To think old drivers are more dangerous than young ones?

[PistolAnnies]

An old dear almost crashed right into me before, clearly didn't see, even when I had to swiftly swerve to get out of her way, and she was squinting her eyes trying to see

I see this more with old drivers and think they should have to surrender their license, if at a certain age, their eyesight and health are not in the best condition

I think big generalisations are more inaccurate than small ones

Well they pay much less insurance than young drivers which suggests that the stats are against you.

They do need to hand in their licence if their eyesight or health isn't up to it so yabu it starts from 70, some people are still working at that age.

The plural of anecdote is not data.

They drive very hesitantly at times.

Dh's car was written off by an elderly Micra driver who completely ignored the roundabout

From hearing a diss usurp with someone who works within the industry I seem to remember that men's driving skills improve with age however women's deteriorate :(
However this is a sweeping generalisation.

Define "old dear" and "they"

Yes - your one near-miss with an older driver is a clear scientific indication that all older drivers are more dangerous than younger ones.

Meantime, back in the real world, there are regularly threads on here about 'non-old' drivers who are nervous, anxious, 'think I should get my eyes tested'...

Some are, but they don't take as many risks as some young drivers.

I do think that there should be more said about vehicles being dangerous - not something some young consider when they are driving.

Also, those space chevrons should be on all roads - to stop cars driving so close to each other, that or the two second gap widely publicised.

I think they can both be very dangerous just in different ways.

Life

I agree with that

Tailgating is rife

YANBU to think that some people should not be driving, but I wouldn't limit that to either old or young tbh.
I have a rule of thumb, that men shouldn't drive small cars (usually old men who can't see past the steering wheel, or young men who can't afford the insurance on the car they want - so feel the need to show off) and women shouldn't drive large cars (as they can;t gauge the size of the thing!)
There are exceptions to these guidelines (I drive an 8 seater people carrier, and obviously am a great driver ) but how many times have you been stuck behind a small car and when you overtake it's an old man, how many times have you been overtaken by a small car - and it's a young man and how many times have been driving along a road that is wide enough for a tank and the large car waiting for you to go through the gap is being driven by a woman?

Theres plenty of younger drivers who have nearly crashed into me as well. One put me in hospital with his crap driving. And older people have to renew their licences every 3 years after age 70 anyway. So yabu.

NewtRipley - Well if you don't know the definition of 'old' then I suggest you look it up?! As for 'dear', I'm obvs referring to a lady

If OP had said ''AIBU to think some old drivers are just as dangerous as some young drivers?''. I imagine that statement would have got more or less 100% unanimous YANBU.

But ... that would be boring - it's better this way

generalisations are usually daft op as is calling another woman an 'old dear' your post is just silly. there are dangerous drivers of all ages but the stats don't back up your argument.

Oookay

Old woman would have sufficed. No need to patronise

surely it is more accurate, based on the description of the incident to state that "people with vision problems are more dangerous than young drivers"...

Billy, I drove both my Animal and Nissan Navara trucks way better than smaller cars, I think it makes you a much better driver actually

I think they pose different risks and need to be dealt with differently.

Younger drivers dangerous driving tends to be a greater willingness to take risks/think they are invisible. This can be dealt with by behaviour management and or criminal sanction. A driver who routinely speeds can be taught to be a safer driver or banned if they don't learn.

Older drivers who drive dangerously may be due to reduced physical or mental capacity associated with ageing. This is often non reversible and can't be addressed in a way that allows them to modify their behaviour. So these drivers need to be tested more frequently for their fitness to drive and made to surrender their licences.

Older drivers driving danger

Compos

Good post

Agreeing with justmature here though I'd say it's people who drive with impaired vision itself since vision problems can often be rectified with glasses. One of my friends has just been finally started wearing her glasses- she vainly refused before- she's only 30.

Some people are crap drivers and don't care about others on the road- they continually drive shit and it's the other drivers who avoid or suffer the accident. Some people are good drivers most of the time but have that one moment of shitness that could result in an accident.

There are some awful older drivers round here. We are in a village, there are lots of old people here and in the surrounding villages, you really do need a car.......but I encounter far more dangerous driving from the older drivers than I've ever seen from younger drivers. I'm talking weaving around country roads, flying past schools or driving at 30 on a 60 road, they plod along with all the time in the world with a long line behind them.

...an 'old dear'
Ah... ageism. The last acceptable prejudice.

FIL is awful, and the fact that he drives a massive 4x4 makes him even more dangerous, and he does a lot of driving. Can't believe that he's never been in an accident. I won't get into the car with him with DD, but he drives his DP's grandchildren round a lot . Rarely driven by MIL but her DH is unbelievably slow, I don't know if dangerously slow though. My mum doesn't drive much but she did manage to write off BIL's car a few years ago by crashing straight into it "I panicked and hit the accelerated not the brake" okaaaaaaaaaaaay!

so, on that measure YANBU. I would change the lot of them a massive load of insurance.

My auntie's not bad .