UPDATE: Reviews section refreshed, redesigned, searchable: Go take a look
I’ve no idea what 8th day and Unicorn are but I’m guessing wholefoods type shops - perhaps they would be a good place to start encouraging home delivery,
I know Unicorn, they're in Chorlton not a million miles from where I used to work. I used to pop in sometimes during my lunch break. You're not wildly off the mark. I think I've been in 8th Day, isn't that down near the Uni?
It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't do home delivery, but speaking as a vegetarian it's something I considered a treat rather than somewhere to do my weekly shop. I think I recall them doing really nice Greggs-a-like rolls and pasties, but it's been a long time since I was last in there.
I watched an 80-odd year old neighbour of ours drive straight into the side of my car last weekend. She was trying to park in the space in front of it that you could have easily reversed an artic into, but misjudged it by a good 6 foot.
Someone really needs to take her keys off her before it’s a kid rather than my car. Mind you, listening to her trying to pull off I doubt the clutch on her mini will be long for this world.
This is a great story and you shouldn’t laugh, but….
My mates mum was suffering from dementia but she’s a feisty old dear and absolutely refused to stop driving. Every time he went to see her, her car would have another ding or scrape where she’d hit someone else’s car.
So one day he took matters into his own hands and just went round to her house, took her keys and drove the car back to his house.
She then phoned him up to say that her car had been nicked. Calm as you like he said “mum, you sold your car a few months ago”.
Problem solved 😂
It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't do home delivery...
They do, see above 😉
So one day he took matters into his own hands and just went round to her house, took her keys and drove the car back to his house.
She then phoned him up to say that her car had been nicked. Calm as you like he said “mum, you sold your car a few months ago”.
Problem solved
That's good work. Anyone else remember the story where there was a lady with significant dementia who was still driving and daughter was complaining to the local rag that the police wouldn't help look for her car which she'd lost?
It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't do home delivery, but speaking as a vegetarian it's something I considered a treat rather than somewhere to do my weekly shop. I think I recall them doing really nice Greggs-a-like rolls and pasties, but it's been a long time since I was last in there.
I'll ask on WalkRide GM and see if anyone there knows the answer...
Mind you, listening to her trying to pull off I doubt the clutch on her mini will be long for this world.
I see these occasionally. It's always a small farty car like an Up! or an Aygo, pulling out of a supermarket parking bay at less then walking pace, with the engine screaming its tits off. You can smell it after they've gone.
Like... if you must drive then just get an automatic already. 🤷♂️
Seeing as it's really east for the elderly to cope without a car. The rest of you will being getting rid of your cars and using the amazing local facilities?
Seeing as it's really east for the elderly to cope without a car. The rest of you will being getting rid of your cars and using the amazing local facilities?
I haven't owned a car and have been using the amazing local facilities for, what, three years? If I genuinely need a car I borrow my partner's, or take public transport. I was at the hospital today, cost me a ~£30 round trip in a taxi. Still cheaper and easier than running a second car.
the rest of you will being getting rid of your cars and using the amazing local facilities?
Yes exactly!
I very much hope I will get rid of my car and 'use the amazing local facilities', if there is any likelihood that I have become unfit to drive and dangerous to others.
If I genuinely need a car I borrow my partner's
I'm not entirely sure that 'having a car on the drive you can use when you need' really counts as 'coping without a car' tbh...
Seeing as it's really east for the elderly to cope without a car. The rest of you will being getting rid of your cars and using the amazing local facilities?
You seem to still be missing the point, maybe your cognition is failing with age?
Rule 1 dont be a dick
I'm not entirely sure that 'having a car on the drive you can use when you need' really counts as 'coping without a car' tbh...
Aside for the mostly incidental point that I don't have a drive,
Whilst I take your point and agree to a degree, my partner is a WFH childminder. There's always libraries or playgroups or some such. I don't have access to the car for *handwave* 50% of the time during the day and it's not even like she can drop me off unless I climb in the boot because of child seats. I went to to Leeds earlier this week (to deliver a presentation which went down a storm because I'm awesome even though I was crapping myself 😁), that was £13 in a taxi and £20 on the train for the round trip. I had to go to the hospital today and that cost me £30 in taxi fares because she'd forgotten I had an appointment and had sodded off somewhere.
I have almost everything I could ever need right on my doorstep, the one thing I don't have because they closed it is a sodding railway station within walking distance. I'm literally like 100 metres from "Station Road" for gods' sakes. We have bus links which are great, if you have a week to get somewhere and don't mind stopping every seven inches.
I had to go to the hospital today and that cost me £30 in taxi fares
Out of interest, how far away is the hospital?
I know that all STWers are complete driving gods 😉 ,butlooking ahead to your older years, how aware are you of changes (if any)in your competence/skills ,do you do much self assessment?
I don't think I drive as well as I did. I don't know if that's age (51), more likely that I don't drive as much as I did (mostly WFH since covid, cycle when I go in). I hope - really hope - and aim to be prepared to hand the keys over when I get to a point I don't feel safe or someone tells me I need to turn it in. Whoever suggested getting a "test" lesson as an assessment, that's a great idea.
I’m not normally one for arguing that old folk are the main liability on our roads and must be subject to retesting - the stats don’t really bear that out, but there are a small number of elderly drivers who have not relinquished their driving license even although they should have.
I'd argue that there are a shed-load of elderly drivers out there who are somewhere on the borderline between being dangerous and merely annoying and that defining where the tipping point falls is highly problematic. It's part of a much larger societal problem where people have become utterly dependent on their cars for the shortest and easiest journeys, which in turn spawns a world in which many people barely walk anywhere, which then feeds into the ongoing issues around mobility and health generally.
If you build a world where people 'need' cars, then don't be surprised that they cling onto them for as long as they can. Or that GPs and family are reluctant to take away permission to drive, when it's clearly going to majorly derail someone's life. I don't know what we do about that beyond changing the way we live in a quite fundamental way. And maybe that horse bolted a long time ago.
I also get the issues around dementia and driving. My late mother, who died from/with pre-senile dementia, was stopped, by us, from driving when it became apparent that she'd had an accident that she couldn't even remember. That was a slightly horrendous wake-up call.
Seeing as it's really east for the elderly to cope without a car. The rest of you will being getting rid of your cars and using the amazing local facilities?
Assessment for me at 70 and if I'm driving badly, the car goes and I'm switching to taxis/public transport/bike. Too many of the older drivers around here are in a rush due to their perceived lack of remaining life-span which given their skills may well ensure they don't see much more of life.
It's part of a much larger societal problem where people have become utterly dependent on their cars for the shortest and easiest journeys, which in turn spawns a world in which many people barely walk anywhere, which then feeds into the ongoing issues around mobility and health generally.
If you build a world where people 'need' cars, then don't be surprised that they cling onto them for as long as they can. Or that GPs and family are reluctant to take away permission to drive, when it's clearly going to majorly derail someone's life. I don't know what we do about that beyond changing the way we live in a quite fundamental way. And maybe that horse bolted a long time ago.
But then there's good evidence that staying active reduces your risk of dementia and frailty, so building a world dependent on cars for short journeys exacerbates the problem, and more traffic worsens public transport. And the very (middle aged to elderly) people that need to stay active will be the same ones who will scream furiously, turn up for consultation meetings to protest and so on whenever anyone suggests making driving 300m to the paper shop to buy the Daily Mail slightly less convenient, to promote walking, cycling, wheeling, children's independence, nicer residential areas etc.
The theory behind 15 min cities is that people shouldn't have to drive for essential services, and e.g. things like public benches are essential walking infrastructure as some people will need to stop for a rest, and removing them because teenagers is unhelpful.
Without wanting to sound like a scratched record, research suggests that despite appearances and reporting, a majority are in favour of lower traffic. The best thing you can do is get involved in your local active travel group (such as WRGM, LCC, Cyclox or whatever) even if it's as a silent supporter.
The Miracle Pill is also worth a read
But then there's good evidence that staying active reduces your risk of dementia and frailty, so building a world dependent on cars for short journeys exacerbates the problem, and more traffic worsens public transport.
Yep, exactly. It's a human tragedy that we focus so much on treatment rather than prevention with the result that we end up not just with an unhealthy population, but one where a lot of older people may be alive, but have a low quality of life with reduced mobility and chronic illness rife.
Out of interest, how far away is the hospital?
10.5 miles according to Google maps. The taxi was I think £13.50 each way (so £27 not £30).
Going by pubic transport was a non-starter because I didn't realise she'd taken the car until I was due to be setting off. Coming back home I'd just been treated to more up-close camera views of my innards than I cared for and couldn't be bothered with the faff.
Bloody middle aged learners!
"If the learner driver fails to do this, we will not hesitate to take the appropriate action."
Well... why haven't they done so when he's failed to do it twice already?
Yep, exactly. It's a human tragedy that we focus so much on treatment rather than prevention with the result that we end up not just with an unhealthy population, but one where a lot of older people may be alive, but have a low quality of life with reduced mobility and chronic illness rife.
There was an article doing the rounds in Active Travel publications recently, it looked at a story in the Mail (because of course) where they'd done one of the classic media things of "the country only a 1hr flight from the UK where everyone is slim and lives to 100". (I'm paraphrasing but that was the gist of it). The Netherlands.
Then it examined all the things that could possibly be causing this miracle around diet and happiness and quality of life and it really had to take some quite extraordinary steps to avoid referencing the fact that the average weekly cycling distance for an average Dutch person is double the average YEARLY distance of the average Brit. Not "cycling" as in racing and lycra and sporty, just "getting around town, going to work, going to the shops".
All the comments on it were along the line of "so close Daily Mail, so close..."
@crazy-legs I'm sure it's just coincidence that a country that has the safe cycling infrastructure to allow teenagers to get around independently also has the happiest teenagers in Europe?
Mind you, it's also a country where a while back the Crown Princess was filmed cheerily waving at reporters as she cycled past them making her way to school on her own.
Well, it's been a year or so, but this made oi larf.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yzzex36rzo
The driver should have reversed back down, but it was too much Hessle.
Why pick that link when there are all these to chose from?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgk66xdn63mo
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg00xd5j5jo
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqx111ygnyzo
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2333k4983o
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgl333gjdd2o\
Dunno, but it could be because the thread's about older drivers.
Who I think we discovered up ☝️ are a higher risk than middle-aged drivers, but not as high a risk as younger drivers.
That bridge in Hessle is just down the road from us. I ran over it tonight. And that's not the first time someone has driven over it and got stuck.
It has been my view for decades, that EVERYONE should have to re-do their test every 3 to 5 years. Not just the old. There are so many shit drivers on the roads, many of whom seem to have less than zero clue about what the legislation or supporting Highway Code says. Close passing ? Middle lane hogging? Zero anticipation ? Not looking more than 6 inches in front of the bonnet ? Not looking in the rear view either. Etc etc etc. And stiffen up the minimum competence level at the same time.
Id make everyone ride a push bike or motorbike for 12 months too, to start appreciating how vulnerable they are. Riding a motor bike makes you pay attention, and anticipate the ****whittery of car drivers !
1500+ dead on the roads last year. Nearly 30,000 seriously maimed.
That would require the testing of 8.5 million drivers per year. We currently struggle to test new drivers.
It has been my view for decades, that EVERYONE should have to re-do their test every 3 to 5 years. Not just the old. There are so many shit drivers on the roads, many of whom seem to have less than zero clue about what the legislation or supporting Highway Code says.
But surely they passed a driving test? 🤔
So I’m asking you a question… what difference would it make? Asking for a friend…😏
But surely they passed a driving test? 🤔
So I’m asking you a question… what difference would it make? Asking for a friend…😏
We did all this earlier in the thread.
If regular re-testing and re-licensing didn't make a difference, then why are commercial vehicle/PCV licences different, and why are commercial pilots very regularly relicensed?
If you think it's a cash-cow to drain more money from drivers, then I'm all for it. Fuel is too cheap and too many vehicles are zero/low emissions, so VED is too low and should be replaced with a size or weight charge (of the car, not the driver, I'm not a monster).
If you think it will drive up standards, then QED.
If you think it will drive down standards, then toddle along to a naughty person's course (speed awareness course) and monitor the question responses from the inmates. The lack of self-update on Highway Code matters is significant. When did I last read it, I hear you cry? When I last did a course in about 2018. And I read parts of it every month or so when it's relevant to my job. If knowledge about the rules is poor, do you think performance on the road is somehow better?
As a trainer, I can tell you that regular testing drives standards to a certain level. In driving, we have no way of monitoring those who fall below that level until they crash or screw up in a way that makes the headlines. IAM drivers are expected to routinely use their advanced skills, for example.
My dad was in the traffic police. Pursuit driving, instructor, Class 1 HGV as well. Once he stopped driving and flew a desk, his diving standards dropped (as my sister was a very new driver at the time, she noticed).
That would require the testing of 8.5 million drivers per year. We currently struggle to test new drivers.
We did this as well. This does not need to get rolled out day 1. Issue new licences for 5 years (or theory test refresh every x years or whatever) and retest accordingly. This would mean that new licences for those arriving from overseas are on the same basis.
Roll that out to the over 70/75s including eyesight test, health test.
Pick up the middle aged in this rule once it's up and running. Every time a photocard comes around to renewal (10 years) it becomes testable.
It's not rocket surgery.
If we did all this earlier in the thread why reopen the thread.
You just thought it would be fun to have a a pop at older drivers.
What's your driving like?
You just thought it would be fun to have a a pop at older drivers.
Yep. Spot on. Award yourself 75 points.
It has been my view for decades, that EVERYONE should have to re-do their test every 3 to 5 years
I agree.
If regular re-testing and re-licensing didn't make a difference, then why are commercial vehicle/PCV licences different,
Medical tests after 45 years age, every five years.
Practical driving competency isn't retested, but there is a requirement for 35 hours Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training, up to 12 hours of which can be e-learning (as opposed to online classroom environment) every five years.
Providers are DVLA-approved and you pay, rather than...
...schools, NHS, policing, etc.
Would you take the funds for this from schools, NHS policing or.....
The drivers.
It's like pretty much any other licence then - it starts and it expires. If you want to renew, you pay to be retested and get a new photo card included. For free.
They don't all have Hondas y'know.
Jesus had a Honda, but he didnt talk about it.
"for i do not speak of my own accord"
The standard of driving all over is awful imo. From WAGS in ****panzers, to Yuppie reps in M5s, Mums bouncing off the kerb in Jazz. Nothing that couldnt be mitigated with legislation and technology though.
I dont think it should be harder to get a license, a lot is learnt through experience, but i do think we should ALL have to do repeat tests every 10 years or so, and with the first 10 years since your learner test under your belt it should be a lot harder.
The drivers.
It's like pretty much any other licence then - it starts and it expires. If you want to renew, you pay to be retested and get a new photo card included. For free.
I agree with that sentiment but consider for a moment that as it would be essential for employment you just actually move the cost to employers (including state employers) to some extent and put a burden on other law abiding people for potentially minimum gain other than feeling your are doing something. Meanwhile every day a surprisingly large number of people are driving around with no license / with a provisional (and no L plates / supervisor) / with a revoked license / disqualified - and so long as they don't crash or do something stupid under the police's nose mostly get away with it.
They don't all have Hondas y'know.
Jesus had a Honda, but he didnt talk about it.
"for i do not speak of my own accord"
Gets a LOL from me.
bouncing off the kerb in Jazz.
Better to bounce off the limiter in a pink Jazz like THIS ONE.
I dont think it should be harder to get a license, a lot is learnt through experience, but i do think we should ALL have to do repeat tests every 10 years or so, and with the first 10 years since your learner test under your belt it should be a lot harder.
I agree. Yes, it could be onerous to implement but improving driving standards in the UK is too important to ignore. Driving is a privilege, not a right.
I should practice what I preach though and actively continue my IAM stuff. Did my advanced stuff inc the test (pass!) years ago but haven't continued with the local group since then. I know doing so would make me a better driver.
I am glad you all live in Narnia.
Yep, drivers pay every so often for re-test.
We all seem to find £000's to buy a car, £00's to run it and £0's to fuel it - and a test these days is a tank of fuel (£63 iirc).
We all seem to find £000's to buy a car, £00's to run it and £0's to fuel it - and a test these days is a tank of fuel (£63 iirc).
Of course, if we built proper cycling networks and treated public transport as a necessary public utility and enabler of economic activity rather than a nice to have luxury…
Meanwhile every day a surprisingly large number of people are driving around with no license / with a provisional (and no L plates / supervisor) / with a revoked license / disqualified - and so long as they don't crash or do something stupid under the police's nose mostly get away with it.
There's wronguns everywhere (apart from drivers in Honda Jazzes who are blameless).
https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-84-year-old-driven-without-a-license-since-12-2022-1
