Driving Experiences - Rules and Regualtions Updates
Queen's Birthday long weekend Double Demerit Post has revealed some valuable expertize from a couple of our members Shagy Dog and Plan B ... both former Driving Instructors that have ofered to keep us updated with Rules and Regulations of the Road.
This covers NSW and WA and it would be nice to hear from members from the other states too and your thoughts and opinions on the laws especially as to how they relate to the Seniors.
Great to hear personal driving experiences from members.....whether informative or advisory.
Is that SD heading down the road ???
If you are driving on our roads ... keep safe :)
Yes it was good to learn while very young in a paddock or such but still had to learn the road rules -- I remember when I 1st got my licence I still took it easy and parked out of town for a few weeks till I knew I would be safe and so others would be as well. It is surprising just how many LONG time drivers break so many rules and driving rules too -- so many coast or have their clutch in, cut corners, turn left from a bike lane etc
quote SD Just a bit more to it than turning the wheel and swapping cogs in a competent manner.
Brings bak memries of time i went for truck licence in melborne cbd in truck with crash gear box. swaping cogs was a bit harder then.
Oh yes the old double shuffle Lord Grumble
PB/LG,
I used to do some tests in delightful old farm trucks. I can recall a bloody big spider eyeballing me from on top of the dash of an old Inter, I ssumed the bloke drove okay, I was more concerned the spider had it in mind to launch an attack upon me. Probably his tame tarantula placed there to distract me.
I used to visit Norseman on the western end of the Eyre Hwy every month or so. I can recall an aged test there, an old prospector. I just let him drive me around town. I had no test after him so he gave me the grand tour, lived there all his life, 80 something years. He showed me mine sights, leases he had worked, history, you name it. Out of the car as much in it, pleasant way to pass a few hours.
As I say, all good fun.
Take it easy.
SD
Sounds like a beaut job Shaggy --except for maybe a few scary times ; -)
All this valuable expertize ...
hope you and SD will share some of this knowledge :)
Sure all the drivers on the Forum would be interested in the current update of Road Rules.
I am sure SD will be glad too and I will too if needed, thanks Abby
Abby or PB
Start a seperate topic so it can be referred to by others who will possibly have input as well.
SD
As the long weekend is over I could edit this thread accordingly ?
Driving Experiences - Rules and Regualtions Updates ?
Number of people have contributed to the post already ?
Perhaps there will have to be subdivisions for the different states ??
Abby,
Go for it.
As far as I am concerned any information, experiences or advisory has to be of value. A bit of humour to top it off is always a good thing.
SD
My first driving experiences were in 1940 at Broadmeadows army camp, a mate and I were able to get into the fenced in compound holding Bren Gun Carriers and drive one around until a track came off, no gears on the early models, gears came later, got my army licence OK.
$eth
Think you might have a few more years of griving experience on the rest of us ... most of us would not have seen one with no gears.
Driving with my hubby today and he almost hit another car as we exited a driveway. He said to me after the near miss that the car had come out of nowhere.
I said nothing. He turned to me and said "It did didn't it"?" The answer was no from me.
I firmly believe his peripheral vision has become a lot worse in the last 12 months and it does worry me as I have noticed he is not seeing as well on the road and I am always saying "watch out there is a car coming".
Think I read somewhere that as we age our peripheral vision gets worse.
Raddy,
I did notice with older drivers that they did not look around as much. Physical stiffnes in the neck does not help nor does glaucoma even in its early stages. A field test at an optomotrist will reveal any problems.
I took one old dear for a test and she happilty drove through a succession of stop signs. I let her go as there was no traffic. I asked if she normally did this at the end of the test and the cheerful response was "Yes, if there is no cars coming." Been doing it for years with no dramas and never been pulled up it would seem. Thought that was the way it was done.
A bit of a chat and we did the test again, no problems.
Take it easy.
SD
SD, I remember when I was quite young --I did not have a licence at the time but had driven a few different cars and the man up the road took me for a drive with his Granddaughter-- he let me let me drive -- in his pride and joy, a 1936 Chev the one with the dicky seat, he said to me when we came to a stop sign, now you always must stop and have a cuppa and a biscuit at a STOP sign and I never forgot that
Thank God the police did a good job over the long weekend.
Driving ino town yesterday I found many parked cars in strange places left after being told to breath in here sir.
Unfortunalty the were many dead roo's too.....stupid towneys driving in the bush.
I read there were 12 dead in motor vehicles over the long weekend, goodness knows how many that have been injured or permanently disabled as well as the road deaths from nature as you mention Davey.
I would like to see compulsory eye testing and driving tests for drivers over 70 and every 5 years there after.
I know in my town there are many who should not be on the road
Davey in NSW we have to have a medical and an eye test every year once you turn 75, I don't think that happens in Vic or Qld or maybe other states
Davey,
You have done some aged driving assessment Davey ? The five year period you quote is meaningless as health reasons can cause deterioration in ability far quicker than that.
Stats would indicate that the aged driver is not high risk, maybe a bit prone to denting the car in a car park but in the overall scheme of things you need to come down the age scale to find your dangerous drivers.
Most aged drivers give driving away of their own volition for a variety of reasons, mostly health, or reduce their driving requirements to match their ability.
Take it easy.
SD
I have done advanced driving courses and done rally driving. I have driven in all terrible conditions including black ice/snow/mud /sand and still drive a 4X4 off road.
My late father in law is an example as he wore out a set of tires very quickly by tearing away from the lights and braking too hard. I would not let him drive me and insisted that I drive.
Being able to see properly is probably the first requirement for a driver and I see many older folk struggling with their sight.
Davey,
I have no doubt you are an expert when it comes to driving and bow to your expertise and knowledge. I have done some similar things and hold heavy transport licences as do many others.
I am talking stats and what has been shown from a lot of investigation over the years.
Like you I can quote individual cases young and old that should not be driving. Most of us can. That is no basis for making sweeping changes across a large section of society.
Take it easy.
SD
Well I disagree with you and you asked me what I had done so I told you.
I also hold a pilots licence and a boat licence. I have never had to drive heavy stuff for a living but did tackle taxi driving part time in UK.
Maybe I see more bad driving than most because my eyes are very close to perfect and every time I start a motor the minimum that I drive is 100kms because I live in the bush. The city slickers were down here last weekend causing lots of problems on our roads being their bad habits with them.
The reason sucessive governments turn a blind eye to testing is that they wish to remain popular and get re-elected. They don't care if folk get killed.
Davey,
Yes I have also held a pilots licence and a boat licence.
I also have a few thousand driving tests as an Assessor on cars, trucks and motorbikes and have a rough idea as to what makes a good and bad driver.
Having worked in aviation a great part of my life as an engineer and manager nobodys ability can be taken for granted. We are rarely as good as we think we are and are all fallible. They havent yet come up with the perfect person as far as I know.
Anybody who flies a plane, drives a car or takes a boat out and thinks they have all the answers is a recipe for disaster no matter the age, experience or training.
We should always look to ourselves first and be as best as we can be, and that will be far from perfect.
Take it easy.
SD
Yes SD, they should always insure or test the driver NOT THE AGE
I will make sure my hubby gets some sort of testing done and when I reach his age I will make sure I go and have a driving test even if I am not required to do so.
Would hate to kill someone else due to poor driving as I get older.
I was thinking of doing an advanced driving course .... not sure how much they cost but feel they would be adventageous.
Radish
You can get Advanced Driving classes found some costs ..
from NRMA
I am sure there would be similar where you live even hire SD :)
Well worth the money. As I have said I do a test every 12 months and with a person a lot younger than me. Most driving schools will do one for you.
I was yarning to an experienced police officer when I was employed as an assessor and we were discussing the modern test. He appeared to be of the opinion it was too easy so I offered to give him a test.
He accepted.
I stopped him part way through the test as he was not doing so well, we had a chat and continued the test.
He was surprised how hard it was as compared to when he did his initial test. His words were "They certainly have a lot of balls in the air at the same time these days."
It is not so much driving skills as attitudes toward driving, most of these come later as virtually everybody is on their best behaviour during a test.
Take it easy.
SD
You are never too old to learn more and I agree that anyone who thinks they know it all is dangerous.....A smart arse.
Recently I took a brand new car for a test drive ( $50,000 worth) and on quiet bush roads The salesman passenger said go on push it to the limit so I did and his fingerprints are probably still on the grab handles.
Radish it is not always just the age for eye test as some young folk can have a problen too, I have my eyes tested every year and have had for maybe 12 years or more now, I am one of the lucky ones.
When I arrived in Australia in 1961 I was met at the Port Adelaide Dock by my Father and a brand new Holden EJ . Driven by the Holden Salesman as my father at that stage could not drive. I had just got my license in the UK in a manual Morris Minor but had n idea of Austrlaian road rules , such as give way to the Right .
Lickily the car was Automatic which in1961 was unusual . The next day the salesman took me into get my liceence which was a written questionnaire which he did for me in front of the examiner and I got my Aussie License ..
My mother later in 1964 in MacKay in Queensland got her license to drive by a police Sargent standing on the steps of the police station whilst my mum drove arond the block . She never did learn to reverse .
I know and it is not much better now.
The test is farse.
Driving in the right over taking lane is a common fault.
You can overtake a vehicle on the left if:
you are driving on a multi-lane road and the vehicle can be safely overtaken in a marked lane to the left of the vehicle
Dept of Mains Roads ...
Pete,
I was driving from quite an early age but my first solo in traffic was around age 14 when I delivered a car across Perth suburbs after dark. I followed the bloke in his car and hung onto his tail lights as I had no idea where we were going and had no real idea of road rules.
I had been shunting an old Austin truck about the shop around that time but never on the open road.
Different times.
SD
Abby thanks for that infor...much appreciated :)
PB,
You deserve a medal.
The young blokes were the worst on tests as well. Sadly I don't think anything told or shown to a young bloke has a lot of effect, they have to find out the hard way it would seem.
Usually the girls took it a lot more seriously. I can only recall one perfect score and that was a girl.
A lot of farm kids thought they would breeze the test, no doubt they could drive the vehicle but their road and traffic sense was woeful. They would come in straight off the farm and after the test, fail, I would send them off to a driving school to learn how to drive properly. Just a bit more to it than turning the wheel and swapping cogs in a competent manner.
I had to undergo an assessment myself every six months. I often took experienced drivers for a test and in nearly every case they were surprised to find out how bad their driving had become over the years.
Motor bike test could be of interest as well, I had one bloke who could not stop in a hurry, if he did he fell off. He lost a bit of bark of himself and paint of his motorbike in the process.
All good fun.
Take it easy.
SD