Lucky07

I was out this morning riding down a quiet road. I came up to a fork & slowed. I'm turning left but looked before I took the lane. A car had been behind me driving slowly, as if he was going to take a turn. Instead, the car speeds up, drives into the oncoming lane to get around me, then passes right in front of me, inches away. If I'd been less aware, or going a little faster the car would have hit me dead on.

I yell "Hey!" and the driver stops. It's an old man driving, hunched over the wheel. I pull over the the driver side window.

"Hey, uh. You almost hit me. You should look before you turn. And signal" /he hadn't signaled

"What's that? Listen, I'm in a hurry. Are ok? Good." Drives off.

I was angry, but I had to laugh. He just didn't give a f&^k.

Hopefully he won't kill me before they take his license away.

oldpuck81

Ok, I'm going out on a limb here but I think I'm accurate on this one based on general observations: There are MANY old (>65, 75 yr. old ) people/drivers out there that would run over a cyclist and just keep on going just because they don't have the sense to stop and render aid or take responsibility for what they'd done. I think there are many that just don't give a f**k anymore and think because they're old that they can do whatever they want behind the wheel and let self-denial protect them. Hope I don't meet any of them when I'm on my 2 wheeler. I've certainly seen them while driving around.

Lucky07

Well, I think you are on a limb there. There are bad drivers of every age. I should have noted that this man appeared to be about 85 and not all that aware of his surroundings. I do think there are good reasons the very young or very old aren't allowed behind the wheel of a car.

I didn't mean to throw everyone above retirement age under the bus. I hope to get to that age eventually.

Provided someone young or old doesn't run me over first.

Tribronc

I truly believe there should be mandatory drivers testing when you reach a certain age. Driving is a priviledge not a right. You should be able to demonstrate that you still have the faculties and awareness to operate a vehicle. Last year at the El Tour De Tucson, a 91 year old man was stopped by officers at an intersection and became impatient after the officer turned their attention to another driver. He decided to go and ended up plowing into a group coming through the intersection, seriously injuring one rider. He got out of his vehicle, looked at the damage to his car, and the riders on the ground and then fled the scene. His response??? He is actually suing the Perimeter Cycling and the Sheriff's Department, saying it was their fault he decided to go throught the intersection. He claims it was not clear that he was supposed to stop and stay stopped. What a joke!!! Mandatory testing...

knobster

+a million. Never happen though. Most people that vote and have all the power are over the age of 65. Anyone that tries to pass this bill will be a marked man/woman.

cyclefreaksix

Hey man, you've been in Plano too long.

Little Darwin

I bolded the most important point, and greyed out the irrelevant parts. (in my opinion).

While reflexes may slow with aging, the age of the drivers are irrelevant to me. I have seen old drivers that I would prefer to be around compared to younger more physically adept drivers. If an older driver slows down enough to accomodate their aging reflexes, I think it is fine for them to drive. (as long as they don't have to slow down too much, then it imposes other safety issues)

I was appalled the first time I ever renewed a license to find out that I didn't need to take a driving test. I think a driving tests after a person has been driving a while will catch some elements of laxness in their driving patterns... Why wait until someone is a certain age for them to prove that they can drive safely? The only thing I think they need to do is eliminate parallel parking from the test. I've never been good at that.

Of course, I know the cost of testing every few years will keep it from ever being a reality... although maybe we could lobby for a law that requires anyone with any traffic violation to take the driving test the next time they renew their license. This might be a bigger deterrent to stupid driving than a fine.

fordmanvt

Only problem with this is, how do you root out the people who know better and do it anyway...

Simple solution, everyone gets retested, how often depends on you score. If you barely pass, come back next year. Do perfect, and come back in 4, 5, 7 years?

Velo Dog

As an old man driver (65 next month) who also cycles about 3500 miles a year, I have to say that nearly all the driver-cyclist confrontations I see are the fault of the cyclist. May not have been the case here, but just since the end of Daylight Saving Time, I've probably seen half a dozen near-misses and one solid hit, involving an old man cyclist and a teen-age driver who nailed the geezer when he (the cyclist) tried to cut across the bottom of a freeway offramp. Nobody seriously hurt, but it was blind luck--I was approaching upstream toward the ramp (unavoidable in that location; the bike path crosses the ramp near the bottom and cuts up toward a MUT). The rider just misjudged his speed or didn't see the car at all, and the kid did all he could to miss him.
I felt sorry for the cyclist, who was my age or older, but it was straight-up his fault. In addition to riding like he was blind and deaf, he was wearing all black at dusk, with little dime-sized reflectors on his pedals to keep him safe. I hung around to give the cops a report, and I'm glad I did--the cyclist and his two buddies teed off on the kid, talking about how he "came down the ramp without looking." I'm sure he would have gotten hosed if I hadn't witnessed the crash.

RacerOne

What a cyclist not unconditionally supporting another cyclist no matter the facts? Oh right this isn't A&S, good call.

stevegor

Of course you guys know that the OP was talking about Pcad, don't you?

SharpStone30888

Exactly, he was in a hurry to get on BF and start useless threads about acquiring bike schwag.

pdedes

here in ontario, drivers over eighty must pass a test every 2 years. btw, driving is a privilege conferred by authorities having jurisdiction, requiring licenses and registration. however, cycling is a right.

joe_5700

Sorry not bike related but...I once ran into an old man who also had that I don't give a crap anymore attitude. I was walking out to my car in a mall parking lot and I see an old man fling his door open right into the door of my car. My car was a restored 1971 Nova 2 door that was in really nice shape. So I ran up to him and yelled HEY what are you doing to my car? The old coot gets out and looks at my car, laughs and says "Oh this old thing?" He was driving a very expensive new car. This was a few years ago so I can't remember what it was exactly anymore. So I opened my passenger door and flung my much sturdier door into his door several times leaving nice dents. It left the old man speechless. I then calmly got into my car and he calmly walked into the mall like nothing had happened.

Dorsilfin

All Drivers should be required to retest every 3 years. if you fail you go through the whole license process again.. Guaranteed it would keep ALOT of the bad drivers caught up in the system and make the roads just a little bit safer

knobster

In reality, it's never going to happen. Not with the economy the way it is. Even if it did, this wouldn't keep these drivers off the road. They'd still drive, just without a license.

gettingold

I had an old guy almost send me over an embankment into a hedge one time. Wasn't sure if he was just senile or nasty until he put up his middle finger and eliminated all doubt. Not sure what his deal was; I was over as far as I could go on a two lane road with noone coming the other way.

TxAggieCyclist

https://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/154175 haha.... (cant find it anywhere else to insert it)

kimconyc

There should be mandatory cycling tests for cyclists. Just saying...

DScott

A&S is, uh, that way --->

Or is it that way <---

or, here ^...


I dunno, it's just not here.


(...stupid new board software. )

datlas 

Yeah, what's up with that stupid new software, anyway? I would have thought by new they would go back to the earlier version.

stevegor

Especially for newbies who want to train/race with fast paced groups...YIKES!!

datlas 

There should be mandatory cycling tests for cyclists. Just saying...

(above is quote, stupid new software not working right for me)

There is talk in philadelphia of mandatory licensing for bicycles, in the wake of 2 recent pedestrian deaths after bike/pedestrian accidents.