To think that older drivers need a special plate

[Andtheresaw]

My exFIL has, at last, had a ROSPA driving assessment, 2 years after I asked him to give up driving.
He was marked over 30 or so criteria on a scale of: excellent, good, acceptable; not acceptable.
His overall score was Good (!), with a recommendation to do a refresher course. The things he got 'reasonable' for were things like road awareness, consideration of others, hazard perception, lane discipline. The things he was excellent at were reversing round a corner and slow manoeuvres.
The summary at the end suggested that the tempo of his driving was such that some people may not have the patience to wait for him. he perceives this as 'the world is more aggressive than 5 years ago'. I perceive this as ; 'you get beeped because you are a danger to yourself and others'.
But...If I was behind a learner or provisional driver at a roundabout, I would have an expectation that they wouldn't pull away easily, or might cause another driver to brake, or that there may be some lane drift, so I'd give them a wide berth. I think that there should be some kind of 'getting older' sticker; not to stigmatize those who are getting older, but just as a heads up that their speed perception or reactions may not be as good as others: basically a 'bear with me for 10 secs' badge.
Does this seem like a good idea?

I'd actually worry from another angle, OAPs are often targets for scams and this advertises old possibly vulnerable person driving alone.

I'll second what PP have said about P plates my kids only used them a couple of times and they were treated appallingly by other drivers. Less so with the L plates oddly.

You are either road worthy or you're not and if you've been assessed as road worthy recently then there is no reason for any extra sanctions. Although in the case of the OP I'd maybe think twice before allowing DC's in the car with him.

No, sorry. If they need special measures, then they shouldn't be driving. It's different for learners, they improve with practice/time

While we're on the subject; what plate would you suggest for the idiot boy I saw today driving a Smart car whilst inhaling nitrous oxide from a pink balloon?

I'm a learner and there are plenty of other drivers who are desperately rude, impatient and aggressive with learners. Not from me doing anything wrong (according to my instructor) but just keeping to legal speed limits etc.

The worst drivers aren't the ones who have the most accidents, they are the people that cause accidents.
They come from all groups not just older people. The worst I see are mums on school run rushing to get to work, they can be very dangerous to other drivers and pedestrians, I'm not sure what must be going on in their minds tbh.

You are either fit to drive or not, there is no need for a grading system.
Drive like a cunt and be caught on camera and be made to take a refresher at your own cost. three times caught and points/fine, more than this could receive a ban.
I'm sure that would make the roads safer.

Just drive like everyone else is an incompetent fool - you’re seldom surprised by anything they do then. Lots of people on our roads shouldn’t be, YABU to single the elderly.

Op Says that he had an assessment

By ROSPA. It's just their opinion on your driving. It's not an official thing

I think it is a good idea

Andtheresaw
People aren't generally aggressive to Learners are they?

Generally no they aren't, but there is a certain type of person that is and they would be the same to any driver that had to display a 'fault'

They already give bad drivers a black Audi to drive, so a special plate is unnecessary.

I think it’s mental in this country you can drive till the day you die even if you have serious health conditions, because the dvla relies on self cert.
one recent study showed drivers over 70 were over represented in crashes... in japan it’s mandatory for your doctor to sign you off as fit at 70.
So what I’m saying is, you’re either fit or not. Let’s work out who isn’t, and get them off the roads.
(That includes young people unfit to drive)

alpha

No. What about the wankers who drive 70
In a 40 with no indicators and constantly cut you up? A W plate? A get out of the way plate for drivers who sit at roundabout for 100 years and pull out just as a car comes? One for teenagers with music so loud I doubt they can concentrate which is proven when they don’t bother to check their mirrors and drive damgerously?
There are a lot of unfit twattish drivers on the road. They’ve passed their test. Unless you bring in that for everybody a blanket sign for ‘older’ people isn’t going to work. A ‘getting older’ sticker would give me the rage if I was made to havr one!

What about the wankers who drive 70
In a 40 with no indicators and constantly cut you up? A W plate?

I thought that’s what the Audi, BMW and Mercedes badges were?

(I’m joking before anyone flips with me)

Road layouts change (eg more slip roads, fewer roundabouts on to major roads), required manoeuvres in the driving test change. How about requiring everyone to take a refresher course every 25 years, irrespective of age?

Was the assessment appropriate? Should he have been at a mobility centre rather than a rospa centre?

He sounds like my mother, whose driving is OK when she is fresh and concentrating (eg at an assessment centre ) but imo is disproportionately affected by distractions tiredness and stress due to her age, slow processing and mild memory impairment.

If you have passed your test yet need to warn other drivers of your lack of driving skills then you shouldn’t be on the road.

That's silly. If you've just passed your test it's likely you're at the minimum safe level of driving ability that is deemed acceptable. You are statistically much less safe than a driver with at least 5 years experience (which is why you'll pay a fortune in insurance). You may be less confident pulling out and need a bigger gap than a better driver would, you'll probably take longer to park etc.

Its a crazy idea and very ageist op.

I know my worst driving was as a sleep deprived young mum. My dad is 85 and very competent to drive.

Your fil isn’t representative of every older person although you havnt said his age?

Alpha

To be honest, I think making everyone do a refresher every few years would be no bad thing - you see such terrible driving on the roads. But the admin would be too much, I guess!

Perhaps we could also have stickers that say be aware of:
Young boy racers (of either sex these days) who believe they are immortal;
Mums who spend half their time shouting and looking over their shoulders at misbehaving kids in the back seat;
Men who appear to think their roof will fall off if they don't hold it on with one hand while driving;
Women who put their lipstick on at the traffic lights while oblivious to the fact that they are green;
Drivers who still think it is OK to talk on a mobile while driving;
Couples who want to alleviate the boredom of travel by having a blazing row;
Tailgaters:
Lorry drivers who blindly follow there Sat Navs down impassable tracks:
People who think they drive better after one pint;
Motorists who take pleasure in driving fast through big puddles and drenching pedestrians;
People who are so busy chatting to their passengers you can see they haven't look in their mirror for the last five miles.

Plenty more I'm sure...

Oh goodness. This thread has been very interesting. I posted thinking that, as with learners and new drivers, one would generally be more patient/understanding if someone had a sign in their car to make you aware that they may behave differently. I guess that I'm projecting my own behaviours rather than thinking that others may use the knowledge of someone else's disadvantage to make their life harder, or that it may be perceived as an insult rather than an attempt to help.
It's taken me a week to find this advert from my youth, but this used to be shown on TV, when it was accepted that some older people may be a bit slower and the public were asked to be more aware and careful.

If he has been judged competent to drive then why should he need a plate?

The most dangerous of drivers are younger people (usually men/by racers) who drive far too fast. Just read of the number of accidents that take place causing death by dangerous driving. Rarely are people of the age of your exFiL the drivers who are responsible for those accidents.