Copyright birminghammail
Older road users have been told they “must stop driving” if they feel they are “no longer safe to do so”. Giving up your driving licence does not mean that you will lose your freedom and mobility, as there are many alternatives to driving. The Older Drivers Forum said: “The time may come when it is simply no longer possible for you to continue to drive safely, and for your own sake, and the sake of other people on the road, you must stop driving, and give up your driving licence. “If you carry on driving when you are no longer safe to do so, you would be putting yourself, and other people (your passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and people in other vehicles) at risk." READ MORE Mortgage warning for UK households as they risk being 'squeezed' Top mechanic Scotty Kilmer said: “You get to a point where you’ve got to stop driving, I mean. One of those days, I'll probably be at that stage, and I’ll probably be infuriated, but hey. If you’re a danger to yourself and others and you start running into things all the time, it’s time to stop driving.” Responding to the warning, one motorist said: "The continued harrassment over older drivers is ridiculous. The difference between the standards required from when I took my test to the test my son took was huge. "I had a driving instructor who had a 95% first time pass rate, because he wouldn't let you put in for your test until he knew you were more than ready. "He was so picky it wasn't funny, I still remember sitting and waiting for him to turn up, hoping that he wouldn't come. He put me though my paces, but he never pushed me beyond my capabilites, when he thought I was ready he would up the anti so to speak, he had me driving up and down duel carriage ways, teaching me how to over take safely at speed, all of which I was going to need when I passed my test. "We went down windly lanes where I learned how to handle the car, how to approach a tight bend to feel the wheels through the steering wheel and to listen to the engine when to change gear and not to keep looking at the dials. "I passed my test first time, and have been fortunate, there have been times when I have pushed my luck and scared myself whitless many years ago. But the main thing he taught me was defensive driving. "I was astonished at how lax the test has become and people wonder why the standard of driving in the UK has fallen though the floor."
