Re: oldies in mobile shopping trolleys
Glad you are ok. :thumbup:
Before you get a car licence, you should be made to ride a bike, that way they may look for us rather than not bloody see us.
Do you ride a pocket rocket? She didn't see you, maybe you're really, really short and your bike is painted in car park camo colour!
I think everyone should be encouraged to ride a scooter or motorcycle before being allowed to drive a car simply because it would increase awareness in all drivers many fold.
I find your response though a bit troubling? First you ask the guy whether he is on a small bike? Asif thats an excuse? If you run over a bicyclist is it his fault for not having a 'proper sized' motorcycle that would be more visible?
Then you say that bike colour might make it his fault? Free reign on running over small children! They are hard to see afterall!!!!
If we hear you have had an accident would you like someones response to be "well it CAN'T have been the other persons fault, you obviously did something wrong" that would be a really great response if you are in hospital, or worse. In fact its pretty insulting.
What happens when someone sandwiches you into a van because your bikes white and the van is white too, or someone runs over you on a crest because your bikes blue the colour of the sky? Oh there was a red light so I didn't notice the red motorcycle.
This is exactly the kind of goody two shoes crap that means that some old person kills someone and then suddenly its all "oh well he was just a motorcyclist, he should have had safety lights flashing and been riding a larger CC bike so people with impaired vision/judgement can see him"
You know what would stop this happening again? The old person going to jail and harsher testing of people over a certain age where they cannot just visit the same GP they have known for 50 years and get automatically passed as they are friends.
Unfortunately that kind of action only happens every time a young person is involved in an accident, and its never anything that will change the problem its just more restrictions because better education is too expensive and time consuming.
My grandmother had to give up driving because she realised she simply didn't have the skills or reaction times to continue, and it was extremely hard for her, she can barely navigate through the supermarket anymore everyone is so aggressive and her spacial awareness is so bad, but there are many old people where she live who have been encouraging her to drive telling her "you just ignore everyone else, if they don't like you driving slow thats their problem" this is to an 86 year old who probably doesn't even have the strength the turn the wheel of the car she used to drive as it isn't power steering? Its a wonderfully selfish mentality.
There are bad drivers in every age group, however research has proven beyond a doubt that elderly people reach a point where they are no longer safe drivers due to their awareness being hindered, their reaction times being too slow, and their general mental abilities not really being adequate on the roads today.
The main difference is that peoply like YOU (assuming you where not being sarcastic) feel they need to defend a group who would actually probably greatly benefit from a bit more focus and testing to make the roads a safer place.
I think alot of peoples opinion might be vastly different if they had to redo all their licensing starting from L's and actually experience what it is like these days. It would also be good to see everyone with a license gained over 10 years ago retested since many road rules have changed, but thats another issue altogether.
.....I usually say, "That's because you need to look, F@#%head!" I'm usually watching peoples heads and hands to give me a bit of early warning, and nearly every time I've had someone near kill me I've seen them move their hands for a token flash of the indicator and a cursory, "Yup, my wing mirror is still there" look.
