move over grandma
On my way back from lunch today, I was unfortunate enough to get stuck behind an elderly person that was going 20 mph in the LEFT lane, in a 45 mph zone and she was riding her brakes the entire time!! I was surprised there wasn’t smoke pouring out of each wheel from the brake heat. People were steering wildy to avoid becoming stuck behind her and trying to merge into the right hand lane of cars wizzing by at 50 mph! Needless to say I witnessed several near misses, if you are that much of a scaredy kat when driving YOU HAVE NO FUKKIN’ BUSINESS ON THE ROAD. PERIOD. There is no defense for that type of stupidity, and to top it off she was driving a brand new car!! This person is apparently optimistic about their future driving abilities and that scares the hell out of me.
Now, I think that many elderly people are good drivers, some of the best and safest actually, my very own grandmother is 92 yrs old and is a good driver, a bit overcautious perhaps but not stupid!!! The driving example I witnessed today was as though I were watching a drunk go down the road, seemingly just as dangerous, maybe even more so, and the passenger appeared oblivious to what was going down around them as well. Wouldn’t it fall upon the family to keep people like that from behind the wheel? Thoughts??
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Nanner= you’re right, and with taxi service easily available in the suburban area where I live, I tend to think it would be cheaper than the car notes, gas and insurance cost on a new car!. And you can easily have all your medications delivered off the internet… my mom does that.
Cav= doll, you’re right!! LOL. Not to many peeps at 92 are as bright and self awares as my grandmother, sadly…
Micki= eeep! that would suck, i have lived in areas like that and it’s a nightmare to be a local and need to run to the store quickly and have tourists impede smooth passage!!
Michael= yeah, most people don’t grasp the full meaning that it’s a privledge to have a license to drive not a “right”.
I think everyone has to admit there comes a time when some elderly need to be taken off the road. This is a good example. She was a hazard to those around her. Its sad, and I realize they want to keep their independence but at what cost?
92 and a good driver….isnt that an oxymoron.
hope yiy are doing well,
That ain’t nothin’. Here in our little tourist area we get ‘ft’s that drive 20 in the 55. They brake for every curve and every uphill area. In Missouri, that means just about the whole length of the road. Summerseason takes 1 hour to drive somewhere, where in winter it takes a mere 20 minutes.
We have locals that do it too, just not as many in the off season. Easier to pass.
sorry… i really think most old folks shouldn’t have a license. Your grandma is an exception, but just like you have to be over 16 to drive, you shouldn’t have your license if you can’t go over 16 mph.
The funny thing is I had the same problem tonight. I was taking my Mom to the “old foldks” home to see my step grandfather. We were behind this old man and lady goinging about 20 miles an hour in a fifty zone.
My mon, who is pushing 60 said, “Those damn old people should be off the road!” I guess I do think a little like my mom sometimes.
;->
You ever try to get a senior citizen to do something they didn’t want to do. Good luck getting them off the road. When I was still riding the ambulance, I used show up to at least one accident a weekend on the BQE (that’s Brooklyn - Queens EXpressway for all you non-NYCers) where the cause of the accident was a senior citizen who needed to change lanes and thought the best way to do that was to come to a complete stop in the center lane and crank the wheel to the right.
Your truly can’t make this stuff up.
There comes a time when safety outweighs independance. This elderly person is a few stone throws past that line.
Listen here sonny. I got me this newfangled fancy car because some speed demon like yourself wrecked my powdered blue Buick and that one matched my hair. This Eldorado is sorta nice, though. And what’s the big hurry with you younguns anyhow? I had Bingo to tend to and you didn’t see me acting like my ass was on fire, now did ya?
SLOW DOWN!
P.S. I am of no relation to that other Lane person that hangs around these parts.
I say we just shoot all the old people.
I’m kidding.
Elderly folk should take a driving test every year.
You can take the oldsters off the road here. If the police get a sufficient amount of complaints about a particular driver, they can retest them if they are 65 or older. If they fail, snip snip go the scissors on your licence.
I only hope someone is brave enough to tell me when it’s time for me to stop.
It seems to me, there is a neverending supply of problem drivers on the road. Slow moving old folks or foreigners (sometimes bad because they learned to drive elsewhere and never fully adapted to US rules), drunks, drug addicts, sleepy people, cell phone yappers (some people can do it and some just can’t), giggling teenagers, jerks in Beemers, tailgaters (often same as jerks in Beemers), gardners with branches falling out of the back, people with various phobias, people applying makeup, shaving or eating a burger, etc etc. Let’s face it, you just gotta accept that one out of two people is gonna drive dumber than average.
You should be proud of your g-ma that she is still so aware but if you think about it, how much of you permit/driving test do you remember? I don’t think I can remember ANY of it… I drive according to my surroundings - I have to admit, if I’m driving for more than a few hours at high speed I do get a bit nervous so I can imagine as I get older speed may just make me more nervous, more of the time. Summed up, the older folks shouldn’t be on the road.
We used to live in Florida where getting stuck behind the “hair and knuckle” drivers (because that’s all you can see of them) was a very common occurence! I feel your pain man, I FEEL it!!! You just want to pull up next to them and scream horrible things at them…but then, they probably wouldn’t hear you anyway!
I am doing ok 7, I have chemo tomorrow, so blah.
Its ok….only two more after tomorrow!
Maybe she has a NEW car becuase she wrecked the old one, killing all of her family members, so there is no one to keep her from driving. I should have been a detective.
I still think people need to start being retested for their license once they become, like, 70 years old.
It’s pretty bad when you’re such a bad driver that people are risking their lives to get the HELL AWAY FROM YOU!!
Blue= yeah, it’s funny when my mom yells at “old” drivers, and their probably about her age hahaa!!
Charlie= sadly you’re absolutely right, man I hate seeing stuff like that, but I’ve seen young people doing stoopid assed shit like that too.
Angel= you throwing stones again?? LOL *poink*~! =)
LBHL= hmm that sarcasm sounds familiar….. can’t quite put my finger on it!!
John= good idea!! pass the ammo, dude!!
Carolyn= really? that’s cool, Canada? that would be awesome huh. of course you would end up with hateful, yet alive relatives hehehe
Crazygal= you’re right of course, i was just rantin’ bout todays annoyance LOL, i’m guilty of picking fries out the burger bag while i drive! hahaha
tesco= yeah, no shit, i can’t recall most of the questions on the test, i would prolly get a sukk ass score LOL
Lilly= hi hon!! LOL “hair and knuckles”
Cav= great hon!! I hope it don’t hit ya too bad, got me fingers crossed for ya! and my thoughts are with you too! *big hugs*~!!!!
Trashman= hahaha you’re a jeanyus!!
Dawn= yeah, that would suck and make it hard to get laid out on the hiway hahaha!! tho ya might get laid out…
bleh, i saw a fatal accident today caused by an elderly gentleman thinking he could make it across a 3 lane busy street. It was terrible, kids were hurt, and a parent of those kids was killed. I was there, I’m quite disturbed you know?
As if writing this thing (http:63days.com) hasn’t been enough drama and pressure, that death scene was a bit much when I know it was preventable in some respect, you know?
Just my thoughts, lova.
Alli
I totally sympathize with you. My post office is in the middle of Old Fart World. I dodge granny cars as part of my daily routine.
10 and 2, baby, it’s all in the hand placement. All in the hand placement.
Sev, you’re making me nervous. I’m going to Florida next weekend. SCARY STUFF… Florida drivers are the worst. Maybe I can wiggle my nose back and forth and use some magic to get around once I’m there there? Osmosis? HELP MEEEE!!!! Think about it. I pay good money to wild cabdrivers here in the city, they drive like maniacs, and it doesn’t faze me. But put me on the roads in Florida….YIKES!
Take them off the road. They’re old. They’ve earned the right to be ferried around.
even when they aren’t driving they can be dangerous.. stepdad asked grandad once is it safe to pull out… “Oh yes” says grandad, we pull out, air in car turns blue. Stepdad is shaking and car has sped up loud beeping from behind. Grandad hadn’t seen the car coming, ulp. Shortly after that stepdad arranges for Grandad’s car to go to garage … and it doesn’t come back for a while. I loved my grandad to bits, but he used to scare the willies off me when he drove us, we kept trying to let our parents know but they didn’t believe us until that day.
I have always thought that there should be mandatory testing after a certain age for all drivers, no matter how good your past record. I actually turned my Grandfather in to DPS anonymously because I was afraid he was going to kill somebody. He had macular degeneration (sp?) of the eyes and my grandmother would call out the colour of the lights while he drove. They finally took his license away.
Telling someone who has been driving longer than most of us have been on the planet is one of the most difficult things to do. I know it has to be done in many cases but to actually be the one to say it is really tough. An anonymous tip to the DMV is a good place to start.
You mentioned the person riding shotgun not seeming to be aware of their upcoming crash and burn, so I wondered, you ever see one of those situations where the passenger is looking all shifty and terrified? Now THAT is funny!
Lois Lane, no relation to the blue haired bat
Huh…I’m so used to living in a small town where the elderly drive like the the ol’ granny in the cartoons, flames and all….
IT is hard to take the keys away because then someone has to take them places
But at some point, you do that
I dunno, Se7en- in DeathRace 2000, the elderly were wheeled out in their chairs onto the road, and ‘taken off the road’ by a dude in a car.
It’s a sick movie, which is why I like it.
Hey, could some of y’all please pop over to my site, click on the link to e-mail Jim and send him a message of cheer? He’s ill, and I actually have never met him, but I’d like him to get better.
Probably this is a weird thing I’m doing but what the hell. It can’t hurt.
Wanna know why Florida drivers are so crap, all you northern states keep sending your old folk down here in the winter!!!! We are plagued with Love bugs in the spring, Skeetas in the summent and the snowbirds in the winter. I change lanes whenever I see a michigan plate and a lilac perm… (10 times a day)
My grandma is 80 or 81 and she still drives over the mountains to come visit us. That scares me. She admitted that she always drives at least 10 mph under the speed limit to be safe! Ack!
I concur with what most everyone here said. They should be tested - and I mean a DRIVING test - after a certain age. My grandpa (now 93) used to scare the shit out of me when he’d drive. It’s hard for them to give up their independence, but for safety’s sake…
I’ve been driving for 58 years, and my wife thinks I drive TOO FAST! Well of course I do; how else can I keep away from those crazy knee-biters in their Mustangs?
Alli= omg that sukks !! you must have been in shock, it’s never easy seeing people get killed. sorry… =(
Jeanette= !! LOL Old Fart World hahaha
Last Girl= you have a right to be nervous! Florida!! gah!!
Zelda= thats one good way to look at it!!
Noonie= thats funny! just take the whole car away! hahaha sneaky!
Brighton= I think thats what needs to be done too, a written test is just not enough, and in my experience if you keep your license current the only test is for your eyes, not even a written test!
Lois= LOL, white knuckle passengers haha not me!! lemme out a this crazy thing!
Cybele= lol, DR 2000 is a sicko movie!! and sure I’ll go over and say howdee to Jim!
Redfred= hey man!, welcome to the doghouse! You have a good point there ! hehe!!
Heather= thats bad if she admits to having to go slower than the posted speed, i hope she’s ok! =)
Celti= it’s a sucky situation all around isn’t it, no way would I want to have to tell grampa/granma that they can no longer drive safely. I think it will be inevitable, just like the way the laws changed in the past 20 yrs that helps make punishment stiff for drunken drivers.
I know my grandma has no business on the road and she’s 70 something, now my grandfather is 80 and can drive with the best of them, and people think I have a lead foot *ok try him*….I think in missy’s case beat the man who sold her the damn car and then beat the person who took her to the dealership and then beat the person who said she should get a new car for general damn purpose….*phew* that’s a lot of ass kickin!
I agree with the testing. Let them be tested and prove they can still drive with no problems. That way, you can’t claim age discrimination…just “you can’t drive worth shit” discrimination.
trouble with re-testing is they might introduce a requirement for us all to retake the tests so as not to be accused of being agist… and then where would be? I passed the Texas driving test a few years after I passed the English one, that was easy, but I really wouldn’t want to have to try and pass the English test again. It took me two goes the first time round.
What everyone else has said.
Noonie,
agist…that’s funny. Anyways,I purpose of the test isn’t to discriminate. It’s to protect us. It’s the same reason I have to retake my handgun test every few years. They want to make sure I know how to use it safely and effectively. I can hear it now…gunists….LOL!
never the less Jethro would you really want to take your driving test again? thinking about it the Texas one is not that difficult.
Oh and while I am here… me pours bucket of water over Jethro…. Nanner says I missed over at hers…
and your comments aren’t working on your latest post.
Oh that’s exceptionally frustrating. If the numbers are there that prove older people cause more traffic accidents than younger people, then I say test them…if they’re not, and they cause about the same number of accidents as the rest of us, then you have to ask if it would be worth the effort. Just my $.02.
Happy Friday Seven!
Charon= LOL thats ok sweetie! cuz you kik ass!! =)
Jethro= lol thats a good way to look at it ha! granma/pa, you sukk!! now gimme them keys or we turn you upside down LOL
Nonnie= yeah but thats ok really, we can all use a refresher from time to time, ever notice how many peeps don’t have a clue where there turn signals are? yeah, really and that transcends all ages…
Jethro= isn’t that called gun control? hehe
Noonie= i think blogger comments are down all over today, but Jethro uses Comment This so I dunno what’s up with his….
Varla= thanks hon!! you too!! woot!!!
Angel= hi honey bunches !!!!! =))
LOL