Couple in their 80's

Oh my God, that is just tragic beyond words. 3 innocent people killed today by an octogenarian driver. If this doesn't get elderly drivers to have regular driving assessments then nothing will. What a truly awful story

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-45878215

They just showed the footage on the news , scary stuff outside lane 60mph head on into the traffic completely oblivious.

"3 innocent people killed today by an octogenarian driver".  Possibly, but several reports have the octogenarian driver as one of the dead. If true, "innocent" hardly fits the bill.

OK blackbarn, I just skimmed through the news.

Think they both died in the vehicle at fault, how this wasn't a double figure tragedy only god knows. Absolutely horrifying footage.

80 years olds should be indoors watching the TV  ,they've had their time  ...and towing a caravan  ?   whats wrong with a coach trip anyway ?  senile coffin dodgers

If this doesn't get elderly drivers to have regular driving assessments then nothing will

Are they not assessed after 70, every 3 years, with a Dr's note to confirm they're competent?

Coachbuster • October 16, 2018 7:57 PM BST

senile coffin dodgers

How does that equate to 'dodging' ?

Whatever Coachbuster!!   A reactionary and somewhat offensive post.  These two will be someone's parents and grandparents. Very sad for the apparently innocent Mondeo driver mind.

blackbarn ,please don't take me  too seriously   ...but they really shouldn't have been towing a caravan  given the drivers awareness  .... i'm not even sure how he could have made such a mistake .... it was a serious error of judgement  .... shocked more weren't killed by this

still stay they shouldn't be allowed loose on the roads though 

Coach - Why wouldn't I take you too seriously?. What reasonable person would expect light-hearted comments re this incident.

I have some sympathy for what I think might be your view, but.........."80 years olds should be indoors watching the TV, they've had their time...and towing a caravan? whats wrong with a coach trip anyway ?  senile coffin dodgers" IS offensive.

It is coachbusters right to be offensive , as it is your right to be offended . This is one of the last bastions of free speech .

blackbarn ..is it just the coffin dodgers bit that offended you ?

senile coffin dodgers *

indeed Reynard

The old couple's vehicle had foreign plates which may shed some light on this terrible incident, FFS seeing that video footage made me feel sick

the driver of that caravan  wasn't exactly driving  slowly either  ...why no effort to stop ?    there is a van on the other carriageway warning drivers by flashing .

I'm sorry , but at that age you shouldn't be on the road unless you take a test every year and  show your competence   ...    there are too many on the road  and half of then don't know what the **** theyre doing ..theyre in a world of their own

wot's the figures - is it under 25s the most accident prone??

'coffin dodger' applies to certain 80 year olds Kenny not all ,so i'm not talking about the sweet little old dear who rides around in her  buggy to the shops  ...i'm talking about those who have a total disregard for others safety (for one) .... 

there is an element from THAT generation that seem to have a very selfish attitude .. and won't be told

Hi coach - I replied to your wine post. Hope it is helpful.

Re this, I guess "senile coffin dodgers" was the trigger, but pretty much all of it is ageist, reactionary and offensive in my view.

Reynard - Thanks for your 20.40 post. I hope this is helpful to others. In the meantime, coach and I are doing our best to illustrate your point.

moisok ,and how many under 25s are on the road  ...as a ratio the over 70s are easily the most likely to cause an accident /death

aegist is a funny term really ..any 'ist' for that matter  ...  if you believe that 80 year olds should be taken off the road for others safety, is that discriminating ?

Drivers under the age of 20 have more fatal accidents than drivers over 75.
Over 70s can struggle with high-speed junctions and slip roads.

kenny - i would take dangerous 25 year old drivers off the road ,sling 'em in jail and ban the fookers for life ..asian or otherwise .

But at the same time there must be something wrong with an 80 year old who decides to drive round in a 4x4 towing a friggin caravan around  ...  he should be fishing or playing bingo or something ..

there comes a time ....

so why is the youngsters insurance so high, and mine, on my cars, a pittance?

My neighbour is 90 and drives every Day.....Accident waiting to happen ffs.

most youngsters subsidise the other reckless youngsters  - it is true .

  there are a lot of young drivers around . Older folk generally don't drive far anyway ...  it's just that those that do  are a very high potential risk

car insurance is cheaper if you tow a caravan

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum off on their Holiday  ,Dreadful, as for Having family I can assure the Family would have concerns about them Hauling  Caravans about at that Age, if of course they Give a fck at all ,Two many of these Oldies plodding around in another world at the wheel of a Deadly weapon .

Test should be retaken at 70 and every 5 years after that .. END of

And drives the kids to school and I am not joking.

also consider the knock on effect  ...

80 y/o  driver cruises along at 20 mph in a 40mph zone for a few miles  causing a long tailback ...     once the road is clear you have a lot impatient/ dangerous overtaking going on ....  cars held up will then increase their speeds further along .

as they  say in Brazil, a recife for disaster

I am not even Suggesting a Full test but a Refresher . I'm sure the Tester will soon know if they are fit to be at the Wheels,They have free bus passes GTF on to a bus .

Is it wrong that when you hear of an old guy doing something wreckless with a Caravan and it ending in disaster you think of Jeremy Clarkson and "missed opportunity"?

(Sorry!)

Coachbuster
moisok ,and how many under 25s are on the road  ...as a ratio the over 70s are easily the most likely to cause an accident /death

Not reflected in insurance premiums.

Coachbuster - you know even less about car insurance than you do about trees and wine

they're the root cause lol .... it won't be reflected in the policy cost

ha ha blackbarn ... i must confess  that trees and wine aren't my top areas of expertise

Three people tragically killed in a motorway accident and JC makes a joke about it. Shame on you.

Most elderly drivers are perfectly safe however because they tend to do things more slowly they frustrate younger drivers.

People should know when its time to stop driving but after 60 years its a difficult thing to give up your independence.

I had to tell my 82 year old Dad it was time to stop and the best way to do it was by making him think how he would feel if he caused an accident involving a child.

Very difficult for older people to accept the reality.  Had a couple of uncles who shouldn't have been on the road, but, again, without that independence they
would have much reduced lives.

The thing is to plan ahead and make sure you live somewhere close to where you need to go or with access to public transport or similar arrangements.

No need to worry boys and girls. Driverless cars are on their way!

Problem solved.

I'm not yet 70 but getting there. I am however one of the elderly drivers who "frustrate" younger ones. That's because I am usually content to drive within the speed limit.

What lane tho ?

I am not a middle-lane motorway hogger if that's what you mean.
What I do sometimes do is drive as near to 50mph as possible on a non-dual carriageway road where that is the speed limit. I invariably get a convoy behind me.
I've also noticed that taxi-drivers,and I've never noticed one who appeared to be over 70,seem to be exempt from any speed restrictions.

salmon - you are one of these doddering old things trying to keep below 35 in a 30 mile limit that frustrate the youngsters trying to get to their meet a minute earlier and sweep round you in front of on coming traffic and accelerate away at 50 or 60

how dare you get in their way!!!

as for this ridiculous coach person - he seems to hate anyone of any senior sort of age - you can feel his rage!!!

everywon nose that speed limits are set up by doddering old people and are their two frustrait the under 21s

How did they manage to get onto a motorway and drive down it the wrong way?
That takes some doing by accident.

There are loads of reported incidents of drivers going the wrong way down motorways.
Strangely they only mention age if they're elderly.

Most of them are reported to have crossed the central reservation, after finding they were going the wrong way and were trying to go back and get off.

I know I do it all the time.

OAP's get free public tansport travel. There's a good reason for this and it's not just about votes

I don't think somebody with the name James Dean should be commenting on car accidents involving the mature.

Fair point

another age hater ho ho

Compulsory retirement from driving on the 80th Birthday for everyone!

moisok - this 'coach person' has been posting on here since 2006  young man !! 


I love old people ,well most of them ... 

you do realise that some of these stubborn old bstards on the road were once young themselves ?   and they were probably pig ignorant then

you get enough of them OFF the roads  ... when i was trying to get round the supermarket the other day i had a few  of the older folk just standing in everyones way without a care in the world  ....   younger foreigners (usually foreign women)  are usually just as bad when it comes to this lack of awareness

and don't mention women and old folk on the road  when it comes to junctions ....  yeah,just plonk the car right in the middle of the road so no other fooker can get through

feel the hate!!!!

moisok

How did they manage to get onto a motorway and drive down it the wrong way?
That takes some doing by accident.

It would be extremely difficult, even without towing a caravan!

I'm supposing what happened, is that they were driving the wrong way around the roundabout, at the intersection!

Maybe their satnav was having 'one of those days' .........

when i was trying to get round the supermarket the other day i had a few  of the older folk just standing in everyones way without a care in the world  ....

Maybe you should learn from their stress free way of living??????

How is driving at 60+mph into oncoming traffic stress free ?

Their car was apparently in a collision a few days before
.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-45901084

Sounds like a suicicde pact
Wonder if they had life insurance?

Anyone driving 1mph faster than me is an idiot with a death wish, SLOW DOWN YOU FOOL.
Anyone driving 1mph slower than me is a dawdler with no respect for other road users, IT'S THE PEDAL ON THE RIGHT.

Oct 18, 2018 -- 7:59AM, Callisto-moon wrote:

when i was trying to get round the supermarket the other day i had a few  of the older folk just standing in everyones way without a care in the world  ....Maybe you should learn from their stress free way of living??????

i am completely stress free ...i'm one step away from a zombie in fact ....but i still had to get round the store  before it closed

The ratio of young men under 25 who cause fatal crashes is greater than that caused by those over 80.

That said, there are a number of elderly drivers who really can't cope with today's roads. But re-testing them may not be an answer. Many would pass and could still react slowly in a dangerous situation.

There is no real answer to this kind of tragedy. It is life and accidents / bad things do happen. Indeed, through the younger brigade trying to eliminate all risk from everything the required self-awareness and self-preservation is being drained from people.

Just accept that whatever we do on the roads, there will always be terrible accidents - often unavoidable ones.

PS - we ought to be more concerned that ONLY 1 in 5 of us will fall victim to crime in any one year - yesterday's crime figures. Talk about spin.

Christ, while 1 in 5 is still a minority, it is still way too high for a supposedly rich and civilised nation.

I really don't think many over 80's would pass the driving test.

Strange the old couple have not been named.

I really don't think many over 80's would pass the driving test.

I don't think too many over 40 would pass the driving test without a refresher course.

very strange that, someone said they had foreign plates on as well ...

What do you prefer, someone over 80 driving with a safety first attitude?

Or a younger person driving for the thrill they get from speed?

The insurance companies don't find it hard to choose when they insure people.

what I don't understand is how they got down the slip road and into fast lane?
surley someone could of blocked them off

How? The mad fecker wasn't slowing down while driving against oncoming traffic. He probably nearly killed a few while going across two lanes from the slip road.

Average octogenarian probably drives 3k miles a year.

This is most likely why their premiums aren't high.

Kids can limit their mileage; they still charge them an arm and a leg.