Quote:
Originally Posted by Jazuela
I'm only "just" in my senior years (57) now. So I can say confidently, that it's the older people driving in SUVs that make me more nervous than anyone else driving in any vehicle at all.
My dad always had trouble with slowing down for stop signs, traffic lights, and curves. It's much more pronounced now that he drives an SUV. It's as if people forget about things like when they get older or something.
If you're driving a car with more clearance space under the chassis, you MUST drive slower around corners than someone with a vehicle whose chassis is closer to the road. It's science, and it's common sense.
I had the same problem myself, for the first day after I bought my first SUV - a Ford Explorer Sport. First day. I adjusted. Had that one for 11 years, never had a rollover. Got another one to replace that one. It was a lemon, but I drove it for around a year. Never rolled over. Replaced THAT with a Jaguar. Never rolled over, but I was able to go a LOT faster around curves than I could with the SUV. I also had a much shorter stopping time.
My current car is a Scion XD, a little nasty tin can on wheels. I hate it. But it gets me from point A to B, it's reliable, doesn't drift much at all in the snow, and is super low on gas mileage. I have to be MUCH more careful in this, than any of my other cars. Why? Because it weighs around as much as an old-fashioned VW Beetle but it's around 7 inches higher off the ground. If you kick it just right, it'll tip over at a standstill.
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Actually the statistics show your fears about aging drivers are not valid. More senior people do die from accidents but that is probably because their bodies are more fragile. According to statistics twice the percentage of people your age are involved in vehicular accidents than those who are over 75
Age of Driver and Number in Accidents statistics - USA Census numbers
Facts & Research – AAA Senior Driving
Most Villagers stop for stop signs and red lights, not just slow down.
I don't think a person needs to be expert in physics to know to slow down before entering a curve. Generally the wisdom of age has granted most people knowledge with time. I personally think that a 77 year old is twenty years wiser than a 57 year old in many ways, because most people continue learning and storing information. You don't need to know mitosis to understand reproduction. Or the term centripedal force to understand sliding on ice. Not all older people have dementia. Usually it has a genetic link.You know what they say about judging whole groups...And you will find that wisdom also includes people who know when they are not safe to drive.
Or to make negative statements about a certain age of people who make up most of the readers of a forum.