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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 21, 2020 9:44:56 GMT
Giving up driving past a certain age is apparently one of the most difficult things for old men to do, almost as difficult as giving up being a politician.
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Post by mossie on Jan 21, 2020 12:07:02 GMT
Tell me about it !!!
My accident was totally my own fault, and I had predicted it because of a previous near miss. I fully expected the police, who attended the scene, to charge me and demand my licence. Nothing like that happened, the police weren't interested and I have heard nothing from them since.
I am most relieved that nobody was hurt, but have almost certainly decided to stop driving. That is a considerable inconvenience, it is remarkable how much we rely on our cars. But I can get about by bus and my neighbours have been remarkably kind in offering lifts etc. My mobility is worse than before which restricts me, the accident shook me up considerably, more so than I expected it to. In the past I have breezed through various bad events, but this has set me back.
I realise that I still need a recovery period, after which I will assess my future.
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OK Boomer
Jan 21, 2020 12:26:21 GMT
via mobile
Post by whatagain on Jan 21, 2020 12:26:21 GMT
Hey Mossie. If I needed a reason why I like you this post if you would do it. Not only do you recognise you should not be driving but you realise you may a danger not to you but to others. My in law uses taxis a lot. She doesn't go far but she could use a taxi to and fro the trainstation and from the world is hers. Taxis are expensive but the cost of car offsets it a lot. And the taxis makes you feel relatively free once you gave mastered the need to plan a little bit.
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 21, 2020 13:24:59 GMT
Nothing like that happened, the police weren't interested and I have heard nothing from them since. As I in I think, a different thread, said. Non-injury, damage only, not worth bothering with. Insurance will companies sort it out they say.
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Post by questa on Jan 22, 2020 7:30:27 GMT
I am dreading surrendering my licence. Driving, for me, has always been a pleasure and Motorsport my main hobby and sport. It is like watching a young gymnast complete a routine perfectly when you can get a spot on handbrake turn, or a sweet gear change. I did some rallying when younger and I've been interested in car development since. No licence will be more than catching trains...whole lifestyle change.
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OK Boomer
Jan 22, 2020 7:56:28 GMT
via mobile
Post by whatagain on Jan 22, 2020 7:56:28 GMT
I dislike cars. I am a bad driver albeit driving 40 000 kms a year. I am just not interested. When my wife went to buy her Porsche the seller came to me first thinking I am the malethus the buyer. I told him to talk to my wife and that I had no interest. He didn't believe me but told my wife when she got the car that I was one of his very rare clients who are really big interested. I du d cars a waste of money. If I had to buy one myself I would probably buy a Dacia duster. Second hand if I could find it.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 22, 2020 10:40:51 GMT
I have never owned any sort of vehicle in my life, not even a bicycle. That must disqualify me as a boomer.
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Post by bjd on Jan 22, 2020 12:03:16 GMT
My husband would probably never have bought a car and uses it as little as possible. We buy our cars (and there haven't been many over the years) secondhand and keep them for ages.
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 22, 2020 14:14:33 GMT
Is there such a word as a carophile? Apart from all the other reasons why you must stay fit and healthy into your dotage, one high on the list for me is to be able to continue driving. I have just sold one car and I'm advertising the second one we own. Due to circumstances it will be that I don't have one (or two) at all for several months. It feels like a death in the family.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 22, 2020 16:09:39 GMT
Oh, I have always enjoyed driving other people's cars or renting one, but I have never wanted the responsibility of taking care of a car when I have zero mechanical knowledge (or interest in learning). So I am well aware that we are not at all in the same league, Mark, and on top of that I have total respect and admiration for people like you. You would be my #1 choice as a companion for driving across Asia or Africa, but unfortunately, I am well aware that I would be your very last choice.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 22, 2020 16:33:07 GMT
I've neither owned nor driven a car in my life, though I'm absolutely a boomer. My parents met as war workers; my dad had a legitimate medical exemption. Most men who had those felt embarrassed and guilty, as they weren't in danger but war workers were necessary too. I've most often had bicycles, but not as a little girl as my mother was the overprotective type. Most of them second-hand.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 22, 2020 16:35:42 GMT
Yes, my youngest uncle is like Mark, but as much bush planes as road or off-the-road vehicles. In northern Canada snowmobiles are actual vehicles, not playthings.
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 22, 2020 17:58:19 GMT
I am well aware that I would be your very last choice. Oh yea of little faith. I'm sure it would be extremely enjoyable to accompany anyone on here. I have no problem with anyone who has absolute zero enthusiasm for vehicular transport. I respect their choice. Can't understand it, but I respect it. The freedom of the open road - or desert - or bush. The flexibility, the diversions, interesting or not, the ability to get somewhere when you want to and not when the train/bus/plane schedule dictates, being able to stop and look and not see it wizz past through a carriage window, finding out what that building was, exploring the little known places, being able to get to little known places in the first....errr.... place, the the enjoyment of setting your own pace.......... I could go on. I'm all for people not having cars and thus leaving more room for me to have one and do it.
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Post by bjd on Jan 22, 2020 18:39:28 GMT
Oh, I agree that there are times and places where having a car is the best way of getting around. It's just that I don't see the interest of rallys or car races and I don't admire people, like most of my neighbours, who drive rather than walk for 10 minutes to get to a store.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 22, 2020 18:45:57 GMT
Oh, I love the freedom of the open road. I have loved driving everywhere across the American West and parts of Canada, as well as Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Senegal, among other places. I am just totally distressed at the idea of any mechanical problem. I can change a tyre, but that's about it.
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Post by questa on Jan 23, 2020 1:54:31 GMT
Stop it onlyMark, you are making me cry. What you have listed is what I will lose when I have to hand in my papers. Bikes, skateboards and Vespas are for "getting around" Cars are for DRIVING. Even in the city and 'burbs you can practise missing potholes and bumps, park a car neatly, be aware of other cars and their possible moves, change lanes smoothly before you get stuck behind the bus. I don't have radio etc on in the city. Distractions and "thinking about something else" are the main cause of prangs.
But it is the open road, or no road at all that is the best part.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 25, 2020 4:54:38 GMT
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