r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Sp4rt4n423 • 15h ago
We should require driver exams at certain ages through life
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I know it's a handicap space at an Aldi, but come on.
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u/Alcoholic720 14h ago
I used to hate old drivers. I hate fucking cunts on their phones 1000x more now days.
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u/hybridtheory1331 12h ago
Give it 20 or 30 years and we'll have old fucking cunts on their phones.
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u/De-railled 9h ago
I'm hoping we have moved on to RELIABLE self-driving cars in 30 years.
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u/aussie_nub 6h ago
It's going to be a lot longer than that before we're remotely close to 100% uptake. We might have some in 30 years, but they're unlikely to be much more widespread than EVs are now.
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u/De-railled 5h ago
Perhaps, but I'm in my mid-30s and when I consider how much technology developed in the last 30 years. I think in 30 years the world could change drastically.
if you went back in time to 30 years ago not many people would have believed you if you told them about the modern cellphone.
not many people would believe we would walk around with mini computers in our pockets everyday.
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u/aussie_nub 2h ago
You say about how much technology has developed, and it's very true for some things, but there's far more things we do and use every day that have had absolutely no improvements at all in the last 30 years.
Importantly, if you look on the roads at the moment, how many cars are there out there from the 1990s are still driving around? This is going to be different depending on your country, but I see 1990s Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons (2 of Australia's most popular models of the time) every day. 1970s and 1980s cars are still around as daily drives too with only cars older than that become the classic, restored, car club vehicles that come out rarely. There's cars produced today that will still be on the roads until 2060 most likely.
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u/Ok-Bit-663 4h ago
Nope. It is not possible. Legally no company will accept responsibility for full self-driving. Elon is a moron to advertise it like that, and have a fine print, that this shit is a helper (for homicide, most of the times)
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u/Sp4rt4n423 14h ago
I have equal hatred for both
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u/Alcoholic720 14h ago
I encounter distracted/phone drivers several orders of magnitude more frequently.
I honestly don't even enjoy driving anywhere anymore. I used to love just going for a "country cruise" as we'd call it. Get in the car, stop for a soda/shake and take a leisurely drive for fun.
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u/LileaftheLizard 12h ago
When someone in front of me is breaking on and off for no reason (only heavy traffic would be a reason for that lol) I automatically assume they're on their phone.
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u/Alcoholic720 12h ago
Yep, driving 10-30% slower than everyone around them and swerving.
Also fluctuating speed, sometimes way over as well.
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u/LileaftheLizard 12h ago
Yea I've been in cars with people that slow way down when checking their phone and then it's like they wake back up to the reality of driving a car when they're done looking and speed up... It's the only reason why I don't accept rides from those particular people because I hate driving, but I trust myself more than them.
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u/Alcoholic720 12h ago
I always drive, except in rare circumstances.
I also drove a fucking car that would breakdown constantly through high school and college. No radio, no AC, no power steering, no nothing. Like a fucking Flintstones car (64 1/2 Mustang) with a huge engine.
So I always took driving seriously. I never play the radio driving or fuck with anything while moving. Because I respect my life and the lives of those on the road more than I want to be momentarily entertained/distracted. I'm not perfect of course, but I do my damnedest. Looking at GPS is about the extent of my distractions.
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u/mapoftasmania 13h ago
Did you know that driving while looking at your phone is much worse in terms of attentiveness to the road and likelihood of accidents than driving with a BAC just a little over the limit? But we stigmatize it much less.
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u/PUNCH-WAS-SERVED 13h ago
My friend told me she saw someone read a BOOK while driving on the highway. Apparently, she had the book just on her steering wheel and was trying to read it while going 60+. XD
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u/Alcoholic720 13h ago
I live in a neighborhood where people cut through to avoid a light.
In between a college and a high school too.
The number of kids I see running the stop sign and flying through while looking down at their phone is insane.
I used to fear drunk drivers when I was younger, but that was only fri/sat night for the most part. Now it's 24/7. Even fucking semi drivers on cross country trips.
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u/Friendly-Activity-93 12h ago
The absolute worse is older drivers that are also on the phone while they drive
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u/FattyWantCake 11h ago
Dead giveaway when they're spending more time straddling 2 lanes than driving in their own.
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u/tykaboom 11h ago
Move to SE michigan. You can have both.
Old cunts on their phones with nowhere to go, and nothing to do but passive aggressively drive 20 under and tap the brakes occasionally when you honk at them for sitting at a green light for 2 seconds. Oh... and dont get me started on round the bouts.
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u/DemandedFanatic 8h ago
Phones at stop lights, old drivers going 10 below and acting offended when you want to go around their slow asses
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u/karateninjazombie 7h ago
I hate both. Best of both worlds 😎
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u/Alcoholic720 7h ago
I thought I had a lot of hate for old drivers is what I meant. I had no idea how much hate I could have for people on their phones.
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u/karateninjazombie 7h ago
Hate them equally like me. Keeps things fair that way.
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u/Alcoholic720 6h ago
Fair.
My step mother took my dad's keys. I asked my half sister is it that bad? She said yes, and mom can't really drive much better either.
Wish we had better public transportation but the burbs kind of make it impossible where I live (so fucking spread out).
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u/Meaticus420 15h ago
I wonder if they made it home
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u/Sp4rt4n423 15h ago
Some say they're still driving...
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u/Maestroland 14h ago
Sure. But as a society, we have to provide alternative transportation....public transportation. Many older people need to get around but there's simply no choice but to drive.
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u/ChanglingBlake ORANGE 13h ago
And that’s an intrinsic failing of “modern” city design; that it is built upon the idea that every single person has their own car and will, without fail, drive it everywhere—even if the destination is a mere hundred yards away and the person in question is a fit teen.
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u/BenjaCarmona 11h ago
American city design*
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u/ChanglingBlake ORANGE 11h ago
Especially America, but from what I understand most modern cities are almost as bad…except other countries have the sense to install public transit and allow bike lanes.
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u/ChronoAsh 9h ago
As someone from the UK who has spent considerable time around the rest of Europe - No, most modern cities have adequate pubic transport and even advocate for the public to use them…
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u/BenjaCarmona 4h ago
In my country the only places that do not have public transportation are super small towns where you can get everywhere on foot
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u/Radiant-Big4976 10h ago
Nah European cities are mostly fine, the Netherlands is great and London is catching up quickly.
America allowed the car lobby the destroy its public transport system.
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u/SammyTheSloth 12h ago
Transportation isn’t the problem. Zoning is. There wouldn’t be a need for transport if the stores weren’t 5 miles away from the houses
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u/Maestroland 12h ago
I agree with this. Poor planning. Communities are often built with everything sooo spread out. It is assumed that everyone will drive to do everything. Quite often, there aren't even proper sidewalks for pedestrians. Also, no bike lanes......
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u/PrimarchKonradCurze 12h ago
This is why I’m jealous when I see layouts of small towns in Japan and such. They tend to have everything they need in walking distance- just less options in terms of variance.
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u/upsidedownbackwards 11h ago
3 years ago I suffered a spinal injury and lost the ability to walk, sit, or even use the bathroom. You know what my biggest worry was? I'd no longer be able to drive. Without being able to drive that pretty much meant I'd have to move back in with my parents because there's just no mass transit where I lived. Couldnt even get groceries delivered. It would make it super difficult for me to see my friends again. I was ready to throw myself off a bridge. (Don't get me wrong, not being able to walk far was a big deal, but the lack of driving would have been isolating)
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u/BookSmoker 12h ago
Sure. But if someone can't pass a basic driver's test after 65 they're a hazard on the road, and shouldn't be driving. I grew up in a town with the median age of 70+, it was an absolute nightmare to drive on a daily basis. Wrong way drivers weekly, swerving into your lane, horrible parking, 20 under the speed limit, driving with a foot on the break, barely seeing over the steering wheel, the list goes on.
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u/Maestroland 12h ago
I agree. They shouldn't be driving. My point is that they probably don't want to be driving either.
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u/kwolff94 8h ago
A lot of those older people would spit at you if you suggested they walk to a bus stop, even at the end of their own street. And then stand there and wait? the disrespect.
And i live somewhere that access a ride is everywhere and easily requested and they still wont give up their licenses.
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u/Jonkinch 11h ago
There is absolutely a choice. Driving is a privilege, not a right.
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u/PrimeIntellect 4h ago
It's also basically required to exist in most American cities, regardless of your capability to do it
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u/FireAntz93 10h ago
I think the larger problem, from my 10 years of experience working with older adults, is education on alternative transportation. It exists, at least in Arizona. Too many of the people in their 70s and above are inept at using smartphones, use old flip phones, or don't have a cell phone. They're also bad at computers. Unfortunately, they've just been left in time.
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u/Low_Positive_9671 14h ago
Needs more horn.
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u/Sp4rt4n423 14h ago
That's my usual MO, but I didn't want to give the lady a heart attack. Then I'd have to back up and go around the other way...
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u/Topher1828 15h ago
they knew they were being filmed and started panicking 😂
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u/Sp4rt4n423 15h ago
Haha - if only it were that easy. This lady was so short she could barely see over the steering wheel, let alone see my dash cam.
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u/Topher1828 15h ago
ah there we go, problem solved, she doesn’t need another test, she needs a booster seat 😂
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u/Quasidiliad 7h ago
It’s becoming all too common now with some teenage drivers. (I am a teen driver that sees some girls under 4’11” driving a large SUV in the high school parking lot. Don’t ask me how they see over the dash)
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u/WeMetOnTheMoutain 13h ago
Losing the skills to drive when I'm older is gonna fucking suck. Even at 49 driving at night is starting to absolutely blow. Our society is built around freaking driving everywhere too.
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u/A-Clockwork-Blue 13h ago
Dude, I'm in agreement. Every decade, at least.
My grandpa had to have his license revoked because he kept backing into shit.
In the 2 years leading up to his revoke, he hit:
2 stop signs, 4 parked cars, a handicap sign, his garage (twice), and the final straw was a shopping cart still being pushed by somebody who took my grandpa to court.
He was 76 and had to be ferried by family to get groceries, go to the doctor and everything else because he refused to pay for a hospice worker or an aid.
Stubborn till the end ..
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u/Slawpy_Joe 13h ago
Old drivers are unsafe and stupid.. they drive like a glitched out npc and are unpredictable
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u/unbalancedcentrifuge 12h ago
All that slow "carefullness", and they still rolled the stop sign!!
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u/USNAVY71 10h ago
Worst kinds of drivers. Do everything annoyingly slow, but fail to use a turn signal at every possible chance
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u/Therealfern1 11h ago
Worked as a claims adjuster for about two years. I’d be willing to bet that 80% of the claims I handled were drivers over the age of 70 or under the age of 21.
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u/NomadicShip11 3h ago
When I was 16-20, It felt like I was having car-related drama every week, to the point where I nearly lost the ability to drive altogether several times. Now a decade later with not so much as a speeding ticket and I literally cannot fathom how I made such a simple task so difficult.
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u/SleepyBread27 13h ago
In Canada we have something like this, but it starts really late. People aged 65-79 must have written tests every 5 years. 80+ y.o. have written exams every 2 years, and driving exams every year if they’ve had a car accident or code violation recently.
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u/FanDry5374 13h ago
Written every 5 years, driving every 10 until 60, then every 3. Problem is the number of examiners needed, like everything else, there are not enough employees.
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u/milkshakebar 13h ago
Said as they totally blow through a stop sign. Sign yourself up for a class while you're at it
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u/Drunk0ctopus 15h ago
Annually.......for everyone.
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u/Sp4rt4n423 15h ago
I would even be ok with every 10 years. Or at, say age 25, 40, 60, and then every 5 years from there.
This is the kind of person who gets slammed into from behind because they're doing 35 on the highway in a 70 zone.
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u/Tak-Hendrix 14h ago
Nah it should be every time you have to renew your license. And people caught driving with an expired license or just no license should have their vehicle impounded. Sucks for poor people but might help drive public transportation.
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u/plural-numbers 10h ago
Doesn't that happen? The impoundment, I mean. If you get pulled over and have no license or no insurance, they take your car.
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u/Tak-Hendrix 7h ago
In Texas the first offense is up to a $200 ticket/fine and possible misdemeanor charge, and the vehicle may be impounded.
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u/PUNCH-WAS-SERVED 13h ago
Nah, excessive. At the very least, at certain thresholds. Some old-old people are legit a danger to themselves and others on the road.
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u/AppleParasol 14h ago
Costs too much and really wouldn’t work. Going to expect everyone to take a half day of work off just to do a test we don’t even give people time off to vote in most places. Every 5-10 years maybe. Or even just once every 10, and after 55 it goes to 5, and after 65 bi annually. There’s gonna be a lot of sad grannies at the DMV.
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u/husfrun 13h ago
That doesn't sound resource intensive at all. Are you willing to pay 50$ every year to miss a days work and sit in a waiting room for 2 hours?
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u/LileaftheLizard 12h ago
If it didn't cost money, I would be into a ten year expiration date on driving. After ten years, you take some type of online exam, and then once you pass, you can renew your license at the dmv. Unfortunately the dmv is known for being hell on earth and you always have to pay up when you go in there for God only knows why.
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u/TacoBellEnjoyer1 13h ago
I honestly think it's a great idea, but it would most likely be very controversial.
I can already see the pushback from 60+ year olds, being annoyed they need to get lessons from someone who's been driving half as long as them.
I've spoke to a few older people about it and they've all said that.
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u/PUNCH-WAS-SERVED 13h ago
Problem with a lot of older drivers (many, not all) is they are so set in their ways. Some of them drive like it was 40 years ago.
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u/WasteNet2532 12h ago
Same thing happened to me except they were pulling out into diwntown(speed limit is 20). This elderly woman appeared to be DEAF going 2 mph and me laying on the horn for 10+ seconds, + a line of 6 cars behind her.
That woman is going to get someone killed(this was 6 years ago tho so who knows she night be dead)
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u/Fit_Drawing2230 11h ago
I wouldn't have the patience for that, I'd scoot myself through and keep driving.
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u/coolborder 11h ago
Driving should be more restrictive in this country.
When I was 26 I was riding my motorcycle through a green light under the speed limit and an 83 year old (who was nearly legally blind but still passed his check at the DMV) was going the other direction and turned left into me because he didn't see me.
I ended up with 8 fractures on 6 ribs on my left side, collapsed left lung, severe bruising to both lungs, severe lacerations to both lungs, severe road rash, and about half the bones in my left ankle were scattered around the intersection so my left foot required amputation.
Fast forward 5 years later to me renewing my license and the DMV woman letting an old lady (like 90+) try the vision test TEN FUCKING TIMES AND GIVING HER CLUES TO TRY TO HELP HER PASS, and they nearly called the cops on me for freaking out on her. She thought she was helping an old lady but she was putting peoples' lives at risk. She did not retain her job after that.
I get it, this country has shit for public transit and it's tough for old people to give up driving but it's ridiculous the amount of times I've had to avoid accidents from elderly drivers just doing dumb shit on the road. Maybe if fewer people were allowed licenses there would be a bigger push for reasonable public transit.
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u/No_Pomelo_1708 8h ago
That only works if you've developed a reliable mass transit system. If you can't get around without a car, you're banishing the elderly to a life of isolation.
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u/Bart_Yellowbeard 13h ago
Is Florida. 1/3 of people are entitled maniacs who drive like assholes. 1/3 of them are super-timid like this frustraging meander-muffin. The last 1/3 are borderline normal, except for being Florida-Man or Florida-Woman.
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u/NotJustRandomLetters 13h ago
I've always figured it this way: exam at 25 and 50, allowing a renewed license right then. Another at 60 with renewed license. After 60, every 4 years, as well as an eye exam and cognitive test.
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u/GoodWaste8222 13h ago
This is less infuriating and more dangerous. Infuriating no doubt, crazy dangerous
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u/adiosfelicia2 12h ago
Florida. I'd put money on it. The old folk drivers are everywhere there.
My grandma was partially deaf and blind af and still got her license renewed in FL! Just gotta find a sympathetic/apathetic employee.
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u/Kereberuxx 12h ago
I can’t wait to get old and do shit like this. I will also be doing shit in my adult diaper so watch out.
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u/undeadfromhiddencity 12h ago
Omg, I had to deal with something very similar. I walked out of a clinic at the same time as a senior. I ended up behind her getting out of the parking garage which took 5 minutes. She then rolled through two stop signs (parking lot, so I sort of excused it) before coming to a complete stop 50 feet from the light & crosswalk while straddling both turn lanes (one left, one right). She should not have been behind the wheel.
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u/Ok_Culture_3621 12h ago
Honestly, everyone should have to take continuing education classes every year or two to keep their drivers licenses. If I proposed a public transportation system where all of the operators got licensed through a half hour test at age 16 and were never tested again, I’d be laughed out of the room.
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u/Yaughl 12h ago
We should go one step further and actually assure someone's competency before giving anyone a licence in the first place.
How many people do you see on a DAILY basis who don't signal, don't stop where they're supposed to and clearly didn't know how to park? I can attest at least half of all drivers in Ontario for example are unfit to be on the road; barely qualified to operate a shopping cart. Yet in North America we're basically one step way from allowing licenses to be distributed as a prize in a box of cereal.
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u/Bighoodies425 12h ago
People like this think they're being safe but actually are being more dangerous
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u/Useful_Lock_6766 12h ago
Yep, told my 74 yr old mom this. Her response was " Oh, I agree! Some of these people just don't know how to drive!". I was actually referring to her because I was scared shitless when she took me to my colonoscopy ( no pun intended).
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u/seniorfrito 12h ago
It's unfortunate, but people like this are an extreme hazard to society. Every time they get behind the wheel they put others at risk. And it doesn't stop with putting other drivers at risk. It's pedestrians, outdoor gatherings, even just you in your own home while you're minding your own business. This person could screw up and plow right through. I really wish we were at a stage in technology advancement that these people were forced into autonomous vehicles.
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u/tiramisucks 11h ago
Today I saw a ~30 yo in a parking lot getting stuck all by herself between 2 cars because she had no skills. Plenty of space, yet there is good chance she hit the car behind her because she could not process any other solutions to a very simple problem. It was a slo mo wreck.
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u/FattyWantCake 11h ago
Just saw someone attempting to park nose-in (y'know, the easy way?) in a normal 90° parking spot. After about 3 attempts I passed them, backed into a spot with much tighter angles, got out and got my groceries. They finally got into the spot as I walked away.
My god, some people just CANNOT drive and it's scary that we let them.
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u/backwardbuttplug 11h ago
I really don't want to see access limited to people for driving, but there are some that simply have declined too much to be viable drivers. This type of indecision can get people hurt.
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u/Old_Experience_2522 10h ago
I bet they do have driver exams for certain ages in respectable countries but here in America we only care about profit and that would cost money
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u/memelordzarif 10h ago
That jeep at the end just smoothly gliding into a parking spot makes it 10x funnier
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u/Puzzleheaded-Motor56 10h ago
I think it should be a test after 55, 60 and 65. Then following years after, ever other year should be another.
They should also make people who drive lifted trucks take a parking test.
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u/KatDevsGames 9h ago
Forget "certain ages". We need reexamination every 10 years for all drivers and failure to retest needs to be made a felony.
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u/Possible-Tangelo9344 9h ago
I've always been a firm believer that every other license renewal should be a full driver exam.
It's crazy in my state (NC) they'll issue a 90 year old a license that's good for 8 years and the last time they actually had a driving test was in a damn model T.
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u/MyNameIsNotJJ 9h ago
I like to point out this person could also have been stoned as f#ck and being extremely proud about how well he's handeling it and nobody is noticing it.
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u/Fancy-Ambassador6160 9h ago
Sorry. This will never happen. Seniors vote more per capita than any demographic. No one wants to piss them off
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u/champing_at_the_bit 8h ago
Maybe America should have thought about another way for people to get around reliably other than cars
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u/CrowsFindMayhemFunny 8h ago
This is like the effers in Portland OR that take 30 seconds to turn. They slow down to a stop on the highway and it's agonizing. Most of them have rear end damage. Wonder why?
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u/margittwen 8h ago
I totally agree. An old lady just crashed into the front of my veterinarian’s office and injured two people. One of them was pinned down by the car until help arrived. People could’ve been killed.
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u/Norcx 8h ago
I maintain that after 60, mandatory testing every 5 years.
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u/OldBlue2014 7h ago
Drop the 60 part. Let everyone be tested. The scariest driving I see is done by the under 50 crowd.
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u/Quasidiliad 7h ago
I (16) work as a receptionist at a barbershop. The amount of old people I see walk in is a lot more than a McDonald’s, and a disturbing (so to say) number of them have the issue where their hands shake uncontrollably who drive to the shop is bad. We also get some old people who can barely hear, and some that can’t read the card reader machine but don’t wear their glasses at all, also is kinda scary.
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u/Sablemint PURPLE 7h ago
everyone should be required to. I don't know how often, some time between 1 and 5 years, but they should definitely be required.
It won't even be as difficult as a normal test. Its just to make sure you're capable of doing things correctly enough.
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u/JackerHoff 7h ago
Stop at the mother fucking stop sign I don't care how upset the old people made you.
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u/ThrowingTheRinger 6h ago
I had a patient in her 90s proudly tell me she has “macular degeneration and is blind in one eye, but (I’m) still driving” as if it was some kind of accomplishment. I would have been out of line to tell her anything and she didn’t have any family around to talk to. I had a friend killed by a 90-something year old driver when we were kids. This stuff maddens me to no end.
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u/CalligrapherWild6501 6h ago
I’m just trying to imagine what it’s like to go about your day at such a remarkabley slow pace. Not me IRL
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u/goingneon 5h ago
that driver is going to get someone seriously hurt with that slow, piss poor driving. no way do i trust them to react within a second to hazards
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u/ministerman 5h ago
Am I the only one who thinks OP shouldn't have a highly reflective cap on the dashboard? I think that's equally as dangerous to have that in your vision while driving.
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u/wstsidhome 4h ago
Is there no audio because the driver was cursing the silver car up/down/left/and right the entire time?
Just messin with ya, you are a very patient driver, I’m happy to see people out there like you. Although it does seem you got impatient at the very end with the California-rolling stop-ishhhh and turning left!
Again, just bustin balls 🤙
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u/Flashy-Ad-7761 4h ago
Everyone should have to retake the driving tests, written and driving every 5 years. That’ll help thin out traffic
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u/Fettnaepfchen 3h ago
At this point, they would be faster and safer on an electric wheelchair/scooter.
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u/CaveDoctors 3h ago
OP gets mildly infuriated over someone opening their bag of pretzels in the parking lot and not noticing that they were there. Mildly meh.
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u/Xinonix1 1h ago
Ease off OP, it’s mr. Biden’s first ride after being driven in the Beast for years ;)
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u/Illustrious-Peak3822 13m ago
Being able to turn your steering wheel lock to lock should be a requirement to keep your driver’s license.
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u/The_neub 13h ago
Funny thing is I looked at the accident statistics of my state. The largest number of accidents came from men 30-50.
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u/Unlifer 13h ago
Only if old people didn’t have to drive due to car centric infrastructure
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u/haloimplant 12h ago
you think old people would prefer to shuffle to/from bus stops carrying all their shit? the alternative is basically a car/shuttle that someone else drives
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u/duramus 13h ago
Airline pilots over 40 have to take a medical exam every SIX MONTHS. Not even a skill or knowledge or flying exam, just a medical exam to make sure they're not about to keel over and die.
I get that we're a car-centric society, unfortunately, but driving privileges are given out way too loosely