Should I give up my car

Quokka

I agree with the latest call for over 70s to have some kind of competence test.

That sounds ok in theory, but seeing as learner drivers are having to book tests several months in advance because of a shortage in examiners or whatever, I don’t see how yet more tests are going to be accommodated.

Perhaps start with the over 80’s?

Us still having a car is a safety net, a way of being able to help family and friends at very short notice ie collecting sick GC from school when parents are working - collecting passengers when a friends car has broken down and awaiting roadside recovery - helping out with an airport run when the taxi failed to turn up. All this along with being able to go out at a moments notice justifies the expense for us.

Quokka

I agree with the latest call for over 70s to have some kind of competence test.

Absolutely!

Given my late 80's neighbour with dementia is STILL driving (despite me having told her son). Don't know whether he didn't dare tell her to stop - but she's a very "entitled" person anyway ("entitled" to come into my garden, "entitled" to be regarded as Someone though she's just another person).

Bearing in mind some drivers with dementia have killed people. Bearing in mind my mother wouldn't let my father give up driving when it was obvious he should then there seriously needs to be competence tests and 70 sounds like a pretty good sort of age to do so and a further one at, say, 80 and taken off the road regardless at 90 (unless they pay for and prove they're one of the very few....).

Yep...there's a backlog of learners waiting for tests (Lockdown - I'm looking at you as the cause of that) but everyone's safety comes first and then younger peoples personal wish to have a driving licence.

I would hesitate to give up my car unless compelled. We have a very poor bus service here, the nearest hospital is a half hour drive but there is no direct bus service and only one small taxi firm which means one has to advance book. It's a small market town with a rail station located out of town. Even if there were good bus services I would fear future government cuts.

In your circumstances I would give it up like a shot.
I can't as there is no public transport where I live.

Quokka

I agree with the latest call for over 70s to have some kind of competence test.

And yet whenever I watch Police Interceptors (quite often when I’m knitting in the afternoon) the person who is eventually stopped for driving like a complete idiot - dangerously, recklessly, super-speeding, etc. - is almost always a young, very young, or middle-aged male.

MissAdventure

You could try not using the car for say, three months, and then decide?

I think this is a great idea as winters are probably going to be hardest in my opinion.

In my opinion 70should be cut off point for driving, many times when we've been out older folk have nearly caused accidents as they dont seem to (or able to) take extra care on the roads.

I have a neighbour who only drove locally. Her mobility has changed dramatically and she can only walk short distances with sticks.
Due to age etc she gave up driving and now spends a lot of money on taxis to docs, hospital, church. Initially friends and neighbours gave her lifts but that has now dropped off.
It is costing her a lot of money.

Yes, a competance test would be acceptable- i realise not all older drivers are bad- but surely when theyre getting older and maybe have failing sight or health its a risk to themselves and other road users.- an old man beeped my son other day as he was in a hurry to get off(he was behind sons car) and he even shook his head at us when he pulled up next to us at next lights- what he had failed to see was that my son had not pulled straight off quickly before at other lights because another car coming accross had not signalled to turn- another lesson about the eyesight in old age maybe? Son is 25 but been driving 7 years- he is very careful & aware when he's on the roads.Just as all older drivers arent bad drivers though neither arent all 'young one's'!

Youre neighbour can get free hospital transport service for hospital appts.

I don't use my car much either, probably even less than StevieD.
I suppose I could manage without it, but at the back of my mind is always the thought that if I end up living alone or my husband is unable to drive I would probably be pleased to be able to drive when necessary. At the moment my husband enjoys driving so I rarely need to do it.
I suppose it also depends on where you live, whether you have a good bus service and can easily get essentials if necessary.
I should also ask if you have put a limited mileage on our car insurance, I know that it can bring the cost down if you do this.

Witzend

Quokka

I agree with the latest call for over 70s to have some kind of competence test.

And yet whenever I watch Police Interceptors (quite often when I’m knitting in the afternoon) the person who is eventually stopped for driving like a complete idiot - dangerously, recklessly, super-speeding, etc. - is almost always a young, very young, or middle-aged male.

That is another issue that also needs dealing with imo.

Having spent 40 years living in my home city and no "near miss" accidents by a driver. But about 10 years in current town (small West Wales) and there have been 3 or 4 instances of somebody nearly belting me one whilst driving and I've had to be fleet of foot and yelling at them to ensure I didn't get hit - and every time it's been Mr White Van Man and every time he couldn't give a monkeys and just muttered about his (ever so important .....) job and no apology even to me!!! We had White Van Men in my home city too - but they drove properly and so I can't figure why they think they're so special here that they can put female pedestrians at risk right left and centre and apparently they come first (so they tell themselves...).

So some parts of the country tradesMEN certainly need dealing with re this.

Witzend

I used to tell my mother that with what she was saving from not running a car (tax, servicing, petrol) - never mind the sale price - she could take a great many taxis.
Alas she never did - in her mind they were still a great extravagance.

Yes, my mother was the same, she regarded taxis as very extravagant.
She actually didn't give up driving until she was 87, though she only drove locally and was still perfectly competent.
In her 70s she was still driving on the M4 to London and the M25 to Kent. Eventually she said that she was getting nervous before long journeys and knew that it was time to give them up. However she still tootled about locally for another 10 years.
I'm 72 myself and still feel confident about longer journeys, though I expect that the time will come when I know that I should give them up.
Locally we have very good public transport which I use in preference to driving, though I do sometimes drive to the local large supermarket or to shops on a trading estate.

It is difficult, I know, not to regard taxis as extravagant. I used to tell my mother at regular intervals "Get a taxi if you want to - make life easy for yourself" but she wouldn't.

Though, having said that, I feel guilty myself about getting one and like it's a bit of a luxury to do so - but then remind myself "It's not my fault public transport here is so bad - what else can I do?". Cue for I went off to an event at nearby town I'd been fancying the other day and, even though it was the daytime I found myself stuck in the afternoon at the beginning of a TWO(!!!!) hour gap till the next bus and someone kindly phoned up my local taxi firm I use and they came and fetched me again - cue for £35 fare! and that was for social purposes. But I tell myself "Well what else is money for?".

As people say - one needs to weigh up the cost of once-in-a-while taxi fares against the cost of running a car and I remember the AA saying it cost hundreds of £s a month to have a car and that was years back (ie they'd included everything - including depreciation).

Just done very quick google of cost of running a car in this country. over £3,800 pa (ie £316 per month) and that's assuming the car is bought outright and not on finance.

I dread having to give up my car. We have no buses from our village to any of the nearby toens, yet they are all at least 8 miles away. Digigo have just introduced a service but all the reports on the service so far have been very negative.

My DH gave up driving in his mid 80s. He had a senior moment and took a wrong turn and the police car was right behind him. So, it was the police who revoked his driving licence.

We are lucky. The bus stop is just round the corner from our house, and it runs every ½ an hour to the town which is 15 minutes away.

I tend to walk to the local convenience stores, supermarket, hairdresser, dentist, surgery, Zumba classes.

If I cannot be bothered to walk, I call the taxi. The taxi fares are quite cheap compared to the city that my daughter lives in. My daughter lives roughly 35 minutes away by train.

My former colleagues live in the countryside. Once I had to call our local taxi to travel 11 miles to pick us up after 10pm. The bus does not run late at night there, no taxis either and signal was very bad at the restaurant. Absolute nightmare.

I gave up my car many years ago. I never liked driving anyway. I have two friends who recently gave up their cars and neither of them regret it.

I gave up my car a few years ago, partly because my eyesight isn't the best, and partly because I didn't want to be one of those old people who drive badly. Sometimes I miss it. It's difficult to nip anywhere, even though there's a fairly good bus service nearby. At first I was reluctant to use taxis, having thought of them as a luxury, but now I use Uber with (almost) gay abandon. No fuel costs, no road tax, no insurance, no services, no MOT - brilliant.

I don't think that it is the shorter distances that are difficult by public transport or taxi but longer journeys: for example getting to a station isn't always simple and you may need to get a taxi at both ends if public transport isn't available for any reason. As others have said, getting a taxi isn't always straightforward and it's often very expensive.

Hmmm .....I'm 74 and my seven year old car has done 7000 miles so just under 20 miles a week on average, mostly back and forth to the supermarket etc. . Would I get rid of it though? No chance - not yet anyhow!

CariadAgain

Quokka

I agree with the latest call for over 70s to have some kind of competence test.

Absolutely!

Given my late 80's neighbour with dementia is STILL driving (despite me having told her son). Don't know whether he didn't dare tell her to stop - but she's a very "entitled" person anyway ("entitled" to come into my garden, "entitled" to be regarded as Someone though she's just another person).

Bearing in mind some drivers with dementia have killed people. Bearing in mind my mother wouldn't let my father give up driving when it was obvious he should then there seriously needs to be competence tests and 70 sounds like a pretty good sort of age to do so and a further one at, say, 80 and taken off the road regardless at 90 (unless they pay for and prove they're one of the very few....).

Yep...there's a backlog of learners waiting for tests (Lockdown - I'm looking at you as the cause of that) but everyone's safety comes first and then younger peoples personal wish to have a driving licence.

telling her son is no good you need to tell the DVL if you are sure she has a diagnoses. They will make contact and ask her to take a test. No one will ever know it was you who reported her. It has to be done.

I just want to say a big "thank you" to all you lovely people who have given up your cars for the sake of the safety of others.

I hope I will do this too in due course.

I recently renewed my licence on reaching 70. I expected my insurance cost to go up but got a surprise at renewal that it dropped slightly, so for now I'm happily still driving. Most of my journeys are to places without a bus route so I'd be in difficulties without a car, but as I plan to downsize and move areas I'm aware of the need to future proof by living in a place with good transport links and facilities nearby. I too don't drive a high mileage, but it includes going on holiday camping every year so that would be impossible without a car. I also visit family who live 200 miles away a few times a year. Going by public transport would not be convenient and would involve limiting what I could take with me. Ihope to move nearer them which would make life easier if I did give up driving, though I would probably keep my car unless driving became impossible for any reason.

One solution could be to rely on buses etc and keep aside the savings you make to pay for taxis if you need them occasionally. You could even hire a car if you needed one only very occasionally. In your situation I'd be doing a careful calculation of the projected total savings but it does sound like it may be possible to be without a car for you.