a danger on the roads?

[Patf]

I was driving out of SuperU this morning and saw an elderly man, 80ish , staggering along, carrying a few items, his right eye covered by a large patch. I thought surely he can't be driving? But he went to a battered old car and got in to drive [:'(]

I do feel sorry for many of these isolated old people, many living on their own and far from the shops etc, but really isn't it time France introduced a driving test for older people.

Even if it meant us taking it.

[NickP]

It might be handy if France introduced a proper driving test for all French drivers. [:D]

[mint]

[quote user="NickP"]It might be handy if France introduced a proper driving test for all French drivers. [:D]

[/quote]

Nick, your post made me laugh.  Then it set me to thinking:  how the devil are they going to understand the principles of the use of the indicator, nevermind those of lane-positioning and -discipline?[:D][:D]

[Chancer]

I usually bite my tongue as I  think forums are better without confrontation but your comments really angered me.

 

Why do you consider this guy should not be driving, because he is old? Because he does not enjoy the mobility that you do? Or because he temporarily has the use of one eye?

 

The first two you almost certainly will become one day, the latter perhaps not, it happened to me in my late 40's and I can assure you that people with monocular vision are allowed to drive in all countries of the world if their vision meets the required standard, 6/10 I think in France.

 

Your comments bely your feeling sorry for this person who would be all the more isolated if you had your way, he may even starve.

[Patf]

OK Chancer, I'm duly rebuked, I'll go and hide under a stone.

But I certainly wouldn't want to drive with just one eye. I would wait until the patch came off.

I think you're going a bit far to say I would want him to starve. I've taken food round and done shopping for people who can't do it for themselves.

What about only one leg then? After I had a fall in March I didn't drive for a few weeks because my right leg was painful.

[woolybanana]

Hang on chaps, this one eyed one legged driver is Norman so be nice to him; by all means take food and drink round to him, take him out to dinner and the rest, he doesn't get out much these days.

By the way, he says that driving with one eye improves his performance on roundabouts no end, to the extent that other drivers hoot at him and give him a wave to show their appreciation.

[Patf]

On second thoughts, I think my post was tactless, there are quite a few single people on here, including you Chancer, and you must worry that the time will come when you might not be able to drive. I've had that worry for some years. And as you say, Wooly, Norman has problems, I didn't know he only had one eye.

I don't know the answer, especially for those of us who live out in the country.

If there was a bus service I would use that even now, but there isn't.

Perhaps we should move into a town, where everything is near. And btw I'm much older than the rest of you, even Norman.

[Chancer]

All people in marriages or partnerships will one day be single  unless both they and their Partner die in the same accident or suicide.

 

The weaker Partner, usually but not always the male will in many cases be incapable of living on their own even with good health, all their limbs and 20/20 vision in both eyes. They are the ones who should worry and I suspect do worry albeit sub consciously, I dont as I have always found my own way in life and overcome whatever obstacles I have met, it has always been that way for me since the age of 15, I realise now that I am too independant for most partners.

 

Having one eye is no obstacle to driving, I know that for a fact, the only time I am at a disadvantage is if I have to rub the good eye if it is itchy but that is no different to when people sneeze behind the Wheel, and do you know what, - I rarely sneeze these days and never behind the Wheel, you wont find me surfing the net or sending textos while driving either.

 

Having only one leg doesnt prevent one from being a safe driver either with a suitable prosthetic or modified controls, I used to race against paraplegic wheelchair bound drivers.

 

So I really dont see it as a single person issue, I am sensitive to comments like yours because I have walked in the shoes of the other man and truth be known because deep down I know that I have said the same things in the past. For the record I have regained some sight in my left eye but its field of vision is so reduced that the good right eye sees everything that it does and lots of what it doesnt, they have put in an artificial crystallin lens set for reading and close work which is a boon, it means that when I look at anything further than arms length the brain only registers the image from the right eye and in those terms I consider myself to be blind in the left eye, the opposite is true for close work and reading, I'm effectively blind in the right eye like most people over 45 with long sightedness, I have the advantage that I dont normally have to wear reading glasses.

 

[YCCMB]

Acksherly, I hate to let the facts get in the way of a good ding-dong, but there are, in fact, quite specific rules regarding whether or not you can legally drive if suffering from certain permanent or temporary disabilities. And there's a whole section on visual impairment.

It's here:

http://legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000265763

Now, of course, nobody knows if the elderly man seen by Pat had been through the necessary hoops to ensure that he was OK to drive with what might (or not) be a temporary visual impairment, but with all due respect to anyone driving under such conditions, and in so many other questionable situations, there's also the thorny question of what would happen in case of an accident.

I don't think you can compare a situation where someone has a permanent disability and been re-educated to drive (with or without a modified vehicle) with someone driving with a temporary disability caused by accident, illness or injury. I used to take my elderly neighbour shopping every week after she had to stop driving because she had been officially registered as blind, but, trust me, she was a danger to herself and other road users for months before she finally accepted that she couldn't see well enough to drive.

[idun]

I refuse to worry about other folks and their choices, because in the main, most have chosen to live where they live.

And IF they can no longer drive, well, they shouldn't be.

I do most of the driving these days as he doesn't enjoy driving. And I did all the driving when I first met my OH, as he hadn't passed his test. In the interim, usually shared it.

Read something in the not too distant past about old drivers having less accidents, and it just made me think of Mr McGoo ( I'm not young!) and all the chaos he caused. There was no mention of the accidents caused by such drivers, as they may not have even been involved and simply driven on.

One of the main roads in the NE of England is the A19, and is a 70MPH road, if one wants, and most do, and the rest!!!!! And a couple of days ago I encountered a car............... a bloke was driving........ looked like there was no one driving what with the head rest and he was that low down, looked about 100 but who knows, driving at about 35mph.  I just felt lucky I got past and there had been no accident.

My Dad who was still an athlete and in competitions all over the world into his mid 80's, stopped driving at 79 and sold his car. Said that he did not believe that his reaction time was any longer fast enough.  Now some will be OK at that age, but why not have a simple driving test, maybe not a full one, but including reaction times from say 75 onwards. As I said, I am not young and I wouldn't mind. People with certain handicaps certainly have to have them in the UK....... a family member did, was deemed fit to drive five years ago and then two years ago was not.

[Chancer]

[quote user="You can call me Betty"]Acksherly, I hate to let the facts get in the way of a good ding-dong, but there are, in fact, quite specific rules regarding whether or not you can legally drive if suffering from certain permanent or temporary disabilities. And there's a whole section on visual impairment. It's here: http://legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000265763 Now, of course, nobody knows if the elderly man seen by Pat had been through the necessary hoops to ensure that he was OK to drive with what might (or not) be a temporary visual impairment, but [/quote]

 

If he had been treated by a medecin or at the eye hospital they would have advised him whether he could or could not drive, in any case blind in one eye and 5/10 with 120° field of vision even after wearing glasses is all but blind AFAIC, I would not be able to get dressed, find and open the car let alone drive it!

 

I freaked out the eye hospital when I was discharged from the 2nd or 3rd detached retina operation, I had driven there and asked if I could drive home, they had never been in that situation, everyone else rips the ar5e out of the system and comes by ambulance even for a check up and even if they live over the road.

 

I can tell you that the sudden loss of one eye throws you so much that you drive very carefully and have to build up your confidence, try it on a safe stretch of road and you will see, far more dangerous are those whose eyesight progressively worsens and they are blissfully unaware of it, my driving glasses have very little correction and I am probably 9/10 without them but I would never drive without them, many people who dont know their vision has degraded get far more powerfull lenses for their first prescription.

 

Again walking in the shoes of others, I now know why my friends with milk bottle glasses were such slow (but safe) drivers.

[YCCMB]

I'm not as convinced as you, Chancer. When OH was released from hospital with a neck brace, nobody told him not to drive..he didn't ask, and they didn't volunteer the info. He was, however, incapable of doing so due to the pain and the fact that he couldn't move his head.

[Patf]

 I had to go out in the car again this pm, and for a short time, on a quiet road, I tried to drive with one eye closed - never again! I kept swerving from one side to the other, couldn't keep straight, had difficulty judging the distance from side to side.

I think it was Betty who said that whether you can drive safely with one eye depends a lot on other things, especially if it's something you've gradually become accustomed to over the years. And age - over 75 your reactions become more delayed. Also any pain following an accident.

The man I saw must have been 83 at the youngest. Hope he got home safely.

Some time ago I stopped driving on busy roads such as the roads around Toulouse.

[andyh4]

YCCMB

I think there is a difference between being unfit to drive through a disability and unable/unwilling to drive because of some reason.

On the other hand I do wonder to what extent hospitals do warn people that they are unfit to drive.

When I had an appointment with the ophthalmic surgeon, his assistant had put so much atropine in my eye to dilate it that when I went outside I could not keep my eye open - and by reflex the other eye also tried to close at the same time. No warning given about this and no advice about driving. Fortunately the OH was with me. It was several hours before I could begin to stand normal overcast daylight. Goodness knows how bad it would have been if it had been a typical sunny day!

Of course in my case it was pretty obvious there was a problem - unless you can drive with eyes closed - oh hang on most of the folk round here seem to do just that!

[alittlebitfrench]

Enough with Brits bashing the French bashing about their driving.

When I go back to the UK I am scared out of my wits.

Seriously Brits, you are talking nonsense.

Go back twenty years you might have a case.

[idun]

I have driven all over the UK since I have been back and there is bad driving, but in comparison to France, well in general the driving is OK in the UK.

Last time I was in France and all the new speed restrictions well and truly working, I found the drivers very very aggressive, far more than they ever were.

Would this depend where one was, well, I visited a couple of villages, but apart from that was in cities, one of which I used to live in.

Anyway, isn't driving like love making, everyone assuming that they are good at it, but really, who would 'really' know without being told????

[YCCMB]

Well, perhaps on your next visit you'll visit parts of mainstream UK. On the whole, mainstream UK driving is absolutely fine. Of course it sometimes gets a bit fouled up by people who aren't used to driving on a different side of the road, or to the speed and volume of traffic. Or to basic niceties like lane discipline or indicating.

[alittlebitfrench]

[quote user="You can call me Betty"]Well, perhaps on your next visit you'll visit parts of mainstream UK. On the whole, mainstream UK driving is absolutely fine. .[/quote]

So is 'mainstream' France. Nothing to report here either...

Maybe it is a cultural thing ???

I am used to France but not the UK. Maybe that would explain why the French driving in the UK are mostly in the slow lane.

[Chancer]

[quote user="Patf"] I had to go out in the car again this pm, and for a short time, on a quiet road, I tried to drive with one eye closed - never again! I kept swerving from one side to the other, couldn't keep straight, had difficulty judging the distance from side to side.
[/quote]

 

Yes been there!

 

Glad you had a chance to see what its like, initially I could not eat with cutlery, put a pen on paper in the right place to start writing, I vividly remember a nurse having to steady me to walk along a straight corridoor!

 

But its simply a case of the brain adapting and re-educating itself and the body developing new skills, being reliant on other sensory inputs, and you also have to push yourself, put yourself in situations where you feel uneasy, having a blind side makes you feel very vulnerable and I found myself putting myself in a corner at gatherings so people could not surprise me or so that I would not physically bump into them, the cure was to take myself to the hussle and bustle (understatement) of the Arab market at Amiens.

 

I got behind the Wheel again immediately for the above reason, I asked someone to come out for a drive with me to take over if they thought i wasnt up to it, apart from driving slower I had difficulty judging distances and the closing speeds of oncoming vehicles, at night lines of oncoming vehicles can look like several cars overtaking others on my side of the road, its a depth perception thing.

 

You know the trick of stabbing a knife down between each pair of fingers? Try that just with a pointed finger of the other hand and then try it with one eye closed, you will stab yourself [:P] Thats how it was for me trying to write or put food on my fork, now my brain has recalibrated I can do both equally well as before, the human body is amazing, they made astronauts wear goggles that inverted their vision, initially they were sick and could not even walk or do anything, within 24 hours they had adapted and were functioning normally.

 

I know that my driving skills are undiminished because my lap times on a familiar circuit are unchanged, however I will never race again because if someone outbrakes me on the Inside approach to a left hand bend I run the risk of turning in on them, you cant be swinging your head from side to side in a pack of vehicles entering the first corner after the flag has dropped, I take roundabouts with much more care and a lot of head turning now for the same reason.

[AnOther]

Friend of mine in UK lost his left eye in a street attack a number of years ago, his wife is completely deaf in her right ear, when they go out and he's driving he can't see her and she can't hear him.

Perfection for both [:D]

[mint]

[quote user="AnOther"]Friend of mine in UK lost his left eye in a street attack a number of years ago, his wife is completely deaf in her right ear, when they go out and he's driving he can't see her and she can't hear him.

Perfection for both [:D]

[/quote]

Good job they don't live in France and have a RHD car then, isn't it?[I]

[AnOther]

Exactly, it they moved to France he'd have go blind in his good eye and she's have to go deaf in the other ear [blink]