In Spain, the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) does not set an age to stop driving. And it is that getting old is not a reason to give up the wheel, but as the years go by it is obvious that health problems and limitations of all kinds, physical and mental, increase. So, at some point, not only for your own safety, but also for that of others, you will have to leave without waiting for an accident. Thus, Cleverea experts show what are the obvious signs that you have to stop.
First of all, and although rude drivers do exist, if you get the feeling that their number is suddenly increasing, you may be doing something wrong. Yes I get lost even on familiar paths. Young people are also lost, but in advanced ages it is more frequent and can be a symptom of the beginning of an as yet undiagnosed cognitive deterioration. A good navigator is not always a solution, because over the years it becomes more difficult to look at the screen and the road at the same time.
Also if you have had mishaps lately. Not necessarily major bumps, but small scratches, light shocks, or I’ve been close, very often… Or yes scares increase like when pedestrians or cyclists appear out of nowhere. If the braking and the occasions in which you have to apologize at the zebra crossings increase, it is a symptom of a lack of reflexes and loss of lateral vision.
I drift out of the lane sometimes or get stressed entering a roundabout. Acts as common as taking a roundabout, leaving it at the right time, joining the main road from an acceleration lane, taking a detour… can start to be very stressful. Similarly distracted while driving. Realizing that we are going too slow or too fast, missing detours, braking at the last moment… indicates distracted driving. Likewise, while we are driving, we always find out a little later than the others that an emergency vehicle is coming asking for passage, that we have done something wrong, that there is something encroaching on the road, what it says on the traffic signs …
In the same way, I find it difficult to make some movements. Some people have difficulty moving their foot between the brake and accelerator, or have neck pain when turning their heads to park, or have hand strain when gripping the wheel securely. Or I don’t want to drive at night. Nobody sees the same at night as during the day, but if night vision starts to be a serious problem for safe driving, don’t take chances.
Finally, if I have been given several fines. This can also happen to anyone, but if it coincides with the loss of reflections and with the fact that we have accumulated more ‘parts’ than normal, it is worth thinking about it.