The grumpy thread

[New POD]

I remember once seeing some old duffer driving the wrong way around a roundabout. You could see in his face that he knew something was wrong. He didn't bloody stop though. He seemed paralysed by confusion.

Father on law got to the end of the dual carriage way, and wasn't sure what to do at the roundabout. It came back to him, and he was able to drive home, but it freaked him out and he decided that the rest of us were too bonkers on the roads and he'd be safer not driving.

He's the only person I know who gave up driving before the "accident"

[BorniteIdentity]

Is it not time for ‘alligator ramps’ or whatever they call them on every motorway on/off slip? That way you can only pass them in the correct direction - and going the reverse results in immediate blow outs? Make them droppable in case of police needing to release trapped traffic in the wrong direction and bingo.

 

I appreciate there are a lot to do, but if they make it motorway standard henceforth and start a programme of works quickly then they’d be done within 5 years.

 

I also appreciate it will slow traffic down. I don’t see that as a bad thing at junctions.

[catsinthewelder]

Are some junctions particularly high risk for this?  I'm sure that I've seen the odd one where it would be easy to make a mistake whereas others would be nearly impossible to cock up.

 

Our hire insurance has an upper age limit of 75 which can be a PITA when that is about the average age in Ludlow.  I've had a few customers that were a bit old and doddery at 55 and potential customers of 85+ who I would have been happy to rent to.

[SierraMikeHotel]

 

 

Father on law got to the end of the dual carriage way, and wasn't sure what to do at the roundabout.

This sounds like the start of dementia

 

I did a short course on it (Dementia Friends) and the example they used was that a common symptom is to put the electric kettle on the hob. It's not because they've gone simple, it's because the brain is accessing an earlier memory and when that person was young they did put the kettle on the hob.

 

Without knowing how old your father in law is, it's possible he learned to drive when roundabouts were still a rarity.

[DodgeRover]

A blanket ban at 80 would be a devastating blow for a lot of older people, who would simply be stuck in the house with no means to go anywhere without booking a taxi, a simple competence and eyesight check every 5 years starting from 75 would be more reasonable.

 

How many accidents are due to older drivers though compared to new drivers or the unlicenced?

 

I remember a series of accidents involving foreign HGVs U turning on the motorway through gaps in the barriers but don't recall people asking for a ban on them.

 

Re the getting to the roundabout and being confused it could have been as simple as missing the direction signs or not knowing which lane flew off where, some just aren't that easy to navigate?

[dozeydustman]

A blanket ban at 80 would be a devastating blow for a lot of older people, who would simply be stuck in the house with no means to go anywhere without booking a taxi, a simple competence and eyesight check every 5 years starting from 75 would be more reasonable.

 

 

Yup. One of my granddads carried on driving until about a year before he passed away. We didn't know he had started to lose his eyesight until he had a couple of very minor accidents; knocking mirrors off or scraping against a bollard etc. One of the perils of type 1 diabetes is eyesight loss.

 

My other granddad immediately gave up driving at 70, and it was the worst thing he could have done. He was very sharp minded, active, still crawling under one of my previous shiteheaps showing me how to repair this and that. By 72 he had become sedentary and hard to get out of the house. We think he was depressed as he had willingly given away his license, despite being given the all clear at his age 70 medical. By 75 he was suffering with vascular dementia as he did nothing but sit in his armchair and watch the telly, showed no interest in helping me with mechanic type things any more. I think if he'd carried on driving he'd still have been an active man and given up nearer age 80.

[artdjones]

In Ireland there is a medical examination done every three years once one reaches 70.My mother-in-law has just passed one aged 83.Of course,she still drives like a person of 55.No tearaway, but able to keep up with the traffic.

[Fumbler]

Grandmother wears driving glasses. I guess that's a start, but she still likes to drive and go fast on motorways, even if it does involve redlining the tits off her diesel Rav4 every time she exits the driveway. The other grandmother quit driving when she was in her 70s. Committed to walking. It's done her the world of good. In other places it wouldn't but her network of people is very nuclear so walking 1000 yards down the road isn't so much of a problem after all.

[New POD]

Is it not time for ‘alligator ramps’ or whatever they call them on every motorway on/off slip? That way you can only pass them in the correct direction - and going the reverse results in immediate blow outs? Make them droppable in case of police needing to release trapped traffic in the wrong direction and bingo.

 

I appreciate there are a lot to do, but if they make it motorway standard henceforth and start a programme of works quickly then they’d be done within 5 years.

 

I also appreciate it will slow traffic down. I don’t see that as a bad thing at junctions.

Brilliant. Given the amount that is being spent on smart motorways, it's a drop in the ocean.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

It fits with my ban all over 80s from driving.

Which might kids my parents off but hey they can afford taxis.

You'll be there one day, if cursed with long life.

[chaseracer]

The Owd Giffer is 80 now and is still probably* a better driver than me.  Ex-biker, retired engineer.  Brain surgery in 2012, eyesight checked every year, reapplies for his licence every three.  Sharp as a tack.

 

This is the man who had his A6 V6 TDi chipped "for better economy, son..."

 

[Tamworthbay]

My mum is 83 and recently gave up driving as she decided it was about time. Saved having the conversation which would have had to come soon. Sadly most people aren’t a decent judge of their own abilities so I don’t think it’s unreasonable for some sort of assessment past a certain age, I would suggest 17 as a starting point judging on the average driving standards I see on the roads.

[dozeydustman]

I seem to have found the cause of some of my computer hacking problems. I went into my hotmail account earlier today via Outlook webmail.

 

540 unknown e-mail addresses had been added to my 'safe senders' list.

 

Every single password I use has been changed.

 

Would appear I had a leak in my installation of Firefox, so this has now been deleted.

 

I hate using my mobile data allowance as an internet hotspot.

 

First time in 10 years of not using Windows that I've encountered a problem with computer security.

 

Next prick who designs a malware or a computer virus can be bound, mouth-gagged and their head stuck in the cat's litter box for 2 weeks.

[adw1977]

Are some junctions particularly high risk for this? I'm sure that I've seen the odd one where it would be easy to make a mistake whereas others would be nearly impossible to cock up.

 

 

 

It seems they joined the M40 at junction 7, which has the rather unusual layout shown above, effectively four T junctions.

 

I can see how a driver passing the first no entry turn might believe that the next turn "must" be the correct one.

 

As others have said, though, how on earth can you not realise that something is terribly wrong once you have joined the main carriageway?

[Fumbler]

Did you have virus protection to begin with? Adobe installs got the IT support down my end running around in panic.

[scaryoldcortina]

Regarding the mail/express I'm finding it quite annoying that google keeps giving me "suggested" articles that I might enjoy reading. Sadly they get it badly wrong. I couldn't have less interest in "How to stop RIPOFF garages keeping YOUR car after mot" or "20 ways YOUR car will fail the new EU mot" but they keep coming. Still, it makes a change from all the br*xit articles I don't want to see.

[Pillock]

I did a teeny weeny bit, but then realised you and everyone else were just off on a tangent rant so got up off the toilet and stopped looking at my phone!

Sorry Beko, it wasn't aimed at you.

The DM are really good at what they do, unfortunately what they do is normalise hate by writing everyday articles with just a little nudge in there every so often. So I can fully understand that you shared it because it was an article on what we were talking about, nothing to feel bad about.

 

I read it daily for years because my mum, who in every other sense was perfectly accomodating, bought it so I just flicked through. It's weird, I could have gone home with a gay immigrant boyfriend and she'd have got the best china out for tea. So it was only years later when I had it pointed out to me.... Yeah. Utter shitrag.

[robinmasters]

I can understand how you can get confused and drive up the wrong side of a motorway.

 

I can't understand how you could do that for several miles at speed and not realise...

 

Elderly woman phones her husband, after the traffic news mentioned the motorway he'd been planning on using that day.

 

Woman: 'Are you alright, the news just said there's some lunatic driving the wrong way down the motorway?'

 

Husband: 'It's worse that, there's loads of them!'

[dozeydustman]

Did you have virus protection to begin with? Adobe installs got the IT support down my end running around in panic.

 

 

I did, I was using Avast for Mac, but it always said the computer was clean. Got a monthly subscription to Total Antivirus for Mac for £2.99 pcm, and along with running Malwarebytes, found some unknown tracking cookies to linked to Outlook that was on my Firefox installation.

 

Firefox has now gone, it was only ever an 'emergency' browser; sticking to Safari. I've still yet to check the Linux laptop. And the Raspberry Pi.

[Guest Hooli]

AXA breakdown cunts, they STILL owe me over £1k from my trouble in europe. It's now over twice as long as their guaranteed* repayment time and they are ignoring all emails & not calling me back. I've lodged a complaint with the Ombusman but I'm not expecting that to go at a great pace, so I'm currently out of pocket & paying interest on a credit card due it.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

 

Edited for extra rage

 

 

Swearing status: Brian Blessed.  +5 to speechcraft.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

AXA breakdown cunts, they STILL owe me over £1k from my trouble in europe. It's now over twice as long as their guaranteed* repayment time and they are ignoring all emails & not calling me back. I've lodged a complaint with the Ombusman but I'm not expecting that to go at a great pace, so I'm currently out of pocket & paying interest on a credit card due it.

 

 

Small claims procedures?

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I did, I was using Avast for Mac, but it always said the computer was clean. Got a monthly subscription to Total Antivirus for Mac for £2.99 pcm, and along with running Malwarebytes, found some unknown tracking cookies to linked to Outlook that was on my Firefox installation.

 

Firefox has now gone, it was only ever an 'emergency' browser; sticking to Safari. I've still yet to check the Linux laptop. And the Raspberry Pi.

 

Maybe it's time for noscript as well...

[Guest Hooli]

Small claims procedures?

 

That is where thoughts are heading next aye. It's an utter joke as the policy says they'll pay for hotels, taxis, flights home etc etc yet for various reasons managed to do none of that.

[Mally]

I am sure you are correct. Problem is that people don't make plans for their very old age.

 

I've done my best.

Almost spent up.

Trust fund.

Will.

Lasting Power of Attorney x2

DNR.

Wait.

[dozeydustman]

Maybe it's time for noscript as well...

 

 

The only thing I require Flash for is watching videos on YouTube & Patreon. If indeed YT is still Flash Video. As I said above, Firefox has now gone; sticking to Safari as it's the only browser that seems to work properly* on a Mac. Chrome is just a resource hog; Opera is too slow.

 

WiFi password also changed; dialled in the router's number and 3 unidentified computers on the 5GHz band. Hopefully they'll be fucked out of it permanently.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I've been defaulting to HTML5 for YouTube for years and years now on Safari and Chrome.  The only site I have Flash enabled for is the BBC and I barely ever use that any more.

[New POD]

I've done my best.

Almost spent up.

Trust fund.

Will.

Lasting Power of Attorney x2

DNR.

Wait.

 

More: "Oh lets retire to the back of beyond" 

More: "I'm never moving from this massive house that I live in one room in, and I'm going to leave it full of worthless knick nacks that I've been collecting for 50 years, which nobody has room for when they inherit it"

More "I need a car, because I live in the back of beyond and/or am too tight to get a taxi, and/or too proud to use public transport" 

[New POD]

More: "Oh lets retire to the back of beyond" 

More: "I'm never moving from this massive house that I live in one room in, and I'm going to leave it full of worthless knick nacks that I've been collecting for 50 years, which nobody has room for when they inherit it"

More "I need a car, because I live in the back of beyond and/or am too tight to get a taxi, and/or too proud to use public transport" 

 

Oh and parents in law REFUSE to do a POA and I suspect it's because they don't trust their son, not to have them in a home within days of signing it, and don't want to upset him, by only putting his youngest sister on it, because everyone knows she's the only one that would look after them day and night rather than them move into a home. 

[iainrcz]

What about sending Paul Bohill in.

The cunts would drop a ton of bricks on you if the debt was the other way round.

AXA breakdown cunts, they STILL owe me over £1k from my trouble in europe. It's now over twice as long as their guaranteed* repayment time and they are ignoring all emails & not calling me back. I've lodged a complaint with the Ombusman but I'm not expecting that to go at a great pace, so I'm currently out of pocket & paying interest on a credit card due it.

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