I think our elderly neighbour reversed into our car this morning. On close inspection our headlights mounts are snapped and the wing is broken. I've no direct witnesses to it and his car is full of dents, with a fresh on on the back. If I confront him I suspect he will deny it. Can't seriously involve the police in a blame game which might get his licence revolved.
I do understand he might be too old to drive ( or too ill, cancer)
Anyone want to guess at the cost of painting the wing to match the car?
Go confront him, he may reverse over a child next time! How would you feel then that you could have prevented something more serious? Just saying....plus if your headlight mounts are snapped come MOT time bet your headlamps fail on aim!
He can't be "too old to drive". He may have to apply for a renewal of his driving licence though and if his GP says "no, it's not safe", then that's that.
The population in the small town I live in I live is mostly made up of the elderly and young families. It's no surprise that my car is dinged every time it's in a carpark. Not once has someone left a note.
I've had two incidents with elderly drivers - one was a simple case of managing to reverse into my huge white van in a car park, he tried to drive off until I jumped out but he had only popped some clips off the bumpers so didn't do anything more than take his details.
The other was heading towards me after a pub lunch, fell asleep (or perhaps was acting tired as he knew he'd had a drink) and missed a bend, crossing into my lane at a closing speed of around 60mph, he then went down an embankment bouncing off all the trees, putting dents in every single panel including the roof 😯
He was fine and the Police said they'd only contact me for a statement if he refused to surrender his license. I called all three services for him as they would have had to hoist him back up the embankment to the ambulance.
At the end of the day, if they are not spatially aware due to eyesight or other medical reasons, although its difficult perhaps its the best thing long term.
Call it.
You'll be doing him, or someone else, a favour in the long run. I have utmost sympathy for anyone who has no other means of getting about but there is a limit.
A driving licence isn't a birthright - it's a privilege.
(I have Type 1 diabetes and have to renew mine every three years.)
[quote=mikey-simmo ]Can't seriously involve the police in a blame game which might get his licence revolved.
No - that would make you a snitch.
Cant have that, grasses are scum!
Get in touch with him now. Quite literally think of the child he may bump into next time.
In my experience, many older drivers are utterly belligerent about their driving and will swear blind they've not hit something when they have. I've watched a number of old duffers drive into cars and then swear blind they haven't.
Househusband +1 (the privilege but, not the other bit).
Sooner people realise that, the better.
my sister had this an old boy in a huge merc drove into her car at a petrol station he denied the lot even with witnesses and ctv. she let it go for a day or two then went to the police with all the evidence. he was well know to them for his bad driving,he now has no driving licence it was revoked due to eyesight issuses. he then got banned for driving with no licence.
and yes it could be a child next time. (or a gate post )
On the flip side, my Granddad continued driving past when he should, I have memories of shunting back and forth at traffic lights whilst my Gran unhelpfully provided a delayed report of the colour of the lights. Entering gyratorys in the correct direction was also an issue.
So, my uncle went and swapped his 'safe for other road users' old Fiesta for a 'built like a battering ram' Saab 900, the one with rubber bumpers and doors that would remove kids fingers!
I'll second the "driving is a privilege, not a right" sentiment.
Too many unsafe drivers (young and old) are ignoring health reasons NOT to drive, and endangering themselves and others.
"67 years of driving crash free" is not an indicator of future driving safety either!
It's a difficult situation revoking someone's licence for health reasons, but a necessary one.
We don't let 10 year olds drive a car do we....
DrP
I agree and also have Type 1.A driving licence isn't a birthright - it's a privilege.(I have Type 1 diabetes and have to renew mine every three years.)
There are a significant minority of drivers with potentially dangerous conditions still driving and don't need to get a new licence regularly because they don't have to have clearance by a doctor.
I have a full check-up every 6 months yet need to have medical clearance to renew my licence every 3 years. There's definitely something wrong there.
There are no age related health checks for driving licences either. The DLVA just write to you asking whether you have any conditions that would impact your driving when you reach a certain age (75 IIRC) and you just have to tick the right boxes. No medical evidence is asked for.
in my (and probably many others) opinion, the law needs to change - far side of some appropriate age where health issues start cropping up regularly, regular eye / health tests and correspondingly regular license renewals.
and maybe some actual fines for unlicensed driving, as a society we seem to have decided that piloting a couple of tons of metal should only be done by licensed folk, but there doesn't appear to be massive penalties for doing it unlicensed.
Yet it's young drivers who have the most accidents, may be they should have psychological testing for all driver to see if they are mental capable of driving safely?
[quote=DrP ]It's a difficult situation revoking someone's licence for health reasons, but a necessary one.
Indeed. My mum still has a licence, but last drove on the occasion when we became aware that she had dementia (she got completely confused and picked up by the police). I even managed to avoid her getting any points for driving for months with no insurance as she'd forgotten to renew and ignored all the letters (including the FPN one - ironically she would have got points if she'd dealt with that) - which wasn't my aim when writing an explaining letter to the court! Though if it needs renewing every 3 years from 70 then she's due to renew next month, fairly sure she won't do it without help and we won't be helping her. We have power of attorney and her car has been sold. I'm sure dementia isn't of itself a reason not to drive, but she was clearly unsafe.
Recently a 93yr old killed an enthusiast cyclist in Scotland.
I understand that when you get old you worry about your mobility but that thought becomes very selfish.
Forget the mileage. By actual number of crashes... In the age range 30-59 there are vastly more crash involvements than the 16-19 range:
Sauce: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/gender
the memory clinic told my FiL that he couldn't drive any longer (mustn't, not shouldn't). No specific assessment - I imagine he could have had one of those if he'd appealedI'm sure dementia isn't of itself a reason not to drive, but she was clearly unsafe.
FTFYYet it's young drivers who have the most [b]recorded[/b] accidents
Judging by some of the comments in this thread I wouldn't mind betting that a lot of bumps & accidents caused by more senior drivers are either sorted out without involving police/insurance, not reported because there is no evedience of who is responsible or are just outright denied by the perpetrator.
None of these would appear in official figures.
Oops posted a US link by accident.
This makes an interesting read:
OT but ALOT of deaths due to respiratory disease across working age - smoking for the main?
Can a person with dementia still drive?A diagnosis of dementia is not in itself necessarily a reason to stop driving. What matters, from both legal and practical points of view, is whether or not the individual is still able to drive safely. However, they must fulfil certain legal requirements, including telling the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in England, Scotland and Wales, or Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland (DVLNI) in Northern Ireland, of their diagnosis. See 'Continuing to drive'.
For experienced motorists, driving may seem to be a largely automatic activity. In fact, driving is a complicated task that requires a split-second combination of complex thought processes and manual skills. To drive, a person needs to be able to:
make sense of and respond to everything they see – including road signs and obstacles
maintain attention while 'reading the road'
anticipate and react quickly to the actions of other road users
take appropriate action (eg braking, steering) to avoid accidents
plan and remember where they are going.
Many people with dementia retain learned skills and are able to drive safely for some time after diagnosis. However, as dementia progresses beyond the early stages it has serious effects on memory, reactions, perception and the ability to perform even simple tasks. People with dementia will, therefore, eventually lose the ability to drive. The stage at which this happens will be different for each person but, according to research, most people stop driving within three years after the first signs of the disease.
People taking certain types of medication, such as night sedation or drugs for depression, may also find that their driving ability is affected. If this is a problem for you or someone you know, speak to the GP or consultant about your concerns.
DrP
[quote=scaredypants ]the memory clinic told my FiL that he couldn't drive any longer (mustn't, not shouldn't).
I was hoping they'd say that to my mum, which would have made it easier, but they didn't. In the event we've just not given her the opportunity to drive.
Oh and what DrP wrote - she had clearly been driving for a while with dementia without any big issues, but it got worse.
I think our elderly neighbour reversed into our car this morning
old boy across from my parents drove into our car because "there's normally a van parked there" he was right too! I think he gave up driving when he moved to a home a year later.
Old boy across the road from my GFs parents drove into a big yellow pick up he "didn't see" 7 years ago and he's getting worse!
[quote=hora ]Forget the mileage. By actual number of crashes... In the age range 30-59 there are vastly more crash involvements than the 16-19 range:
Sauce: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/gender
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You're basing that assertion on 4,040 crashes for 16-19yos and 17,945 for 30-59yos? If you're not going to do the rate per mile, at least do the rate per number of drivers (not everybody drives, but a good first approximation might be to divide by the number of years in the age range)! In case I need to spell it out any more, that 30-59 age range is 7.5 times as big as the 16-19 one.
So Elderly people who have accidents it's because they are old, so what the reason for all the other accidents?
nice equal age ranges
and 25% of those in the 16-19 range must surely be only scooter/moped riders, and maybe a few car thieves, which effectively makes that group smaller still.
We haven't seen him or the car move since yesterday's incident. Looking for parts today.
....plus if your headlight mounts are snapped come MOT time bet your headlamps fail on aim!
No, it would fail for an insecure headlight, seen many that are insecure but the beam pattern and aim is within parameters.
It's time this country did something sensible and invoked regular retests for everyone, there is no other piece of heavy plant/machinery that you would be allowed to operate in public, which has many deaths attributed to it, without regular retesting/retraining.
Yeh, I bet Ernie could operate all the controls "perfectly" even after several years break but I'm REALLY glad they told him to stopOh and what DrP wrote - she had clearly been driving for a while with dementia without any big issues, but it got worse.
It's time this country did something sensible and invoked regular retests for everyone, there is no other piece of heavy plant/machinery that you would be allowed to operate in public, which has many deaths attributed to it, without regular retesting/retraining.
+1 , every 10 years, with maybe the 1st test 5 years after 1st passing, and every 5 years after 65. It would be self financing so wouldn't cost owt.
When I took my motorbike test 15 years after my car test it was scary how much stuff I had forgotten. I doubt I'm alone there.