If you're too old to drive, don't

[T'Bonz]

Re the title subject.

What do you expect old people to do to:
- Get the the grocery store.
- Get to the doctor/dentist
- Get to anywhere?

Not everyone has family in town. In fact, many old people have no family nearby. And if they do, their family has a life of their own and most people work anyhow.

So how do old people get anywhere?

Take the bus? That's good *if* you're in a city where bus service exists and is frequent. Old people standing out in frigid or torrid conditions is not good.

Pay for various van services? We have some of those down here for seniors. Most are driven by morons who, at the best, are never on time and at worst, can be abusive. Many times seniors get stranded at the doctor's office because the van never showed. I was at the dentist once and since they knew me well, they asked if I would be so kind as to run an older woman home who had been stranded like this. They also knew me well enough to know that I would. I even stopped and went with her to get her prescription at the drugstore.

I felt so bad for the lady. It's hell to get old and have issues like that.

So think about that before you say "Don't drive if you're too old." In many, if not most places, you can't get by without driving. Not if you want to eat or maintain your health.

*

As for your asshole driver? I hate people who don't get "right of way." I try not to get burned over it though. Life is too short. I figure karma will get 'em down the road if I can't.

 

[JuanBolio]

I'm sure Kommander wasn't really suggesting all old people shouldn't drive, or that the asshole's age was the cause of his cockfuckery. Some people are just terrible drivers, regardless of age.

 

[Kommander]

*** Official statement from Kommander ***​

​

Age is not necessarily an indicator of driving ability. There are people of all ages that are terrible drivers, and there are people of all ages that are good drivers.

*** This has been an official statement from Kommander ***​

​

That being said,

Re the title subject.

What do you expect old people to do to:
- Get the the grocery store.
- Get to the doctor/dentist
- Get to anywhere?

Not everyone has family in town. In fact, many old people have no family nearby. And if they do, their family has a life of their own and most people work anyhow.

So how do old people get anywhere?

Take the bus? That's good *if* you're in a city where bus service exists and is frequent. Old people standing out in frigid or torrid conditions is not good.

Pay for various van services? We have some of those down here for seniors. Most are driven by morons who, at the best, are never on time and at worst, can be abusive. Many times seniors get stranded at the doctor's office because the van never showed. I was at the dentist once and since they knew me well, they asked if I would be so kind as to run an older woman home who had been stranded like this. They also knew me well enough to know that I would. I even stopped and went with her to get her prescription at the drugstore.

I felt so bad for the lady. It's hell to get old and have issues like that.

So think about that before you say "Don't drive if you're too old." In many, if not most places, you can't get by without driving. Not if you want to eat or maintain your health.

Does this apply to all people that "have no other option," or only to demographics that you approve of? Is it OK for blind people to drive if they have no other option? Drunk people? Those with severe mental disabilities?

From your reply, I'm guessing this affects you personally in some way aside from what you mentioned. It affects me personally as well. When I was 14, a 72-year-old hit me while I was riding my bike because he floored his gas pedal to get thorough an intersection ahead of a wave of traffic. My spinal cord was damaged in the accident. Because of this I am in constant pain, my extremities feel numb all the time, my hands shake a little most of the time (sometimes they shake a lot), and it also causes erectile dysfunction. There's more, but those are the big things. It's a miracle I'm not bound to a wheelchair. So, now that you know where I'm coming from, are you saying it's OK to put the lives of other drivers and pedestrians at risk just to avoid an inconvenience? I don't think you meant it that way, but I'm not sure.

 

[Trekker4747]

So how do old people get anywhere?

There's plenty of options, I'm sure there are also volunteer car services.

Driving is privilege, not a right.

Though apparently not the aim of this thread there are pleny of old people out there right now on the roads that should not be. Worsening vision, worsening reaction time, worsening motor skills all equal a dangerous driver.

How many times have you seen an old person creeping down an on ramp, going well below the speed of traffic on a highway or otherwise driving like their poor vision or poor grasp of operating a 2-ton hunk of steel is taking all of their focus?

If someone is too old to operate a vechile safely they should be off the road. The lives of society as a whole shouldn't be forfeit because Grandma needs to get to the beauty parlor on Sunday afternoon.

 

[T'Bonz]

Does this apply to all people that "have no other option," or only to demographics that you approve of? Is it OK for blind people to drive if they have no other option? Drunk people? Those with severe mental disabilities?

No. It applies to the group as a whole. All too often, a few bad apples will garner the "Damned old people. Can't let 'em drive." (Conversely, teens get that tag too due to their own bad apples.)

My point is two-fold:
- Not all old people drive poorly.
- If a senior can't drive, what are his options? He has to have a car in most places to get by. There is no car fairy who will appear to help him out.

If someone can't drive when old age incapacitates them, I agree, yank the license. But that doesn't mean everyone over 70. It may surprise some young people, but contrary to what society and the media would have you believe, old people are valuable and have worth, just as the young do.

From your reply, I'm guessing this affects you personally in some way aside from what you mentioned.

Not really, other than having lived in an area where lots of retirees live. I have seen what happens when they either drive poorly (been backed into twice, years ago, by "bad" old drivers,) or lose their transportation.

To me, it's just a human thing. It's fine and dandy to say "Don't drive!" but how do they survive?

*

There's plenty of options, I'm sure there are also volunteer car services.

ROFL. Wrong. I worked in guardianship for a while. There is almost *nothing* in the way of volunteer car services. There are some low pay services, but they are extremely unreliable as I know from talking to seniors in the course of my old job.

Some cities have very low-cost buses (they used to be free, but some now charge a nominal buck or two) and those are helpful. Even so, they go to select places (like a grocery store or a mall,) and seniors have a need to be able to get to and back from medical offices.

 

[Kommander]

- Not all old people drive poorly.

I agree, and I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I thought otherwise.

My thread title was kind of poorly chosen. I figured if I used the title "If you're too big of an ass hole to drive, don't" one of the Mods would want to have a little conversation with me, and attacking the guy for being old was the second thing I thought of.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I understand your frustration, Kommander. I would say that elderly drivers need yearly exams after a certain age for hearing, vision and reaction time. It wouldn't be a restriction of rights, but it would be a public safety thing. Since we have restrictions on younger drivers now in some states, testing for older drivers shouldn't be a problem, I think.

 

[JuanBolio]

When I was 14, a 72-year-old hit me while I was riding my bike because he floored his gas pedal to get thorough an intersection ahead of a wave of traffic. My spinal cord was damaged in the accident. Because of this I am in constant pain, my extremities feel numb all the time, my hands shake a little most of the time (sometimes they shake a lot), and it also causes erectile dysfunction. There's more, but those are the big things. It's a miracle I'm not bound to a wheelchair.

 

[Captain Ice]

He wasn't quite that old. I just went off on old people because he had that "Respect your elders, you fucking kid!" attitude. I hate that. I understand that wisdom comes with experience, but living six decades doesn't automatically make one King of the Fucking Universe. I try to show everyone some amount of respect, regardless of age. However, I don't respect ass holes of any age.

And yeah, I'm not going to claim old people are the only people that shouldn't drive. There are a lot of people of all ages, especially under 25 that should have their licenses taken away.

I agree. Though they piss me off for an entirely different reason. They think they're invulnerable.

Age and driving should be case by case by means of more regular driver evaluations. There are 65 year old individuals that are too far gone and then there are 85 year old sharp sticks.

I've flown with an 82 year old flight instructor, retired AA captain, that would put most of his fellow senior citizens to shame.

In some states there are. For instance, my grandmother lives in Southern California. The last few years, she's had to pass a driver's test. It gets harder and harder for her to do, but she still passes at 91.

My Dad is an example of the opposite situation. After someone followed him into his doctor's office and told the doctor what she had observed, the doctor and our family members told him he should not be driving. He continued anyway. We had to have the state pull his license to get him to stop. He's still appealling that decision and still insists that he can drive. He can't and if he does, he will hurt or kill someone. Will he listen? No.

Old people and their demand for respect They use that as a means to bully and intimidate people, especially old men. My parents are of the generation where they used that on me when I was a child and when I got older it took me a while to clue in that a lot of older people are idiots.

Now, as far as parking lots, I used to stop if someone was coming down the aisle as I am backing out, but no more. There's no reason some courtesy can be exercised (and no, the old man didn't have the right of way). I back out and when another vehicle comes down, I don't stop. If that person slams on the brakes, I keep coming. I've had them try to intimidate me by creeping forward, which irks me even more. So, even if I have enough room to cut the wheel and pull forward, I continue in reverse until my vehicle is aligned with the aisle. Sometimes, for good measure, I'll take my time shifting from reverse to drive.

You just need to know how to call these clowns out on their bullshit when they try to intimidate you with their vehicles. My truck is paid for and looks like a truck, whereas most of these people would shit kittens if their precious car got scratched, or worse.

Amen. I'm also driving a decently sized, older vehicle. About the only thing I would do different here is that I would pull to within a foot or so of him and then just sit there, no matter how long it took.

Sometimes the best way to deal with an impatient asshole is to be an asshole.

- Not all old people drive poorly.

I agree, and I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I thought otherwise.

My thread title was kind of poorly chosen. I figured if I used the title "If you're too big of an ass hole to drive, don't" one of the Mods would want to have a little conversation with me, and attacking the guy for being old was the second thing I thought of.

I would have laughed and said, "Welcome to my day" whilst having said little conversation with you.

That being said, I doubt I would have been able to show your restraint there at the end. I probably would have ended it with "Respect is EARNED, asshole."

 

[trampledamage]

I had the opposite experience this morning - in that I was the car driving slowly by in the parking lot and this idiot started reversing out of their spot just as I was coming past! I drive a Dodge Caravan, I'm pretty difficult to miss, but did they stop? No... they just kept reversing meaning I had to speed up to get out of their way in time.

Luckily this is Saskatoon not Detroit, so no guns were involved

 

[Kommander]

From now on when you laugh at my misfortune. Rather than say anything, I'm just going to post this image:

(Sorry if this offends anyone.)

so no guns were involved

Yeah, because of all the guns in Detroit, some things that are common elsewhere are extremely rare or non-existent here because we just use our guns. These include crowbars, bottle openers, keys, light switches, and television remotes, among many other things.

 

[trampledamage]

so no guns were involved

Yeah, because of all the guns in Detroit, some things that are common elsewhere are extremely rare or non-existent here because we just use our guns. These include crowbars, bottle openers, keys, light switches, and television remotes, among many other things.

Detroit sounds like such a fun place!

 

[freak]

I agree about him carrying a weapon..that's not good. But you flipping him off is just giving him your IQ. It's no wonder you weren't shot at! Even though you had the right of way, you didn't have to go and flip the guy the bird. Talk about ROAD RAGE!

 

[Michael Chris]

Whoa, I just changed the colors on that in GIMP and it actually says something. Can you actually read that normally?

 

[JuanBolio]

I think your definition of "road rage" is a little off. Chasing someone down the road with the intention of running them off into the ditch is road rage. Flipping someone the bird is commonplace, and is no cause for anyone to pull a gun.

 

[trampledamage]

Whoa, I just changed the colors on that in GIMP and it actually says something. Can you actually read that normally?

The colour-blindness test picture?

Yes, I can read it normally. If you can't, might I suggest you go to an optician/opthalmologist for an eye test.


Apologies if you were joking and I've taken you seriously, I'm pretty tired.

 

[JuanBolio]

Just a guess - but it says "Fuck the colorblind", doesn't it?

 

[trampledamage]

Just a guess - but it says "Fuck the colorblind", doesn't it?

Yeah - good guess!

 

[JuanBolio]

I take comfort in the fact that there are Ishihara blots like that which I, as a so-called "colorblind" person, can read but those with "normal" color vision cannot.

 

[hellsgate]

I don't even bother with driving here in Surrey or Vancouver as there's loads of other options. (Foot travel, Bicycle, Skytrain, Translink, etc.) These days, a camcorder should be an automotive option instead of ashtrays, MP3 players, & cup-holders to deal with "burden of proof" issues such as the one displayed in the original post.