My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

AIBU?

To report this driver to the police?

94 replies

FlyRussianUnicorn · 17/03/2016 16:30

Jesus. Just driving back from the supermarket- a journey that should take 5 minutes has taken double.

Old woman driving at 15mph on a 40mph road for no reason what so ever- and slammed on her brakes, again for no reason, twice. Second time I beeped my horn at her, and the car behind beeped at me- she nearly caused us both to crash. Open road, quiet (there were us 3 on the road and I saw 2 going in the other direction while driving)

Refused to overtake a cyclist who ended up pulling over and stopped and gestured at her- then she hesitated for a good 5 seconds before pulling RIGHT out on to the other side of the road to overtake despite the cyclist being right on our side of the road and she could of got past straggling the middle line.

Car was completely bashed in at the back so she has clearly had an accident. Both stopped at our local petrol station but managed to hold my tongue. She must of been mid 80s and could barely walk into the petrol station.

AIBU to report? Surely this driving is just as reckless as severely breaking the speed limit?

OP posts:
Report
FlyRussianUnicorn · 17/03/2016 16:31

Should also add- the road where she was overtaking was open and clear, you could see for several hundred feet and NOBODY was coming.

OP posts:
Report
Cutecat78 · 17/03/2016 16:32

Ahhh this happened to me near Gillingham a few months ago it was v frustrating .... Thing is what do you think the police are going to do?

Report
bumbleymummy · 17/03/2016 16:33

I've reported someone for similar before. I had to give a statement etc. I was worried that they were going to cause an accident so I felt I had to report it.

Report
MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 17/03/2016 16:34

She sounds dangerous. I expect the police will have a word if you contact them.

Report
FlyRussianUnicorn · 17/03/2016 16:35

I don't know to be fair. It was frustrating its more the fact she clearly isn't confident on the road, nearly caused 2 of us to crash and her car was badly bashed in the back so has clearly already had one accident recently (it was a 65 plate car so in the last 6 months) and the fact she could barely walk suggests to me she couldn't possibly be in control of a vehicle. Maybe i'm being oversensitive because i'm semi local to the bad crash that happened outside the school in Liverpool a few weeks a go. I don't know?I'm not doing it to be nasty more out of concern for herself and other road users.

We do live quite rural so I do understand it might be her only means of getting about but i'd hate to drive past one day/read in the paper that she has caused a bad accident

OP posts:
Report
Bellatrixurstrange · 17/03/2016 16:35

No, YANBU report her before she takes out any pedestrians or drivers.Or, more likely, she causes a multi-car traffic jam lasting for miles..... Get off the road FFS people who drive dangerously - old or bloody young!

Report
Ughnotagain · 17/03/2016 16:37

I would. You're right, driving like that is dangerous.

Report
GloGirl · 17/03/2016 16:38

YANBU, and if she pulled over at a petrol station I would probably have a nice calm word, ask her to wait whilst I phoned the police or at the very least suggest to her she gets a taxi home.

Very difficult for her to think she can no longer be independent I would be very sympathetic to that but it's lethal.

Report
Oldraver · 17/03/2016 16:43

She could of been drunk

Report
Narp · 17/03/2016 16:47

Yes you should report her. She is a potential danger to herself and others.

Report
Whatdoidohelp · 17/03/2016 16:49

Yanbu. She sounds like a danger.

Report
AliceInUnderpants · 17/03/2016 16:51

the fact she could barely walk suggests to me she couldn't possibly be in control of a vehicle.

Nope. You lost me here.

Report
MorticiaLiverish · 17/03/2016 16:51

I think you should report her.

I was watching a TV programme a couple of weeks ago, Traffic Cops or Police Interceptors or something like that, and they were following an old lady who had been reported by her neighbour. It turned out that she had had her licence revoked by the DVLA but refused to accept it and carried on driving anyway.

She didn't stop despite having a police car with blues and two flashing behind her, they had to pull across the front of her vehicle to get her to stop and she still tried to drive around them. She refused to accept that she couldn't drive and insisted that she was perfectly safe as she was very careful when driving!

Report
Cutecat78 · 17/03/2016 16:52

But unless you filmed it its your word against hers...,,

Report
Kelsoooo · 17/03/2016 16:53

Why didn't you over take?

/missesthepoint

Report
TheWitTank · 17/03/2016 16:56

I had very similar today. Elderly gentleman was at the head of a line of traffic I was in (I was about 3 back). 50mph road, clear, dry conditions. He was doing 20mph at the most, and braking to approx 5-10mph every time another car passed in the opposite direction. I'm no speed freak by any means and I always stick to the speed limit or below if necessary, but this was so dangerous. Eventually the drivers in front and I managed to overtake when safe places came up, but I looked as I passed and he looked very worried and frail Sad. YWNBU to call. We had to take the battery out of my grandads car as he was fiercely independent and wanted to drive but was so dangerous. He would forget how to drive as he was driving and would weave across the road and stop in unsuitable places. None of which was his fault at all (medical) but he so desperately wanted to keep driving Sad and was convinced he was okay to do so.

Report
2016namechangecomingalong · 17/03/2016 16:58

YANBU at all.

Report
pigeonpoo · 17/03/2016 16:58

Did you get the registration number? Id report

There will be CCTV to show her erratic driving I'd have thought

Report
Bogeyface · 17/03/2016 17:01

We have an issue with my aunt where we know that "the conversation" needs to be had. The thing is, her husband is abusive and its her only means of getting away from him. She wont leave him as she thinks that she will have nothing, but values her car as she can use it to visit us.

She would want us to pick her up, she hates the thought of imposing on anyone even though it wouldnt be an imposition at all, but her driving is getting worse. She is just about ok at the moment, but gets flustered easily and loses concentration. If she were to have an accident her husband would go fucking mental which doesnt help either way :(

You must report this woman, she is a danger to herself as well as others.

Report
ispymincepie · 17/03/2016 17:04

I would totally report, she was and will continue to be a danger. My dh thinks elderly drivers should be able to catch a tennis ball chucked at them unexpectedly in order to keep their licence and I have to say I agree with him. Driving is not a right.

Report
Sidge · 17/03/2016 17:04

I would report, and have done.

My friend and I followed an elderly driver into a supermarket carpark, having been behind him for some time. He was incredibly slow, overly cautious (like the previous poster this chap braked hard every time a car came the other way) and nearly hit 3 cars in the car park navigating around looking for a space. My friend and I were watching him like this >>> Shock

We then watched him climb out of his car and he could hardly put one foot in front of the other he was so infirm. He was walking with a frame and was struggling to lift each foot - there is no way on this earth he could have done an emergency stop. His car wasn't adapted (we checked as we went past).

So we called the non-emergency police line and reported our concerns whilst we were in the car park and had his registration number. The police arrived just as we were leaving so I don't know what the outcome was. I did feel for him but would have felt worse if he'd hit someone.

Report
ScoutsMam · 17/03/2016 17:05

the fact she could barely walk suggests to me she couldn't possibly be in control of a vehicle.

Nope. You lost me here.


My neighbour is older and is now going from a manual to an automatic as the clutch is too much for her joints. She's a cracking driver though and was able to recognise that something needed to change if she was to continue.

I'd phone the police if you have the reg, regardless of the person's age driving like that means you're a danger.

Report
Buzzardbird · 17/03/2016 17:05

I can't understand why you didn't go around her either.

People can still drive when they can't walk well btw.

Report
sparechange · 17/03/2016 17:10

There was a tragic case a few years ago where a couple were out with their child, a car mounted by the pavement and the mother threw herself in front of the car to save her son. She was killed.

The driver was elderly and should not have been driving. Many members of the family had concerns but none of them had reported her.

The dad now blogs under a name like 'the accidental widower' and campaigns for people to report unfit drivers so that no more families have to go through what him and his son have been through.

Have a read of his site (I'm off to google a link but someone else might know it) and then think about whether you could live with yourself if this driver went on to kill a mum of a toddler, or anyone else, because everyone thought it was someone else's job to report it...

Report
SirChenjin · 17/03/2016 17:11

Yes I would. It might be that her family have been putting off having The Chat and you take matters out of their hands.

DFIL had Parkinsons and was still driving well beyond the point at which he should have stooped. He was struggling to walk and didn't have the muscle strength or reaction time to stop safely. In the end there was a family conversation but we would have welcomed a police visit.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.