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...

@Gingaaarghpussy oh god! Now you've mentioned it I have also seen someone drive into a shop front because they "got the pedals confused". That was a very elderly lady and she was lucky to be alive and also have not killed anyone else.
Maybe so, on this occasion there was no one in front of this driver for most of the time I was driving behind him to be honest. Only once I think at some traffic lights.

Anecdotes are no substitute for the actual hard data.

Young drivers are the most dangerous on the roads, which is why their insurance premiums are so high.

I was terrified one weekend early morning when I was behind an elderly man whose vehicle was missing the tire,wheel,everything-metal on pavement throwing off sparks and making the worst noise you can imagine at 60 mph-the man had no clue whatsoever driving like a bat out of hell. Terrifying someone like him was on the road obviously without some of his faculties

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.

If you can't stop in time because the car in front does something daft like stop then you are too close.

Thing is you should always be prepared for the car in front to stop dead. If a child ran into the road, you’d do an emergency stop. Top and bottom is you were driving too close to him.

I believe ALL drivers should have to retake both written and driven tests every 5 years.

Those who read that and think they wouldn't pass really shouldn't be on the road.

I kind of agree OP but is there a possibility that they were lost and trying to find their way?

In general I think many drivers could do with driving more for the conditions regardless of the speed limit especially on dark rainy evenings, being more patient and less aggressive and using their indicators and correct lanes on roundabouts.

Also a shout out to all to cyclists and pedestrians to please, please make yourself as visible as possible and pedestrians please use crossings and don't dash out on the middle of traffic in the dark like lots of idiots I had to dodge today.

@nokidshere I did stop in time obviously as I was nowhere near him. It did shit me up a bit though, considering I had a car right behind me also, and it was just frustrating how unnecessary it all was. It was very strange.

@BackInTime I've said in a reply previously that I did watch them a little and they weren't looking around, and it wasn't just on one road it was about 4 or 5 so doesn't make much sense.
I did think maybe they were doing it on purpose to claim? But obviously I can't ask them so I'll never know!

@Alsohuman I'll say it again I was nowhere near him because I was concerned that he was doing it on purpose.

Oh yes, definitely. I'm 62 and my favourite speed is 20mph. I love it. I try to drive at speed limits for the benefit of other road users, but left to my own devices, I drive at 20. I am a grandma, I drive as a grandma. Give me a few minutes and I'll get out there and do it again. Nice empty roads. No need to rush. I'd take the test/s.

@Alsohuman she didn’t hit him when he emergency stopped so clearly was driving fine

Now I'm not being funny but it's very dangerous for me to be doing stops like that as I am currently pregnant

She was close enough to be worried about how sharply she had to brake. That’s too close.

Older drivers do seem to be particularly bad, combination of time passing and worsening physical health I guess. I frequently have pensioners tailgating, breaking suddenly, going unsafeky slow (40mph on a 70mph road once!), making unsafe manoeuvres generally (e.g. trying to merge on the motorway where there was no gap, not letting you merge behind them I.e. slowing down as you slow down on the slip road and matching your pace, not moving to the right to let you merge when there is space to do so, not over taking slow moving vehicles but not leaving enough space for the person behind to over take them and then over take slow moving vehicle in two manoeuvres, not overtaking cyclists when safe to do so, using fog lights in the dark etc).

@Alsohuman you always have to brake sharply in an emergency stop unless you are very far away. A safe braking distance is a distance in which you can make an emergency stop plus a bit extra for reaction time. Maybe a bit more so you can brake softlyfirst then emergency stop. You’d be leaving a very large distance to cruise to a stop.

There are terrible drivers of all ages and I think that everyone should have to retest regularly.

However I do think people over a certain age should have regular physical/medical checks to ensure they're safe to drive. My grandfather can hardly see his own TV from the living room chair and still drives. My husbands grandad has phases of being physically unable to walk or move his legs but still drives. My great grandma is over 90 and hasn't driven for over 20 years but kept her license to use as ID, it would be legal for her to decide to go and drive a car tomorrow.

you always have to brake sharply in an emergency stop unless you are very far away

I know that. If I have to do an emergency stop, my handbag usually ends up in the passenger footwell. The point I’m making is that OP is worried about making an emergency stop, if I was worried I’d leave enough distance not to have to do it, not blame the driver in front.

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?)

Think you need to have a read up on curvey use of the horn.

Statistically teens are the worst drivers hence premiums being sky high.

Seriously though, you pootled along a bit slowly , rather that than break neck speed, no big deal really, is it?

**correct use of the horn

They are less likely to speed or drink drive.

I would tackle the accident rate from quite the other end and make it impossible for boys/men under 21 to drive on the road. All the statistics of accident rates lead to that conclusion.

I wish they'd retest my husband. He's mid 40s and still drives like an over cautious new driver. I'm embarrassed to be in the car with him when he's driving as other motorists get really annoyed with him and he's completely oblivious.

You’ll get a right bashing here @lonelyonee but I couldn’t agree more.
People’s reaction times are reduced with age and yes they do become overly cautious because they’re nervous and not confident. I do think there should be a retest. If they’re still capable it shouldn’t be a problem.

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.
I agree with this ^^

There's crap drivers in all age brackets, but certain things, like beanbag suggests are more common in older age.

Public transport is mixed near me and I regularly see elderly drivers who can hardly see above the steering wheel. There is no way they can see the road properly and just pull out/stop at random because their visibility isn't there. Equally people who wear glasses have to wear glasses to drive, but there's plenty of elderly drivers who wouldn't pass the eye requirement still driving.

I'd be in favour of a retest every 10/15 years with more frequent testing above a certain age, though I'd let the experts decide what that should be.

If you can't stop in time because the car in front does something daft like stop then you are too close
Absolutely this.

@Alsohuman doesn't matter if I had plenty of room was still not exactly safe considering it was right off a roundabout with cars following me in quick succession. (Also as I've said I'm more conscious of these things now I'm pregnant, I'd like to keep us both safe!). So I'm worried every time I get in the car tbh considering how people drive these days! & it was the drivers fault for stopping for no reason, just off a roundabout. Don't see where I was in the wrong there considering I was paying attention (possibly to their disappointment?).
@ActualHornist exactly, not sure people are reading the whole post/thread here.
@Velveteenfruitbowl yep I had no choice as he wasn't moving, and it was off a roundabout. Plenty of room but still enough for me to be annoyed at the further danger it could have caused us (cars behind me etc...) glad someone gets what I meant!

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor as I keep saying I didn't have a problem with the slow driving it was the constant stop starting for now reason then the occasion off the roundabout which was dangerous for me, then and other road users. My gripe is that it seemed like it was on purpose, and I don't really appreciate people trying to catch other people out while driving putting people in danger.