Has your driving got better or worse with age?

[oldbugger]

Some say that the older you get the more experience you have, and others say you become more sloppy.

I don't think I've became a better driver as such, but I am more wise of the ways of other drivers on the road and know what to look out for more than I did when I started driving. My actual driving ability hasn't gotten worse, I know that because as if to test me today I had TWO cars slam on their brakes with no notice. One car didn't even have any functioning brake lamps, but I still managed to do an emergency stop in a split second and didn't stall the car (something a lot of people seem to do these days when doing emergency stops).

Ironically I was actually awful at my emergency stop when I was doing my driving test as the instructor slamming his board on the dash gave me such a fright I forgot what to do

My wife says her driving has got better with age and I have to agree, she was an awful driver when she passed her test, now she's just a bad driver

I think the reason I'm still a good driver with good reactions is because I haven't done what so many people over the age of 50 do - switch to Automatic.

I do own an Automatic car but my wife drives that more than I and my main two cars are manual.

It would be easy to get sloppy if you didn't have to change gear regularly or hold the biting point etc...

[dollysprint]

Seems to be a hot topic of debate recently, and a subject recently covered on TV. Cant remember the name of the programme but it looked into all aspects of modern day driving, for all age groups and road conditions ect. One of the tests they carried out was young against old on a set out course. This course involved driving the car through a number of variously gapped "gates"(cones), some wide and some clearly too small for the car and loads in between. The smaller the gap the more points you scored and there was no time limit. The elderly won because although slower they hit less cones and got the car through the smallest of gaps. Some of the young ones not only attempted the gaps that were too small but also attempted them at speed with the obvious fail.
They also tested the old theory about the best drivers, men or women. This was interesting because for the first time they discovered that pro rata(more men drivers doing more miles ect) the number of accidents between men and women was similar but that women had "safer" accidents for want of a better way of putting it. Women dont take the risks that men take so a womens accidents will seldom end in a fatality, where as a mans is more likely too. So the same number of accidents but a different type.
I do think most older drivers use their experience to know when its time to call it a day, my dad for example will no longer drive at night or long distances, so he restricts himself to drive when he feels safe, daylight and for short distances, although he has said he'd like to give up driving next year.
On your last point about manual or auto having an effect, manual having too think more about what your doing, its possible there is something in that. Putting aside that modern cars are too insular anyway, the thought process does work. In Coventry they have designed a major junction with no traffic regulating measures whatsoever, this used to be an accident blackspot. Now because there are no signs, no traffic lights and no rights of way, drivers approach the obsticle more slowly with a higher awareness having to rely on their wits to use the junction and it works. Mind how you would proportion blame to any accident that did happen there is beyond me.

Dave

[TheVDM]

That show sounds interesting, if anybody remembers the name of it I'm interested.

As a youngish driver (26) I'm a bit split minded about it, on one hand for the teenagers they have a bit of a reputation for hurtling down every town road at 60 and revving the c**p out of their poor little 1.0 Peugeots (something I have noticed is that they all seem to think that I'm going to race them in the 800, think again, I know how expensive a gearbox can be). They also seem to think that loud cars are good and that fog lights on during a nice clear day makes them look cool.

On the other hand for the young drivers, there's me!! Ok only joking, I admit it, I'm not perfect and have been involved in one accident that was outright ruled in my favour. On a more serious note I have known many young drivers who have managed to bypass the need for speed and showing off.

On one hand for the elders there is an old gentleman who lives next to the in-laws who really does scare the hell out of me, I have witnessed him hit more than one car on more than one occasion just getting off the drive , if I can't get on the in-laws drive I will park around the corner. There is also a similar gentleman who lives next door to my mum, he doesn't scare me as much but then I have known him for 15 years although I still feel it's more of a case of 'when' rather than 'if'.

On the other hand for the elders there are many elderly drivers who are very good at what they do, for example I never had a scary moment in the car with my nan, who continued driving up until a few months before her passing, I also knew an elderly (I'm sure Mick would kick me if he heard me call him elderly!) gentleman who pretty much lived out of his car (and as far as I am aware still does), he lived in Norfolk and would travel from there to Scotland, Kent etc... (basically all over) on a very regular basis (I think BP must really like him for the amount of petrol he used).

I suppose the short answer to what I have just written is that there are people from all ages that should have their license revoked and people from all ages who are kind and courteous drivers from start to finish.

One last note though, I do believe that experience helps with control and judging spaces too, so the elders will probably win! Also I personally find that driving automatics makes me less alert than the same journey in a manual.

Hopefully nothing above will offend anybody, if so, I'm sorry

Ohh, nearly missed actually answering the question: I think that my driving has got better over time allowing me to judge situations better due to past experiences from which I would like to say I have learnt from.

[oldbugger]

Oh I hate loud exhausts and fog lamps in normal weather!!

I only used the fog lamps once in my Peugeot 405 before they got smashed in by stones and I haven't bothered to replace them as they would never be used anyway.

[TheVDM]

Oh I hate loud exhausts and fog lamps in normal weather!!

I only used the fog lamps once in my Peugeot 405 before they got smashed in by stones and I haven't bothered to replace them as they would never be used anyway.

I think I would do the same if mine were damaged, it's hardly worth it for the 2 days a year they actually get turned on. As for the loud exhausts I felt very embarrassed when I drove 20 miles to my favourite tyre & exhaust shop with my snapped tale pipe earlier this week, I also had a throbbing headache and numb back by the time I got there!

[oldbugger]

I know the feeling.

The exhaust on my Peugeot 405 disconnected from the rear silencer a few months ago when I was 40 miles from home (my fault really for not replacing that old corroded system) and I had to drive 40 miles with not only a super loud exhaust note but also the pipe scraping along the road.

[metelmickey]

as already said, there are good and bad drivers from all age and gender, theres a old boy down the road who has to use a sat-nav to get to the local shops ( 3 miles down the road ) my old man drives well but as his is used to old cars with a 4/5 speed box keeps forgetting the 6th gear in his new car .
my driving is about the same as when i was younger, took my advanced driving test about 10 years ago and my HGV about 2 years ago.

[oldbugger]

6th gear? Good Lord, I remember driving cars with THREE GEARS (three on the tree they were called, though I don't suppose anybody remembers them these days).

[aryan57]

Three on the Tree and a Four on the Floor, remember them well!

[oldbugger]

Thank goodness, was feeling rather old there.

[BennyVitesse]

My mother (50 something) still calls fifth 'Top Gear or Overdrive'!

I've definitely slowed down over the last 11 years. I used to tear around in a Metro like there was no tomorrow, and getting a Vit Sport didn't help at all, I won't be admitting on here how swiftly I used to 'make progress' in case Kate is online

What helped me ironically was an older driver smashing into my 25 and nearly sending me into the next world a bit early. This impact happened at just 45 mph on a road where one can legally do 70. Makes you think a lot more, not just about what you are doing but what everyone else on the road is doing.

[Lord Sterling]

Same here Ben. I used to drive cars like they were stolen, but having smashed the 827Si, having a few near misses since then, being involved in road rage incidents and realising that I scare my passengers, I realised the need to cool down and slow down. Having a very clean old car with a big engine and an autobox definitely helps. I love my cars and wish to preserve them as long as I can, in order to do this I realise that I must slow down and drive carefully.

Where I can, I often just potter along on the inside lane letting all the angry Audi/crap Beemer/self indulgent company car/White Van drivers to it. Life is too short and precious to worry about these t055ers.

[oldbugger]

My mother (50 something) still calls fifth 'Top Gear or Overdrive'!

Me too, what's wrong with that!?

[BennyVitesse]

Nothing, if the car only has 5 gears or an Overdrive but an automatic Citroen doesn't really come under those categories

[oldbugger]

Talking of automatics they have gotten a lot more gears lately.

I remember when Automatics had two or three gears (shoot me now) but my Daughter's 2012 BMW 520d has about 6 with the option of up to 8 on petrol models I believe.

I miss my old Mazda with 4 gears, buzzing along at 70 on the motorway at about 4,500RPM - those were the days.