and sometimes dangerouse for them to do that?

Well I've had so many good and varied answer that I can't choso a best one so will have to put it to a vote. I would just like to add that I haven't ment to offend anyone and I shouldn't tar evryone with the same brush. I had planned my journey and how long it would take me. It took 45 mins longer than expected because i got stuck behind 5 slow drivers. They were all over 65. I was patient and waited for them to turn off but by the last one I had lost all patience. I didn't say that it was on a road that is no overtaking so I was in the wrong. There were no other cars around so I dedcided that I could overtake. He then sped up to follow me and on the dual carriageway he overtook a few cars just to stay behind me. I apologise for being impatient and I do respect older people very much but I do think that if they don't feel confident enought o drive at a speed limit if the conditions are safe to do so then it is time to think about getting rid of your licence.

(their licence even)

Answer 1

better old people than kids, who are responsible for most of the accidents in this country with their arrogance, crappy anger management, sense of entitlement and drinking. the age for a permit should be 18 with a license at 21provided there are no accidents and kids pay their OWN insurance.

Answer 2

I had to take my Moms licence away because I didn't want to see her get killed or kill someone else!! One day she pulled out of my driveway and just stopped in the middle of the road like she didn't know what to do. Traffic was coming and I waved her back into the driveway I asked her what she thought she was doing and she said she was going home!! She was facing the wrong way to go home!! It's sad when the mind starts to go and some old people shouldn't be on the road!! Careful you never know who they are and they will cut you off but not on purpose they can be very confused!! I have respect for the elderly and hope they are able to drive safely for as long as possible and they will drive slowly just like they walk!! Show a little patients we are not all Indy drivers! They will tell you everybody is in such a hurry theses days!! So true!

Answer 3

What age of driver do you regard as old? I am a 63 old advanced motorist who has driven for 47 years, owned at least 20 performance cars and presently drive an Audi TT. I drive within urban speed limits and within or marginally above 60/70 limits. I am finding that many young women drive exceedly quickly and some are occasionally impatient. The majority of older drivers do not drive slowly but do respect speed limits. If you are suggesting that older drivers have no place on our roads then I have to disagree with you.

Answer 4

They should all be taken off of the road and take public transit. Where I live, there are hecca old people driving Corvettes, BMW's, Caddy CTS's and stuff like that. But they buy a car that can hit 160, and they don't go over 50. This isn't the 1940's anymore. Cars do have over 50 Horsepower these days. They should be taken off of the road and give the cars to people who deserve it and know how to use it respectfully.

* A few years ago I saw wrinkled up hag driving on the wrong side of the street.

Answer 5

I had a similar experience with a barking mad old git who evidently followed me home and when I was inside left a handwritten message on my windscreen. My ex father in law is a complete bloody liability on the road, he can hardly see and has the reflexes of a dead sheep.

All the stuff in the newspapers is about young drivers causing accidents, but I think older drivers are just as bad and should be tested and banned if necessary. The state should provide some sort of subsidy for taxis or whatever, to keep them off the road.

Or is that madly fascist of me ?!

Answer 6

I asked my dad the same thing, and he said it's because they think they'll be safer driving a little bit slower than everybody else. They think that driving fast will get them in a car accident or something. I just think you should just stick to the speed limit. But I like to look at it this way:
During the Civil War when they were drafting men for the army, they put young guys as young as 17-18 in the front lines because they knew that at that age, they have that hormone in them that makes them feel invincible, like they can take on anything. And in the back of the formation were the old men in their fifties, because old men just didn't have the drive like 18 year olds do, and they're just a bit slow and hesitant about things thats all. When parents become old, they become like the baby again because they can't take care of themselves very well, and the children become the caretakers.

Answer 7

Just because a road has a 60 mph limit does NOT mean you have to travel at 60. Have you not seen video of motorway pile ups?, 70 mph limit on a motorway but you have seen motors piling into the back of others. It would not have happened had the drivers speed been lower. You have not told us what the other driver had a go at you for, have you.

Answer 8

I'm always fascinated when people trot out the old, "The most dangerous age group for drivers is the under 25's..." routine. Does anyone ever bother to check out those of statistics fully? Because the SECOND most dangerous age group for drivers, are the over 70's!

The U.K. Government's Transport Research Laboratory (the TRL) has undertaken many studies on drivers of different age groups. The TRL's conclusions are are that the average 75 year old driver has the same driving ability as a 35 year old - who has had 4 pints of beer...

Think about that very carefully. There are thousands of elderly drivers, whose driving ability is equivalent to that of a drunk driver - EVERY TIME THEY TAKE TO THE ROAD!!

Drive very, very carefully folks, because they can't...

Answer 9

If you overtook and passed them, and they followed, looks like they sped up considerably to do that. If he followed you for a half hour, I would have driven directly to the police station and reported him, or called if you had a cell phone.

Statistically the majority of accidents are caused by those under the age of 25, not those over 60, but as in your case, there are exceptions to that. Please don't put that on all older drivers though, as you seem to be doing with the title to your question. Most older drivers are quite safe.

Answer 10

I wholeheartedly agree with you that it is very dangerous to drive slowly and if they are caught, they get a ticket. My great aunt got one.

The other problem is that seniors often aren't willing to take responsibility for their actions as exhibited in your story. They blame others for their shortcomings. This fellow most likely was slightly senile. His brain functioning had probably slowed down and he couldn't go any faster given his physical condition. He should have accommodated his disability by driving during non-rush hours, driving short distances and driving where two lanes are available.

My mom, who has lost much of her eyesight, hit a truck last year because she claimed he stopped too quickly. It was, of course, her fault. The other day, she had a near-accident as she started to run a red light, but was stopped by my sister who could have been killed. Clearly this would have been her fault, but she blamed me because she was talking about me at the time. If I hadn't done what I did, she wouldn't have been talking about me and she would have been more focused on the red light. I hardly think the police officer would have sent me the ticket.

Anyway, I think seniors are upset by their loss of their abilities and they don't want to restrict themselves and they cause problems for other people. That is why states retest seniors. You can report this man and some states will require that he come in for retesting.

I was upset by my mother's driving, so I called the state driving department - senior issues. The woman said that she'd take care of the problem if I wished, so I e-mailed my family members all of the information and dumped the problem into their laps! I also got on my sister's case for driving with a half-blind driver. She should have been driving.

Seniors do drive better than teenagers but teenagers are going through a necessary learning curve, whereas my mom and probably your old man have access to a free bus service and should make use of it. In our state, slow moving vehicles must have on flashers.

Answer 11

I work with the elderly at an assisted living and I am not condoning what they do but you must put yourself in their shoes. They are the minority in society. They have us "young" people always rushing them and telling them where to go and what to do. They know that soon they are going to have to give up that car-which is a representation of their independence, and that is very hard for them to do. They want respect from the younger generations, just as we want respect from the generations that come behind us. The next time you are stuck behind an elderly person going slow, be thankful because that person was probably a veteran in the war or a wife who worked to support her family during the depression.