To be annoyed at this old lady

[5had03]

So I pulled into my street driving home from my parents house earlier today, two DC in the back of car.

As I was driving down the street at no more than 20mph (mainly because of car wrecking speed bumps) an old lady with a walking stick suddenly came from behind the back of a lorry straight into the road.

Well thank goodness I saw her quick enough and stopped the car almost instantly so I didn’t hit her. I put my hand up in courtesy but didn’t feel I did any wrong.

However, this lady then begins to wave her walking stick towards my direction and shouting ‘you young drivers now days do not know how to drive and need to slow down’

She was an old lady so I wasn’t going to shout back at her but during the day it’s annoyed me more and more. SHE walked into the road without checking, I was not speeding, at 29 I do not class myself as a young driver!

*Maybe you could rewrite your OP with less of the breaking-Mumsnet-guidelines ageist language.

"this woman came out" etc etc

Her age has nothing to do with anything.
What's your excuse?

Huh? ‘This women came out’ which part of my post says that?

What’s my excuse about what?*

Oh I understand now that I shouldn’t have mentioned she was an old lady

But she was an old lady but don’t feel I’ve been rude about that.** I have grandparents, they are old people.... clearly that’s breaking ‘rules too’

Goodness.
Did you then turn to your toddler who said 'lawks mama, what an astonishing sequence of events? Who could have predicted that an old lady would exhibit so many stereotypical behaviours'

Not toddlers, not even my children.* Actually my two preteen nieces.*

So who’s stereotyping?

New acronym: BTRH.

You are being unreasonable if she was genuinely old as opposed to a little over 50. The Highway Code requires drivers to be cautious when passing parked vehicles as a child (or in this case elderly woman) might come oiut unexpectedly. Any culpability for an accident sits firmly with the driver.
My mother is 92 and blind.She wanders across roads waving her stick to be noticed. I'm sure there's a lot of squealing brakes and swearing drivers but that is a small price to pay for her independence. The benefits outweigh the risk - and drivers need to be mindful of unexpected occurrences.

So there was a lorry parked in a residential street. most sensible people would have noted it, and slowed even more thinking to themselves :

"This is a residential street, on which live, dogs,cats, small children , dozy mothers pushing pushchairs across the road , runners with headphones, kids playing footie, cyclists, skateboarding teens, and older people who can't move fast and need to use a walking stick. since I can't see through the lorry I had better slow down to a crawl in case one of the previously mentioned groups chooses this moment to step , run, push, cycle, skip, chase a ball out from behind the lorry."

But no, you choose to blame the pedestrian.

you should never walok out behind a parkd car let alone a lorry

why is op getting so much grief

and no she wouldnt hav been chargd had she hit her

Pedestrians who have started to cross the road always have right of way.

Right, ok. To be precise then this lady was likely in her late 70’s.

If I wasn’t being precautious and careful I would have hit her.

I am not being ageist. It doesn’t matter what age in my eyes she was, she could have been more careful.

My grandparents are in their early 80’s and if they were unable to cross roads safely there is no way on earth I or other family members would allow them to do so.

Drivers may 9/10 be to blame but that doesn’t make it ok for my elderly family to be badly injured or killed because they wasn’t to blame

GabsAlot

Thank you

My grandparents are in their early 80’s and if they were unable to cross roads safely there is no way on earth I or other family members would allow them to do so.

Not all elderly people have family who can supervise their ability to cross the road.

And btw, you did not stop "almost instantly". The stopping distance at 20mph ( and most drivers underestimate speed) is 40 feet. you may have reacted fast, but it still took you time , and some distance to stop.

I think it was an attempted insurance scam and your annoying 20 mph fucked it up

You are being ageist, because specifying her age was unnecessary.

A person of any age could step off a pavement in circumstances which, with the benefit of hindsight were inadvisible. You see I doubt your intention was to highlight that she appeared one of the age groups less likely to be involved in an accident of that type.

You don't like having your youth/inexperience highlighted, which suggests you would like a shift in ageist stereotypes when they are levelled at you. So perhaps stop dishing them out too. Especially when they are wrong.

Thank god for the "car wrecking speed bumps" then, or you'd really have been driving too fast for the road description you give.

My grandparents are in their early 80’s and if they were unable to cross roads safely there is no way on earth I or other family members would allow them to do so.

Do they not have the capacity to make their own decisions?

Not all elderly people have family who can supervise their ability to cross the road.

No but should have some form of supervision.**

Drivers have to live with hitting someone for the rest of their life.**

I was in no way breaking any laws

'Yes. I bet she had a shawl too. All the over-50s wear them round here.'

You are being ageist, because specifying her age was unnecessary.

I said she was an old lady!

So if it was a child and I said it was a child then this would also be wrong?

Or if I said it was a middle aged lady this would be wrong?

Goodness people like to make mountains from a molehill.**

Unless you are bored

bolocks qua

in a hidden gap beteween a lorry and a car?

Elderly person...sounds nicer than old lady

Call 101 OP,just to get it logged in case.

Police have just released images of two suspects they will to interview

Maybe have a read of the MN talk guidelines young woman.