ramboacdc Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 I just dodged this this morning as i get on at 24 and go down the a42 to work. was originally going to be reopened at 12:30pm but they are now having to resurface the whole road and looking like 7pm when it will be re opened. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-34503112
Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 87 year old driver at fault. I've said it before, there needs to be stricter tests for ageing drivers that thoroughly check vision and awareness.
Alf Bentley Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 87 year old driver at fault. I've said it before, there needs to be stricter tests for ageing drivers that thoroughly check vision and awareness. Decent point, which occurred to me, too. But it would be quite an undertaking as there are more and more older people still driving, I presume. Furthermore, a decline in vision, concentration or mental strength can happen either imperceptibly or quite suddenly - and quite a few would be in denial of their decline out of fear of ageing and losing their independence, even if they recognised their decline. Presumably even annual tests (a massive undertaking) would not pick up on the decline in some older people..... I don't know what the solution is, though.
Arriba Los Zorros Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 87 year old driver at fault. I've said it before, there needs to be stricter tests for ageing drivers that thoroughly check vision and awareness. a lot of old people are just clueless on the roads, have no awareness of cars around them and cannot handle basic junctions and roundabouts. To travel the wrong way up a motorway is unacceptable. This testing needs to be introduced: a lot of these people passed their tests with old cars when the roads were a lot emptier and are not up to modern driving
The Guvnor Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 I have attended a couple of similar incidents in the past involving elderly drivers, and as it is not that easy to drive your car the 'wrong way' onto a motorway I suspect there was some cognitive impairment involved such as Alzheimer's rather than impaired vision. I think some responsibility lies with family if you suspect these conditions you should inform the DVLA, as sad as it is to take away some ones independence it is a better alternative to these types of incident.
Mike Oxlong Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 Only wheel some oap's should be allowed to get behind is the one on the dodgems
DB11 Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 RIP to those involved. A tragic accident. You've got to feel for the driver of the van - how horrific must that have been seeing the car coming towards him and then knowing his passenger died.
Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 Like that South Park though you try telling a war veteran you're taking his driving license off him. Not as simple as it sounds.
Bellend Sebastian Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 RIP to those involved. A tragic accident. You've got to feel for the driver of the van - how horrific must that have been seeing the car coming towards him and then knowing his passenger died. The only positive is that you don't get a lot of time to think about it, particularly at night. I had a car go past me on my side of the A46 and by the time I realised it was on the wrong carriageway it had gone past
Wymsey Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 RIP. The new layout at Kegworth (next to Hilton Hotel) is a confusing, horrible one to go around.
Thracian Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 87 year old driver at fault. I've said it before, there needs to be stricter tests for ageing drivers that thoroughly check vision and awareness. 87 year old driver at fault. I've said it before, there needs to be stricter tests for ageing drivers that thoroughly check vision and awareness. 87 year old driver at fault. I've said it before, there needs to be stricter tests for ageing drivers that thoroughly check vision and awareness. Don't know why you don't just ship anyone over 60 who doesn't meet up to your stringent ideals into a care home. I drive 500 miles a week and see lots of examples of bad driving. People hogging the centre lane; people driving much more slowly than the rest of the traffic prompting lots of unnecessary overtaking; people cutting in and out of the lanes like dodgem drivers, people tailgating others or just looking every but at the road while searching for a parking place or the the turn they think they might have missed. And so much more. But when I look, I don't notice anymore elderly people driving like idiots, than young or middle-aged people. In fact there's a good argument - judging by insurers' attitudes - for suggesting that younger drivers who clearly lack time and experience behind the wheel, are the greatest risk on the roads and are almost by definition in need of improved awareness compared to older drivers. But, why stop at checking vision and awareness through doctors already complaining that they've so much to do they can't cope. Why not test for reaction time, for every type of substance abuse, a calmness/anger factor, whether the culprit has had a bust-up with their partner, whether they've been sacked, whether they're escaping from the police or the scene of a crime they've committed or worrying about an illness, whether they're late for work or their holiday flight to the South of France etc, etc, etc. What amazes me considering how many vehicles are travelling on the roads today - and far too quickly in many situations - is how few accidents there are. Especially given the contrived problems of extensive and irritating road works, traffic jams, the ridiculous amount of roadside furniture taking our eyes off the road, however momentarily, the constant hazards placed in the roads by government agencies such as traffic lights, traffic islands, traffic slowing chicanes, road-humps etc and even the way authorities now obscure the view on the approach to traffic islands for all that "anticipation" of the road ahead is supposedly important. What about dealing with all this and testing the decision-makers for their fitness? I am sick of people trying to reduce the elderly to some kind of second class citizen status whereby they cannot do this or that for no good reason. Quite a lot of aircraft pilots have died at the controls of their planes, a report said recently. All had been subject to stringent health tests as are PSV drivers who themselves are still not immune from dying or being taken ill at the wheel - at any age. Why victimise people just because they're this age or that? You remind me of George Orwell's 1984 where everyone's equal but some are more equal than others. Why stop with penalising elderly drivers? Let's bar every experienced doctor who makes a mistaken diagnosis for whatever reason or even every experienced politician who makes bad decisions and get thousands of innocent men, women and children killed as a consequence - cos that'd sure put a mistake on the roads into context and question a whole lot of things in relation to the decision maker, including his awareness of the consequences of his actions. Sod me, why piss about? Why not offer all over 60's a suicide pill to save them being told how systematically restricted their life would be made for them in the future...just in case they made a mistake that could just possibly be attributed to their age rather than inexperience, a desire to test the speed of their new vehicle, their recklessness, the party or football piss-up they'd just enjoyed, their anger at being made redundant or a thousand other things that affect younger drivers?
Mike Oxlong Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 Quoting the same post three times and then quoting your own post with nothing else is not the best representation of the compos mentis of the over 60s
Unabomber Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 Quoting the same post three times and then quoting your own post with nothing else is not the best representation of the compos mentis of the over 60s oh my hahahaha
Thracian Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 I have attended a couple of similar incidents in the past involving elderly drivers, and as it is not that easy to drive your car the 'wrong way' onto a motorway I suspect there was some cognitive impairment involved such as Alzheimer's rather than impaired vision. I think some responsibility lies with family if you suspect these conditions you should inform the DVLA, as sad as it is to take away some ones independence it is a better alternative to these types of incident. How easily forgotten are the many fatal accidents caused by kids driving at lunatic speeds, truck drivers falling asleep, cars turning into a lane not realising the vehicle their tucking behind has a trailer, drivers going too quickly in the rain or being blinded by spray and so much more. And what about the 100s of vehicles which crashed, one after the other, on the new Sheppey bridge. I've never heard it was just the elderly who made the mistakes that killed the mother and child in the broken down car that day. Check up how many people have driven the wrong way onto a motorway and see if it's just the over 70s because I don't think so. I don't see many examples admittedly but I do see lots of people backing the wrong way up motorway slip roads to save being stuck in jams or because they've taken the wrong turn and they are certainly not all elderly, quite the contrary, most seem to be people in a hurry. One of the questions I'd be asking is why so many people of every driving age take the wrong directional path and one thing that certainly needs consideration is the placement of signs. Too often signs are obscured by trees, placed where they offer insufficient time for drivers to get into the right lane or even to make the turn at all, or are part of such a composite signpost, that it is impossible to see quickly or clearly because of larger vehicles on an inside lane or whatever.
Vardinhio Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 How easily forgotten are the many fatal accidents caused by kids driving at lunatic speeds, truck drivers falling asleep, cars turning into a lane not realising the vehicle their tucking behind has a trailer, drivers going too quickly in the rain or being blinded by spray and so much more. And what about the 100s of vehicles which crashed, one after the other, on the new Sheppey bridge. I've never heard it was just the elderly who made the mistakes that killed the mother and child in the broken down car that day. Check up how many people have driven the wrong way onto a motorway and see if it's just the over 70s because I don't think so. I don't see many examples admittedly but I do see lots of people backing the wrong way up motorway slip roads to save being stuck in jams or because they've taken the wrong turn and they are certainly not all elderly, quite the contrary, most seem to be people in a hurry. One of the questions I'd be asking is why so many people of every driving age take the wrong directional path and one thing that certainly needs consideration is the placement of signs. Too often signs are obscured by trees, placed where they offer insufficient time for drivers to get into the right lane or even to make the turn at all, or are part of such a composite signpost, that it is impossible to see quickly or clearly because of larger vehicles on an inside lane or whatever. Driving the wrong way down a motorway is completely unbelievable. I can acceot someone may accidentally find themselves going down a slip road but to get all the way down and continue driving is ridiculous.
pSinatra Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 I can only think the old duffer joined at junction 23a. Not sure how it's even possible to join the M1 there the wrong way. I'm not even sure you could, even if you wanted to. My father-in-law, well into his 70's & driving regulalrly with a serious cataract problem. He can't watch telly properly, has his nose about 2" from the computer screen & I reckon I could walk past him on the same pavement & he'd have no idea it was me. There's no way he should be on the road. Everyone is pleading with him to go get his eyes lasered, but he's frit shit & won't go. I've never been in his car with him anyway, but I've told the rest of the family to refuse getting in the car with him driving........or even grass him up to the DVLA. I feel obliged to do it myself but it's awkward for me & feel it would better if it came from someone closer "because they care".
isaidno Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 I know 3 people who have been hit by people driving who were in their late 80's / 90's. All of elderly drivers came out of a junction without looking or stopping. 2 of the elderly drivers passed away.
Fox92 Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 Don't care if you're 80 or 30, to actually drive down a carridgeway / slip road the wrong way is beyond ridiculously stupid.
Great Boos Up Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 I probably drive more miles than most Foxtalkers. One of the benefits of living in Leicester is you can get anywhere and back in a day. Yes I'm an Audi knob! I do make mistakes and appreciate that other people will make mistakes. But the sheer volume of people using cars on our busy roads in this country means it's actually a very well structured and safe place to drive in the world. But again, a 70 plus driver causes the fatality of a young man. It's heartbreaking! Accidents happen for many reasons and poor judgements. But this isn't poor judgment or a mistake. This is giving a ton of metal to someone who never took a driving test. Because of the war driving tests were suspended between 1939 and 1945 with no age limit to drive.
Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 Don't know why you don't just ship anyone over 60 who doesn't meet up to your stringent ideals into a care home. I drive 500 miles a week and see lots of examples of bad driving. People hogging the centre lane; people driving much more slowly than the rest of the traffic prompting lots of unnecessary overtaking; people cutting in and out of the lanes like dodgem drivers, people tailgating others or just looking every but at the road while searching for a parking place or the the turn they think they might have missed. And so much more. But when I look, I don't notice anymore elderly people driving like idiots, than young or middle-aged people. In fact there's a good argument - judging by insurers' attitudes - for suggesting that younger drivers who clearly lack time and experience behind the wheel, are the greatest risk on the roads and are almost by definition in need of improved awareness compared to older drivers. But, why stop at checking vision and awareness through doctors already complaining that they've so much to do they can't cope. Why not test for reaction time, for every type of substance abuse, a calmness/anger factor, whether the culprit has had a bust-up with their partner, whether they've been sacked, whether they're escaping from the police or the scene of a crime they've committed or worrying about an illness, whether they're late for work or their holiday flight to the South of France etc, etc, etc. What amazes me considering how many vehicles are travelling on the roads today - and far too quickly in many situations - is how few accidents there are. Especially given the contrived problems of extensive and irritating road works, traffic jams, the ridiculous amount of roadside furniture taking our eyes off the road, however momentarily, the constant hazards placed in the roads by government agencies such as traffic lights, traffic islands, traffic slowing chicanes, road-humps etc and even the way authorities now obscure the view on the approach to traffic islands for all that "anticipation" of the road ahead is supposedly important. What about dealing with all this and testing the decision-makers for their fitness? I am sick of people trying to reduce the elderly to some kind of second class citizen status whereby they cannot do this or that for no good reason. Quite a lot of aircraft pilots have died at the controls of their planes, a report said recently. All had been subject to stringent health tests as are PSV drivers who themselves are still not immune from dying or being taken ill at the wheel - at any age. Why victimise people just because they're this age or that? You remind me of George Orwell's 1984 where everyone's equal but some are more equal than others. Why stop with penalising elderly drivers? Let's bar every experienced doctor who makes a mistaken diagnosis for whatever reason or even every experienced politician who makes bad decisions and get thousands of innocent men, women and children killed as a consequence - cos that'd sure put a mistake on the roads into context and question a whole lot of things in relation to the decision maker, including his awareness of the consequences of his actions. Sod me, why piss about? Why not offer all over 60's a suicide pill to save them being told how systematically restricted their life would be made for them in the future...just in case they made a mistake that could just possibly be attributed to their age rather than inexperience, a desire to test the speed of their new vehicle, their recklessness, the party or football piss-up they'd just enjoyed, their anger at being made redundant or a thousand other things that affect younger drivers? I can't believe you can't tell the difference between a minor annoyance like lane-hogging, and driving the f***ing wrong way up a motorway. It's almost a miracle that he only killed himself and 1 other, think what a 150mph combined impact could cause - the wrong time of day he would have caused a pileup, which could have killed dozens. He was clearly not in a fit state to drive, and driving dangerously (by which I mean clearly haven't got a clue what is happening around them) is something I've encountered many times by people of a certain age. People of all ages drive carelessly, speed, have other bad habits I'm not disputing that, but the amount of times I've seen someone appearing to drive drunk and then just realised they're well old and completely oblivious to other road users - it's pretty frightening.
Jimothy Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 I can only think the old duffer joined at junction 23a. Not sure how it's even possible to join the M1 there the wrong way. I'm not even sure you could, even if you wanted to. My father-in-law, well into his 70's & driving regulalrly with a serious cataract problem. He can't watch telly properly, has his nose about 2" from the computer screen & I reckon I could walk past him on the same pavement & he'd have no idea it was me. There's no way he should be on the road. Everyone is pleading with him to go get his eyes lasered, but he's frit shit & won't go. I've never been in his car with him anyway, but I've told the rest of the family to refuse getting in the car with him driving........or even grass him up to the DVLA. I feel obliged to do it myself but it's awkward for me & feel it would better if it came from someone closer "because they care". Is it possible at all to get on the wrong side at 23a? It's not a junction with a roundabout, it's just got slip roads from the a42 leading to it. Probably most likely got on at the roundabout at 23 having ended up in the wrong side of the road coming out of Loughborough and as it was 2am avoided everyone due to the thin traffic until he got the busier junction 24 and couldn't avoid everyone anymore.
Great Boos Up Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 I can't believe you can't tell the difference between a minor annoyance like lane-hogging, and driving the f***ing wrong way up a motorway. It's almost a miracle that he only killed himself and 1 other, think what a 150mph combined impact could cause - the wrong time of day he would have caused a pileup, which could have killed dozens. He was clearly not in a fit state to drive, and driving dangerously (by which I mean clearly haven't got a clue what is happening around them) is something I've encountered many times by people of a certain age. People of all ages drive carelessly, speed, have other bad habits I'm not disputing that, but the amount of times I've seen someone appearing to drive drunk and then just realised they're well old and completely oblivious to other road users - it's pretty frightening. Thanks, well said. This is what I wanted to say but opted for not offending our senior citizen posters.
Trav Le Bleu Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 I can't believe you can't tell the difference between a minor annoyance like lane-hogging, and driving the f***ing wrong way up a motorway. It's almost a miracle that he only killed himself and 1 other, think what a 150mph combined impact could cause. It's not a 150 mph impact. It's a 70-80 mph impact. The speed of the oncoming vehicle adds no extra force to the impact - it would be the same as driving into a stationary object.
Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo Posted 12 October 2015 Posted 12 October 2015 Thanks, well said. This is what I wanted to say but opted for not offending our senior citizen posters. I'm not out to offend anyone and I don't want to come across as someone who's generalising as there are capable aged drivers, but there comes a point with most people when your reactions/vision/awareness decline to a point when you become a hazard to other road users. Most are aware of this and retire from driving when they feel they're no longer capable to drive safely, others carry on driving until someone intervenes, or their luck runs out and they plough into an innocent third party As pSinatra pointed out, he knows someone who can barely see, but chooses to keep driving. That could well be another inevitable tragic headline waiting to happen.
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