Th Road Warrior will be on the road for a while. It may take me longer than usual to process comments until I return, depending on computer connections
Road Warrior Travis Baker blogs about the problems and idiosyncrasies of Kitsap highways and byways.
Gonna “camp” in the inside lane?
Have fun on the road Travis. Drive safely. 😉
Have a great time – and be safe. Look out for the old folk drivers – especially if you see a cane next to them! 🙂
Road Warrior… You’ve been on the road a long time – you must be having a really great time – good!
At what age would Sharon O’Hara say is an “old folk driver”? I have friends in their 90s who are better drivers than the 20-30 year olds, squirreling around in the Fred Meyer parking lot!
I don’t drive any more at my age (80) but it’s not my age that made me give it up. It was my lousy driving!
Well Rosie. That “old folk driver” comment was meant as sort of a joke that clearly didn’t work. Good driving is individual as you already know.
What should not now or ever define a bad driver is seeing them use a cane and be aged over 65.
Age doesn’t make a driver “lousy driving” – one friend was so bad I couldn’t ride with him and his poor wife without a prayer and tightly closed eyes. He got worse as the years passed but never needed a cane to walk and kept driving.
Sharon, we do not let children under the age of 16 drive because they have not yet developed the physical skills needed to safely operate a car. It’s unfortunate, but as we age we begin to lose some of our physical skills. It’s a sad thing, but I believe that we should be retesting folks after a certain age. We had to pry my grandma’s car away from her when she hit her late 80’s, and we should have done it much sooner for her and other peoples safety.
Robin, I agree and suggest retesting be done every 20 years or sooner from the initial license until age 65 and automatic retesting at that age.
I don’t object to anything other than discrimination against seniors using canes and that the examples given in the drivers manual and online resemble the actual driving test. eg: cones for the parallel parking.
If the rule (as I was told) is that ALL people using canes are retested without warning in the manual or website. However from the comments I’ve gotten and people I’ve spoken with – younger folks with walking sticks or crutches don’t have a problem renewing their license leaving me to surmise the “ALL” people using canes really means seniors using canes.
At a certain age/medical conditions/s some of us become acutely aware of the rapid passing of time and consider our moments precious. To have wasted my time and effort and gas was a crime when I should have known and phoned for an appointment to retake the driver’s test for a renewal because I use walking sticks.
I object to the wasted first trip I made for my license renewal and consider it discrimination against physically challenged seniors .
Additionally bad driving habits learned young become worse as time passes – seniors don’t automatically become bad drivers at 65. As Rosie pointed out – its an individual thing.
And Robin – aging isn’t a sad thing.
Aging is normal and interesting. One of the most stupid comments I hear time after time is for well meaning ignorant people to say “so & so is 80 years YOUNG as though that was the best thing to be – young. Being condescending to seniors expose their own ignorance of real life and living.
Good grief, we’ve been there, done that – as great a life as I’ve had as a younger person, I’m having just as interesting and varied learning experiences NOW. Annoying though it be at times, life is for living and adjusting as we go along.