Annual Driving Tests for the Elderly?
in [Aussie Drivers]
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From: D Walford on 26 Jun 2010 00:50 On 26/06/2010 11:34 AM, hippo wrote: > st3ph3nm wrote: >> >> On Jun 24, 9:45?pm, Doug Jewell<a...(a)and.maybe.ill.tell.you> wrote: >>> http://fat.ly/ybuoa >>> >>> This comes just a week or two after a local 87yo appeared in >>> court on a charge of dangerous driving causing death, after >>> plowing into a building, because she hit the accelerator >>> instead of the brake. >>> >>> FFS, if someone can't maneouvre a vehicle in a carpark, they >>> shouldn't be out on the road. I hope this old codger loses >>> his licence for life after this. >>> >>> I wonder if these incidents be reduced if they had annual >>> driving tests for everyone over 70? >>> >>> -- >>> What is the difference between a duck? >> >> Honestly, I believe we should all re-sit the written tests and >> physicals (especially eye-sight tests) every 10 or 20 years, >> regardless. I don't have a little note on my licence that says I >> should be wearing glasses, but that's because my eyesight wasn't as >> bad 20 years ago when I got my licence. God knows I couldn't pass it >> today without glasses. Not to mention the many law changes that have >> happened whilst I've been driving. It wouldn't hurt to brush up >> everyone on current laws when renewing their licences. >> >> Cheers, >> Steve >> >> > > Just as long as it includes 'signalling, technique and etiquette for > roundabouts' and a (probably multiple choice) question to see if more than > 3% of the population understand what 'KEEP LEFT UNLESS OVERTAKING' > actually means! :) > Can't ask difficult questions like that, the oil companies would go broke with in a week with no cars on the roads:-) Daryl
From: D Walford on 26 Jun 2010 00:52 On 26/06/2010 11:59 AM, John_H wrote: > hippo wrote: >> Matt Richards wrote: >>> >>> Neither my wife or myself had to have an eye test for our last renewals. >>> >>> I wear glasses all the time, and she wears them for reading. >> >> Tested for at least the last 20 years in my case. Maybe it's waived if you >> answer 'YES' to the question 'Do you wear glasses for driving?' and you >> are wearing them when you reapply. I don't know, but the next renewal will >> be my first 'yes', so I guess I'll find out! > > I can recall being tested before I wore specs (Qld), but not since. > Presumably they reckon if you've gone to the trouble of buying a pair > of specs and aren't carrying a white cane you ought be able to see > well enough to drive. :) > > My optometrist tends to agree. She says you don't need to be able to > see very well at all to meet the legal requirements for a driver's > licence. Nor has google been able to tell me exactly what the legal > requirements are (which suggests she's probably right). :) > I don't remember ever having my eyesight tested when renewing a license in Vic until I got a HC licence. Daryl
From: John_H on 26 Jun 2010 04:11 D Walford wrote: >On 26/06/2010 11:59 AM, John_H wrote: >> >> I can recall being tested before I wore specs (Qld), but not since. >> Presumably they reckon if you've gone to the trouble of buying a pair >> of specs and aren't carrying a white cane you ought be able to see >> well enough to drive. :) >> >> My optometrist tends to agree. She says you don't need to be able to >> see very well at all to meet the legal requirements for a driver's >> licence. Nor has google been able to tell me exactly what the legal >> requirements are (which suggests she's probably right). :) >> >I don't remember ever having my eyesight tested when renewing a license >in Vic until I got a HC licence. A bit more googling suggests that Queensland Transport hasn't conducted routine eyesight tests since 2001. Apparently speed and the likes pose a much higher risk than blind drivers.... http://altnews.com.au/drop/node/737 -- John H
From: Doug Jewell on 26 Jun 2010 16:35 John_H wrote: > D Walford wrote: >> On 26/06/2010 11:59 AM, John_H wrote: >>> I can recall being tested before I wore specs (Qld), but not since. >>> Presumably they reckon if you've gone to the trouble of buying a pair >>> of specs and aren't carrying a white cane you ought be able to see >>> well enough to drive. :) >>> >>> My optometrist tends to agree. She says you don't need to be able to >>> see very well at all to meet the legal requirements for a driver's >>> licence. Nor has google been able to tell me exactly what the legal >>> requirements are (which suggests she's probably right). :) >>> >> I don't remember ever having my eyesight tested when renewing a license >> in Vic until I got a HC licence. > > A bit more googling suggests that Queensland Transport hasn't > conducted routine eyesight tests since 2001. Apparently speed and the > likes pose a much higher risk than blind drivers.... > http://altnews.com.au/drop/node/737 That would be about my experience too - I know I have been tested on renewal, but haven't been tested for bloody ages. Last renewal I did online, so the only eyesight that was tested was that I could read the computer screen, pretty bloody irrelevant to driving. The previous renewal 5 years ago, was done at QT office and was my first since I got glasses. I left the glasses box blank, expecting they would test me with & without and tick the box accordingly. The chick at the counter mentioned it was blank so I told her what I was expecting, and her response was "If you tick the box, and you are pulled over without your glasses on, you will be fined. If you think you might forget them one day and drive, you're better to tick no", so I ticked no. There was no test, so I could have been as blind as a bat without my glasses (indeed, now I am, although with them my eyesight is damn near perfect). > -- What is the difference between a duck?
From: John_H on 26 Jun 2010 20:04
Doug Jewell wrote: > >The previous renewal 5 years ago, was done at QT office and >was my first since I got glasses. On a similar topic... anyone here use prescription driving glasses? I've had DriveWear polarised bifocals for the past couple of years and wouldn't leave home without 'em. Had normal prescription polaroid sunnies before that and they were way too dark for other than bright sunlight. If you don't need bifocals, you also get the option of photochromic lenses (which change shade according to light conditions). Tip: If you do need bifocals it's worthwhile having the reading section set considerably lower than normal so you can see the dash without bending your neck. Downside might be the price (they don't come cheap).... Google *drivewear* to find them. -- John H |