minimatt
Junior Member
hyper mediocrity
Posts: 1,681
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Post by minimatt on Sept 29, 2024 21:05:39 GMT
on old people driving though i do think we've decimated social care provision, meals on wheels, non-emergency ambulance transport, public transport, and many of us live hundreds of miles away from parents and have our own shit going on, like needing to maintain three jobs just to keep a roof over our heads
we accept the risk of 17 year old lads driving because we hope they'll become productive members of society. we perhaps have to accept the risk of 77 year old lads driving because we refuse to pay the taxes necessary to provide social care provision and we aren't prepared to ferry them every other day to the doctors, to the shops, to visit their friend beryl, to go see the seaside
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Post by Jambowayoh on Sept 29, 2024 22:18:19 GMT
God, meals on wheels. Hearing that sounds like a lifetime ago.
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Post by muddyfunster on Oct 2, 2024 14:06:42 GMT
Oldies driving is a really difficult one. In my limited experience it varies between individuals. My grandfather was fine into his early 80s then very sensibly called time himself before we had any real concerns. My grandmother on the other side was a complete liability after 70 and one by one we each had a scary experience in the car with her and avoided it. She was adamant she was fine and it was basically only after signs of dementia that we felt justified in taking the keys for her own benefit. Fortunately once a medical professional repeated what we were telling her, she accepted it.
The last time I did get in a car with her she pulled up to a busy roundabout in town hesitated and missed several safe opportunities to pull out and then just randomly went for it after getting flustered by a dickhead behind honking (lesson: don't beep because you are inpatient, you are more likely to cause an accident). Only the reactions of the guy minding his business on the roundabout prevented a crash. I felt really sorry for her, but it was obvious she just couldn't process the situation at junctions fast enough and was just desperately styling it out.
It's such a means of independence I totally understand the reluctance to give it up. Especially when it so often means their life gets smaller.
Thankfully technology will ultimately resolve this issue before most of us get there. Self driving cars are going to a godsend for so many.
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Post by rawshark on Oct 2, 2024 15:00:45 GMT
I let my temper get the better of me yesterday and went into an empty room and headbutted a pillow (thrice). Absolutely fucked my neck up.
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Post by drhickman1983 on Oct 2, 2024 15:12:32 GMT
My dad is 80 and still drives short distances, 5-10 minutes. Had a few lifts when I visited, and still felt fairly safe, though as a non-driver I've no idea if I'd spot the hazards.
It is a useful lifeline for him if he needs to go to the shops and my sister who can drive, and who lives nearby can't pick him up everytime.
I would support mandatory regular retests from 60 onwards (I'd even support them earlier tbh) but there simply isn't the infrastructure to do so.
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