[Express]

I've just turned 60 and off to the doctors I went to have a medical check up and it was the first time I'd seen a doctor for any reason in more than 20 years and he said, 'better late than never'.

I have always felt healthy but the tests showed I have type 2 Diabetes which meant off for a series of tests to check for the many health issues that are closely related to Diabetes and I was surprised at the results and how good a condition my body was in and in particular my eyes and the blood flow to them and that the blood speed through my veins to my feet is similar to that of an 18 year old.

My point, not all people age the same and apart from the Diabetes I'm luckier than many. Because of my age I know many people that fall into the 60 to 80 range and of those that no longer drive most of them have made their own decision to cease, it wasn't forced on them.

A close family friend who recently turned 80 decided to handed in his licence because he felt his eyesight at times was a bit too blurry even though he'd passed the eyesight test. Up until handing it in he was still driving on 600 to 700 kilometre trips with his wife. I asked him why not stop driving but still keep your licence in case you need it in an emergency and he simply said if he kept it it may be a temptation and he'd rather make a clean break. Fair enough, not a decision I'd make but fair enough.

I do believe a lot of older people are not completely selfish and do assess themselves honestly when it comes to their driving ability and most of the ones I know that still drive are doing a good job at it with a few exceptions. One I know who shouldn't be on the road has been a poor driver when it comes to judging distance and coordination since he starting driving as a teenager and has never gotten any better at it.

I've been involved in 4 car accidents since I started driving at 17 and two have been in more recent years when a 21 year old female rear ended me while I was stopped at a traffic light and a 32 year old male rear ended me in a school zone while I was stopped in traffic, both were texting on their phones at the time. The other 2 accidents were completely my fault where I left the road due to high speed and both occurred while I was still in my teens.

The way I see it when you target an age group as being a poor driving demographic you are drawing a line in the sand because of what we think we see or want to see or because a particular statistic is worse for one age than another but none of it really touches on or solves the overall problem of poor drivers on the road.

Not everyone should be tarred with the same brush just because they fall into a particular age group.

A better solution with age related driving issues is to provide improved testing procedures whether it be for medical conditions and cognitive skills affecting older drivers or even young driver's who after 5 or 10 years still haven't been able to prove they have the skill nor the maturity to be allowed on the roads.

What do I think of my driving ability now I'm 60, I know I don't have the reflexes I had at 20, I fatigue quicker on long journeys and need more toilet breaks, I stopped feeling indestructible years ago and drive with more caution because of it, I leave bigger gaps between myself and vehicles in front, I'm less prone to being annoyed with other drivers, I still enjoy some intense acceleration when away from traffic, I still love to feel the turn-in of a nicely tuned suspension in a tight bend but I don't push as hard as I once did, I'm very aware of the safety of my passengers and anyone with half a brain who has had children should understand the importance of that and drive to keep them safe, I've seen enough bad and discourteous drivers to know something can happen that is out of my control and to be prepared, I'm aware if I am the reason for disrupting traffic flow it's a good idea to pull over and let the faster drivers go by, if I'm not trying to win the race I'm not stupid enough that I can't understand to keep left on a multilane highway and I just don't want to kill or maim anyone or myself as I now know life is much shorter and time travels much quicker than I realised at 30.




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