To think that maybe elderly drivers need to re take their driving test?

[lonelyonee]

Title is to grab attention although not far off my point. (Long post sorry!).
My AIBU is AIBU to think that if you are driving on the roads which are mostly 30 mph that you should be indeed doing or at the very least near to the speed limit?
I'm sure it is still classed as a minor on your driving test if you are going too slow in a particular speed zone right?

Driving on my way home just, I was stuck behind a car who was being driven by an elderly male. That's fine if he can drive safely (I've seen 100 year old drivers & am aware some are fantastic!). My issue is he was driving EXTREMELY slow, sporadically 25mph then slowing down to around 10mph at points where there was no need to slow down or go that slow. So as this is happening I'm obviously having to slow right down almost to a stop with tonnes of traffic behind me. That's fine, annoying but it's not forever as long as the person behind me is paying attention.
What really made me angry (and made me alert them to being dangerous with my horn) was that he sped up quite a lot on the approach and to go around a very small roundabout with very high visibility to then whack his breaks on as soon as he got around it (not indicating to turn into anywhere or pull over). Obviously I then had to also do the same, and so did the cars behind me.
Now I'm not being funny but it's very dangerous for me to be doing stops like that as I am currently pregnant and it worries me driving with the seatbelt being across my bump area (I do tuck it as far down as possible but it's still a worry for me).
I was not going excessively fast, in fact I was going fairly slow as I was now used to him also going very slowly & was taken aback when he sped up.
The response I had from him and what I presume was his wife was her waving her hand at me as though I was in the wrong.
I have a feeling he was purposely brake checking me here.

Now being pregnant and hormonal I'm aware I may be being unreasonable (hence this post) but to just pop the icing on the cake they had to little stickers in their back window. One read: "I hope your insurance is as good as your brakes" and the other something regarding tailgating.
Makes me wonder if he is a serial slow driver and often gets people alerting him to his dangerous driving? Or they do this for fun in rush hour traffic?

Final question off the back of this to stimulate debate, should pensioners have to re take their test when they reach a certain age? After experiencing this I believe they do indeed.
Thanks for reading. I look forward to your responses/thoughts etc...

Well, your post was too long for me to read (sorry, cooking and faffing) but the headline caught my eye.

Don’t think it’s anything to do with elderly people, but it’s shameful that people get a driving licence and then have no requirement to revisit those skills.

At a minimum, everyone with a licence should go in for a renewal every 10 years for an eye test. Self-reporting isn’t good enough, and it’s bloody dangerous in this country.

I think a lot of people of all ages need to re-take their driving test TBH.

And not sure your horn usage helped matters in the scenario you describe.

Everybody who took their test over 10 years ago should be forced to retest, as the new test is far more stringent and applicable to modern living. The number of middle aged drivers I know who have caused or almost caused an accident because they were faffing around with sat navs or phones is ridiculous. Really Elderly drivers tend to be safer as they only drive the routes they know.

I completely agree, I see elderly drivers who should not be driving who clearly can’t see zebra crossings, over the steering wheel even.

Sounds like you were tailgating. Maybe you should retake your test.

Eh I don’t think do! The most dangerous aggressive drivers are youngsters who speed, tailgate amongst other things. I find old drivers to drive safely.

Let’s get this straight. You were stuck behind one slow elderly driver, therefore all elderly drivers need to resit a driving test?
Let’s say tomorrow you’re stuck behind a slow black driver. Should all people with a darker skin tone than yours resit a test?
Of course not, you say, that would be a stupid extrapolation. Oh, wait...
For the record, OP, older drivers are one of the safest demographics on the road. I’m a pensioner with 40 years no claims bonus. The most dangerous group is men under 25.

I think everyone should have to take a retest every few years. No discrimination; you have a licence - you prove you’re entitled to retain it.

www.click4reg.co.uk/blog/drivers-under-age-of-25-cause/

YABU to extrapolate from one bad experience. They've probably always been a crap driver.

To be honest if you found the situation you've outlined so difficult to deal with that it was worth posting on the internet about then it sounds like could polish up your own skills.

Yes I agree everyone should have to retake the test every few years.

I agree definitely elderly people need to retake tests periodically.

And I say that as someone who has been in the car with my grandmother post-stroke. She was cleared to drive but has never been the same. She is so distracted, she'll do 40 in a 30 and 20 (sometimes 15 if she's having a conversation). She'll drift in lanes and frequently has to be tooted at green lights.

I think it's only due to the skills of other drivers that she hasn't had a crash.

But I'd ideally like everyone to be given a retest every ten years, and that includes a theory too. I've taken to leaving the car at home and walking the DDs fifteen minutes to school. We have to cross a road with no crossing and TWICE I've almost been run over (and once beeped at) for crossing when there is a car waiting to turn onto the road.

Cars do not have right of way when turning onto a road, crossing pedestrians do. Just an FYI for anyone who needs to revisit the highway code.

I think that everyone should be treated the same whatever their age. Elderly people are more likely to have medical conditions than younger people so perhaps everyone should have to have a medical every few years to continue driving. They could also increase the fine/penalties for people who don't declare their medical conditions.

I don't think retesting should happen to everyone but I do think that every ten years every driver should have to renew their license. In order to renew they should have an eye test and a reactions test (opticians could offer these alongside eye testing). They should also have to submit a report from their GP confirming they are fit to drive and have no known medical conditions and/or are not on any medications that would impair their driving ability. A random sample of renewals could then be pulled for more in depth checks such as a pared down version of the full driving test. A family member drives on a medical license and has send vision and health reports to the DVLA every three years so the infrastructure is already there.

The most dangerous road users are young men. What should be done about their attitudes since they have no problem passing the test?

My DM and another woman were killed in a head on collision by a pensioner drifting into oncoming traffic. He couldn't explain why.
I agree with you.

Also the police can pull you over for any reason and ask to see your license, MOT, and insurance. This should be extended to include confirmation that you are fit to drive with drivers on the receiving end of such a check allowed seven days to produce the documents at their local station, as now.

Driven for 5 hours today. Every single middle lane hogger were old. Including one that was driving at approx 35mph on a 70 stretch. They DO cause a danger. However the dick that cut up a hgv and caused them to dive onto the hard shoulder was a young lad so it's not exclusive to old people. I genuinely think a retest every 5 to 10 years should be mandatory. I would happily retest if it helped to weed out bad drivers - not sure how easy it would be to do though x

A road speed limit is not a target to reach. I am an annoying drive at 30mph person because I live in a rural area in a county with the highest number of fatalities/casualties of any county in England. In my mid 40's I dont consider myself elderly. Potholes, combine harvesters, tractors etc etc around every corner. That's why I drive slow because I want to live. There are plenty of silly arses that drive like loons on rural roads and deserve to end up in the dykes and ditches, and believe me they do. Whatever your age if you dont drive to road conditions (and that might be 25mph through a 30mph zone if its foggy or raining) then YOU shouldnt be driving, not the person using their savvy and driving to the road conditions.

@ShagMeRiggins I know I apologise there was just a lot of stuff I needed to pop in the post for reference!
To others...
Just to be clear I most definitely wasn't tail gating I gave them plenty of room, it was only the incident after the roundabout that meant I had to stop to a halt that caused such concern. (I am more cautious myself now being pregnant).
As for use of the horn, it was to make them aware of the danger they were causing, didn't do it just to be horrible (there are no other ways to communicate this effectively whilst driving really are there?). May have been the wrong thing to do but surely they need to know they cannot just stop with no warning whenever they fancy? IMO it is dangerous.

Also it is not just this occasion I have witnessed elderly drivers doing such things, but as I've stated I don't have an issue with ANYONE as long as they are driving safely on the roads (they just happened to be elderly and I wanted to explore the topic).

I agree that shit driving happens at every age. However I also think that there is an issue with some elderly people continuing to drive beyond when they are safe to do so in rural areas like where I live. I've seen a lot of near misses and incidents with older drivers in our local town over the last few years. It's a problem because there really isn't public transport available to enable independence without a car.

It's very frustrating, I often get stuck behind them on my way to work they drive at like 10/15mph and then about 2 going over the speed bumps, gives me rage. One just suddenly stopped going round a roundabout and my dad went into the back of him, his excuse was that he was lost! They also don't have the best manners I've found often when I give way to them they never say thanks. But I still don't think they're anywhere near as bad as the aggressive bullying young men (or middle aged) who I've witnessed in the past few months who think there untouchable with there car door shut with their car in finance whilst still living in their mothers box room. God there vile! Rant over!

Just to add I have had incidents where young men (as pp's have mentioned are statistically more likely to drive dangerously hence their higher insurance prices) have not only driven dangerously around me but have actually been extremely aggressive to me and other road users also.
I also agree that everyone should re take their test, especially when they make changes to the test as they have done recently.

Having been in an accident where we were hit by an elderly driver who completely failed to see us, subsequently stopped driving, I would agree that it might be sensible for there to be a retest/test of fitness to drive. But at what age, or time setting, I couldn't tell you.

I also note that 75% of 'bad' drivers that I notice: no indication at roundabouts, wrong lane at roundabouts, particularly slow speeds, not moving over to let incoming traffic safely merge, middle lane hogging, no lights, significant hesitation and bad judgement at junctions (I drive a lot!) are elderly. But the remaining 25% are younger and also dreadful.

Also, from non-scientific observations, most speeding drivers are younger rather than older.

Every time I see a very slow driver on the roads, they are elderly. They shouldn’t be driving if they are scared to do the limit