I'm good but not as good as I used to be

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Terry Bush

EMC Editorial -I consider myself a good driver. From where I sit up here looking down from my high horse, many people could learn a thing or two by following me around for a day. But then again, my perception of myself as almost infallible behind the wheel could just be a reaction to the many terrible drivers littering our highways today. You'd think they could do a better job especially when I'm constantly showering them with high decibel driving tips.

Actually I don't complain all that much unless my wife is in the car with me as it's always best to have an audience when you're acting out. Even children realize it's pointless to throw a tantrum if there's nobody around to see it.

Accompanied or not, these are the things that really burn my bacon.

First up are people who sit at stop signs along the side of the highway and wait there patiently until you're within 30 metres of them and then they slowly pull out in front of you causing you to hit the brakes. A quick look in the rearview mirror almost always verifies the fact that you were indeed the only car within two miles of them. And then they almost always turn at the very next road causing you to go for the brake pedal once again.

Next up are drivers who ride your tail, a car length behind you and even if you slow down to 60 kilometres an hour on a straight stretch they still won't pass. I almost feel a need to get some bumper stickers to give them something to read while they try not to drive up my exhaust pipe.

Then there are people who can't count to four as in four-way stop. If you're the fourth car to pull up at a four-way intersection, it doesn't mean you get to go second if someone else doesn't move quick enough for your satisfaction. And if someone is at the stop sign waiting for things to unfold in an orderly fashion, it doesn't mean you can pull up beside them and turn right out of turn.

Don't you just love it when you're stuck at a stop sign waiting for the oncoming traffic to subside and someone pulls up beside you on the shoulder hoping to turn right while blocking your sight lines. Am I the only one who edges ahead every time the offending driver does just to make sure that if I'm not able to move neither is he. And the best part of this game of one-upmanship is before you know it, traffic has stopped to let you go because you're in the middle of the highway.

And the one thing that really fries my fajitas, the people who can't wait two seconds for anything. They swing around you and drive straight through the right hand turn lanes rather than wait for you to turn left, oblivious to the fact that there might be oncoming traffic turning left in front of them. Your death wish isn't my death wish, mister.

Funny thing is, rarely if ever are any of these annoying, aggressive drivers over the age of 80. We used to joke about the fedora-wearing gentlemen who haven't quite gotten the hang of the new fangled metric system thinking 50 kilometres an hour is the same as 50 miles per hour on the highway. Fact of the matter is young male drivers are still the most accident prone and most of the over 80 crowd are still relatively good drivers.

While reading a recent article in the Toronto Star concerning our aging population and people driving with dementia, one person commented that the Ontario government should take away everyone's driver's licence over the age of 75.

This is somewhat typical of the way some people in Toronto think. They do live in the centre of the Canadian universe, at least in their own minds. But can you imagine the problems that would cause for people trying to live independently in our rural neck of the woods. I've yet to see anything resembling hourly public transit anywhere north of the 401. Canadians are living longer and are generally healthier than the generation before them. At the same time, we all know that some of our motor functions have deteriorated over time. Mine certainly have. Gazing at the scenery on the side of the road while driving is something I no longer do. Heard the sound of tires on gravel one too many times.

It's surprising in Ontario that passing an eye exam and written driving test (and occasionally a road test) are basically all that is required to keep your driver's licence over the age of 80. One would think that as seniors wind down their driving careers, behind the wheel tests should be mandatory at least every three years as well as a note from a doctor verifying the driver is physically fit as a fiddle, and not suffering from some form of dementia as close to 45,000 drivers in Ontario currently are. That number will double in 15 years.

One solution has already been found in other provinces. Graduated licences like the ones new drivers start out with could be a way of giving our senior population their independence while at the same time guaranteeing public safety. Being able to drive short distances or on certain highways as well as limiting driving to daytime hours could easily allow many seniors to enjoy staying in their homes well into their golden years. I know many drivers well over the age of 80 and into their 90s who could drive circles around people less than half their ages.

Good drivers can be found in any age group. But there comes a time, and we'll all eventually get there, that a little more oversight should be required. And that should be up to the government and our doctors to provide.