Pensioners and driving

I’m no spring chicken anymore, at 43, and I’ve always loved driving. I’m really worried that the minute I hit 65 I’m going to have to rip up my driving license and throw it away.

I say this because of recent incidents I’ve experienced whilst both in cars and / or on the same roads as pensioners. The things they’ve done lead me to believe all pensioners should be chauffeured!

I know that it’s tarring a whole section of the population with the same brush, based on what I hope is probably just a few bad apples – and I guess that’s in a similar vein to people who say all Asian men must be paedophiles after the events in Rotherham (where I live), but until I see a pensioner driving reasonably, making progress with due care and attention, I’m keeping my preconceptions alive! 🙂

I’ve experienced being in the back of a car driven by an 81 year old relative, with his wife in the passenger seat. He was weaving across lanes on a large roundabout, with traffic all around him, not looking or caring about the beeps of other concerned road users… On the motorway, he couldn’t keep a constant speed, varying between 50 and 90, with his wife occasionally reaching across and flipping the indicators on and off for him, without being requested to do so. I was in genuine fear of my life!

Later the same day, I was in the passenger seat with his wife, and experienced her version. A mid seventies lady, with many years of experience, whilst on the drive, she put the car in reverse to move it back slightly – didn’t bother stopping, went straight through a bush and got stuck in their fence with the engine revving madly. I screamed, and I’m sure my fingernails are still stuck in the dashboard…

Most recently, I’ve nearly been wiped out by a pensioner that didn’t seem to be able to understand big, thick, fresh white lines on the road, or the three foot high letters explaining which lane goes where. I’ve got a dash cam in my car, which caught the whole thing – there is a small amount of “colourful” language coming out of my mouth just after the actual event. 🙂

So – I hope I keep driving for many years to come, but if I get like that, please provide a chauffeur, and rip up my license, if I haven’t already done it myself!

– The Zoo Keeper