Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Elderly Drivers????

My Granny used to tear up the roads with her 283 Impala right up into her '80's. Drove a motor home off on vacation, too. She quit driving around '90.

Now that I'm officially old (Medicare card and all) I've probably gotten a little sloppy about keeping it between the lines. I tell my wife, "Stop worrying, this truck has an off-road package."

Here where (evidently) basics are not taught (or not understood) like "passing/faster traffic keep left, slower traffic keep right" and "don't turn until the intersection is clear" and "yield to the vehicle on your right", am not sure risk from elderly drivers even makes it on my radar screen.

Heaven forbid you're at a four-way stop; I'll take my chances with the elderly ever time.

We had to take Mom's keys too. Her vision went, but she tried to keep driving. One Thanksgiving at my sister's house Mom was leaving and hit the platform on the back of my sister's vehicle that carries my nephew's wheel chair. Mom stopped like what was that, backed up and hit it again. I met her in her driveway and told her what she had done. She said, "I heard something, but I couldn't see anything, so I went on." I said that's why you can't drive any more.

My dad had dementia. When he was in his mid-80's we were trying to figure out how to keep him from driving. Then a friend of theirs caused a bad wreck. Dad said he wasn't going to drive any more. Mom told him that if he wasn't going to drive, he should give his pickup to me and he agreed. Mom called me immediately and said 'come get this pickup out of here while he still remembers he gave it to you.' I took it the next day.
As we figured, with his dementia he had to be reminded daily that he no longer had a vehicle and Mom had to keep the keys to her car hidden. They lived in a mobile park and he had a golf cart to run around the park in. We had to get rid of it, too, to keep him off the busiest street in town. I took it home for 'repairs' and somehow forgot to take it back (I sent Mom the proceeds from it's sale).

Mom willingly gave up her keys when she was almost 90. She was a pretty good driver but at that age, who knows what can happen. I bought her car from her to make sure she stuck with her decision.

Far as I know my old man never put a set of brake shoes on a vehicle. When he saw a stop sign a block or so away he's simply take his foot off the gas and coast to it. Drove me crazy!

Unfortunately while reading this thread it dawned on me that the breaks on my eleven year old pick up are showing very little signs of wear:(

Edna and Marvel (both of exceptionally mature years) were toodling along in Edna's car. They approached an unregulated intersection with a car approaching from the right. As Marvel watched in alarm, Edna showed no sign of yielding to her right and continued on through the intersection not noticing the squealing tires and gestures from the other driver. A bit later, they approached an intersection with a stop sign in front of them and none on the perpendicular road, along which traveled a dump truck. Seemingly unconcerned, Edna continued on through the intersection at her leisurely but steady pace. The dump truck was left on its side in the ditch, long streaks of rubber indicating its path to its resting place. Next up was a red light at the intersection of a busy highway with traffic streaming by in both directions. Marvel, already wet from the dump truck episode, could not make a sound come from her open mouth as Edna calmly drove through the intersection, somehow untouched by the mayhem that was left in her wake. Marvel finally found her voice and croaked out, "My God, Edna, are you trying to kill us?" At this, Edna replied in a startled voice, "What, am I driving?"

+100
Every incident I've had on the motorcycle has involved a teenybopper. The ladies of the blue hair express, on the other hand, wait 'til I've motored half a block and crossed the intersection before they turn left.

2 incidents with my elderly relatives...

I had a bachelor uncle who had an old woman for a housekeeper. He was 3/4 blind and she couldn't drive so when they went to the store, he'd drive and she'd give directions.

Another uncle had an ancient Chev pickup that he NEVER drove over 35 mph. When he died, his brother took it. It had almost 150k on it and was still on the original non-brakes. The shoes were completely gone, of course, and the drums were paper thin. My dad once took a trip with him from so. ID to CA, at 35 all the way across NV. Dad about went nuts. It was slower than a covered wagon.

There was a father and son here that were both disabled and decided to go to town. One was blind and the other was paralyzed from the waist down. Naturally, the blind dad drove while the paralyzed son navigated. They pretty much made it out of the driveway and into the ditch.....

On a more serious note, nearly every time I see a building smashed in, it is the post office or the drugstore. I wonder what buildings the elderly visit regularly? My local post office gets hit about every other year, right through the front window.

You pay taxes on both sides of the road...... You might as well us both!!!!!

Sent in an email.
My
neighbor was working in

his yard when he was startled by a late model car that came crashing



through his hedge and ended up in his front lawn.



He rushed to help an

elderly lady driver out of the car and sat her down on a lawn

chair.



He said with

excitement, "You appear quite elderly to be driving."



"Well, yes, I am," she

replied proudly.
"I'll
be 97 next month,

and I am now old enough that I don't even need a driver's license

anymore."
"You
don't need a driver's

license anymore?!?"



That's right! The last

time I went to my doctor, he examined me and asked if I had a driver's

license.



I told him 'yes' and

handed it to him. He took scissors out of the drawer,
cut
the license into

pieces, and threw them in the waste basket, saying, '
You
won't need this

anymore'.



So I thanked him and

left!"

It ain't safe fer him to operate a computer. God told me so.

Denny.

Oh,,, my old man's brakes were far from worn out. Like I said, "he'd just coast to a stop".
He also drove slow like your uncle. I often threaten to get out and walk as it would be faster. Course I kept that under my breath least I get five across the eyes:)

Well, I'll tell ya what-I'm 51, and if you want to try to run me off the road, JUST BRING IT! You'd be surprised what us old farts can do with a cane and a bottle of Geritol! Now shuddup and get back to work to pay for my social security check!

50 to 60 gets the best insurance rates, as you age the price goes up.

Former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm from the 1980's......also nick-named Governor 'Gloom', openly spoke out about the societal costs of keeping elderly folks alive.

He said........"old people have a duty to die".

Seen a number of elderly and Asians driving way under the speed limit (35mph) on a 65mph freeway. That's dangerous.

My Mom had her license taken away this year. We were trying to get the doctor to do it. I will never forget climbing into her car to drive her somewhere and finding the passenger mirror hanging by a cable. I don't think she remembered or noticed when hit happened. Then another time she was out and forgot how to get back home. She went back to the house we lived at 15 years ago and the nice people living there wrote out instructions on how to get home. Really sad. She barely remembers me.

Driving the speed limit on a freeway is dangerous here.

Sorry about your Mom.

Especially on I-20 through Shreveport!!

Old folks with diminished capacities are a hazard on the road, but so are testosterone laden azzholes who think that driving, and life in general, is a dick measuring contest. Along with chicks talking on phones, putting on makeup, etc.

Anything that interferes with full attention to safe driving.

I've heard that in Germany the cars don't come with a lot of bells and whistles and toys because they take their driving seriously, as reflected by the high speeds on the Autobahn.

Paul