Too old to drive ?

[goufgators]

I know the decision is mine and mine alone. But, I also believe input from those of you who have personally experienced and gone through similar situations will be of assistance to me. About a year ago, I ‘hung up the keys’ and sold our coach due to my age. I’m 80. I was concerned that my driving skills may have deteriorated over the years and that it might not be safe for me to continue ‘piloting’ the rig down the highway. The reason I’m posting this is because I really miss having our coach and am contemplating diving back into RV’ing. I badly miss having the ability to climb into the motorhome and take off for…wherever. Please, for those of you 80 and older, I would like very much for you to respond and let me know if you are still driving and at what age. Also, if you have ‘hung up the keys’, at what age and was it due to feeling there might be an inability to safely operate the coach at your age. Please feel free to provide any other information that might help me determine whether purchasing a new coach, at my age, is or is not a wise move. Many thanks!

[Dutch_12078]

I note that you said you were comfortable driving your pickup. Have you considered a medium sized travel trailer instead of a motorized RV? The trailer would need to be within your truck's tow ratings of course.

[MT_BOB]

Bless you!. Age is relevant,many factors apply.Human physiology,and brain functions,vary greatly,whatever age.Being a mechanic, and have done towing and recovery,I really have not seen an increase of "accidents' from "older" persons,as far as RV's, BUT as some have said,other sources can be checked,even AAA, which i refuse to join.Heck, call your insurance people, they can provide you with statistics.That being said,my dad would never drive my big camper truck,towing a trailer,with atv's or another vehicle,whenever he came out here.BUT, he would go back home to MD,load up a 4 horse trailer,and tow it 2 states away, for dog field trials,lol, in his 70's-80's.He is now 90,no longer flies,nor drives long distance, because his knees hurt him too much, and the VA will no longer replace them,because of his age.A smaller vehicle is best,for your age,and good insurance, because it is just proper.But,enjoy life to the fullest,if you can afford it!!

[PastorCharlie]

Why not go to a trusted medical physician and have a heart to heart talk with him/her, get a good physical exam, perhaps even an exam from a cardiologist, take the AARP driving class and use all their counsel to help with your decision to drive a RV or not.

It appears that your concern is if your are mental and physician fit to continue to drive. No one can advise you over the internet about your condition.

I am 80 and I still drive a large Class A. I use a lot of judgment about the routes I take and try to keep my day's drive to around 300 miles, 6 hours, more tends to be unnecessary. After all I am retired and no one is depending upon my labor or time. Enjoy your journey and not be pressed to make any destination. If not today perhaps tomorrow or the day after.

Stay focused. Do not get distracted.

[wowens79]

goufgators wrote:

wowens79 wrote:
I'm only 52, but watching my parents age, and friends parents, it really varies from person to person. I know a 77 year old pilot, that I'd have no concerns hopping into a plane with him, but my mother in law at 79, I wouldn't let her drive around the block, and she thinks she is fine.
The fact you are concerned, is a good sign. Do you have a child or friend that would ride with you in a car or RV, and give you an honest opinion??
Maybe you can travel, and pick less congested routes, or maybe a smaller coach.
With the urge to go, I hope you can find a solution to let you travel, and enjoy your retirement!

If we get back in, we are going to look for "less congested routes" and, again 'if', we won't go back to a large Class A...it'll be a smaller class C. Speaking of 'less congested routes', in the past, we've had to travel directly through downtown Atlanta. That won't happen again...!

I hate Hellanta! We have to go through it on about half our camping trips we are 30 miles south of it. I will say going through downtown typically is less stressful than going around it.

[rgatijnet1]

What I find strange is that some states do not care about your physical ability to drive any vehicle. With my airplane, I have to get a flight physical every two years and get a review with an instructor pilot every two years. I also have to be current to carry passengers. With my Florida driver's license, it is valid until I am 82 years old. There was no physical exam, not even an eye test, and it was renewed online and good for 8 years. In Florida this allows me to drive ANY RV regardless of length or GVW. The funny thing is that I can legally drive a 45' motor home but to drive a motorcycle I have to get a special endorsement.

[lhenry8113]

We went from towing a 32ft. Arctic Fox 5th wheel w/F250 CC long bed Diesel to a 24ft. Class C. The "C" is so much easier to drive, park, back up, etc.We miss the space, comfort of the 5'vr but don't miss having 50+ feet going down the road. And, now my wife drives which is great. Also,being the "C" is only 24ft.-don't need a toad-we take it anywhere we want to go. If need be we have used Uber and once rented a car for a week. I am 77 and not about to give up traveling and exploring.

[valhalla360]

Executive wrote:
I've seen a lot of 30 year olds that shouldn't be driving let alone driving a motor home. 🙂 Coming back from California this past week, I was passed by a 30 something in a truck pulling about a 32' trailer. I was doing 80mph, (in my car, we didn't take the moho) and he passed me like I was sitting still. I would estimate just a bit shy of 100mph....age isn't the only thing that makes for dangerous drivers.....Dennis

I don't think anyone has said he should lose his license because he turned 80. But the fact is if you take an average of 100 - 30yr old drivers and 100- 80yr old drivers, the 30yr old drivers will have far better response times...in particular the lower variance the groups is likely to be wildly worse for the 80yr olds, so it's far more effective to be watching and assessing this group if the goal is to get dangerous drivers off the road.

If the OP's cognitive and physical abilities are still good, no reason to take his license away but if they are seriously degraded, I would hope he does the right thing and stops driving on his own before someone has to force him.

As far as a guy doing 100mph towing a 30ft TT, there is a different mechanism to address that. Get caught by a cop and that's likely to pull a reckless driving ticket. Very expensive and is frequently a prelude to losing your license.

[Executive45]

I've seen a lot of 30 year olds that shouldn't be driving let alone driving a motor home. 🙂 Coming back from California this past week, I was passed by a 30 something in a truck pulling about a 32' trailer. I was doing 80mph, (in my car, we didn't take the moho) and he passed me like I was sitting still. I would estimate just a bit shy of 100mph....age isn't the only thing that makes for dangerous drivers.....Dennis

[FloridaRosebud]

valhalla360 wrote:

goufgators wrote:
I know the decision is mine and mine alone.

Some thoughts (trying to be honest...not mean):

While you may technically be able to keep possession of a license, that doesn't make it your decision alone (or at least it shouldn't)...if you have an accident and someone else is injured...

But the fact that you are asking the question is a good sign. While there are certainly trends that follow age, capability isn't solely based on age.

The problem with self assessing is you have a strong bias, since you want to get out there, so I wouldn't trust your self assessment.

As you are suggesting driving "less congested routes", it suggests to me that you really don't trust your driving skills anymore.

Particularly in rural areas, I would recommend not driving back roads to avoid freeways. Non-freeways literally have 50 times the crash rate as they are not designed to be as forgiving, so it's a false sense of safety.

I think the idea of an independent 3rd party (such as a truck driving school or even a general driving school) give you an on the road driving test is a good idea. Make it very clear that you want honesty and not just a rubber stamp.

Honestly, at some age, it should become a standard that everyone has to pass an on the road test periodically to keep a license. It's hard to lose that independence but I've seen enough scary drivers who simply don't have the capability anymore.

These are good points. I agree, the fact that you are asking the question means you are aware, which is way good. So this is how I got my mother-in-law to give up the keys. Might sound stupid, but i asked her to stomp her foot on the ground. She didn't understand why. So I showed her, and she did it - BUT - it took her probably at least a second to pick her foot up and stomp it to the floor. I showed her how fast I did it compared to her. I then asked her what if a child or a dog ran out in front of her....she wouldn't have been able to slam on the brake fast enough. That afternoon she gave my wife the keys and never drove again. So for me, this issue is about 2 things; judgement and reflexes. If you still have both you're probably OK. If one is lacking, that could be an issue.

My 2 cents....

Al

[azdryheat]

Our drivers at work are all CDL rated yet, as they age, it becomes readily apparent that they're losing their edge. Many don't realize there's a problem until they scratch and dent some very expensive paint. It's a sad thing to watch.

[the_bear_II]

I began to notice dents and scratches on my Dad's van and motorhome when I would visit him as he approached 80. I rode with him one day in his van and he pulled out onto a highway as another car was approaching. Luckily the car had room to go by my dad's van. It was too close I always drove from that point on. Long story short his driving got to the point where we as a family decided to take away his drivers license. He came to live with us and was diagnosed with dementia. We would take him on our RV trips.

An alternative would be for you to hire someone to move your RV to where you want to stay. We have met several older RVers who do this. They feel they have gotten unsure of their driving to take a chance in their RV.

[valhalla360]

goufgators wrote:
I know the decision is mine and mine alone.

Some thoughts (trying to be honest...not mean):

While you may technically be able to keep possession of a license, that doesn't make it your decision alone (or at least it shouldn't)...if you have an accident and someone else is injured...

But the fact that you are asking the question is a good sign. While there are certainly trends that follow age, capability isn't solely based on age.

The problem with self assessing is you have a strong bias, since you want to get out there, so I wouldn't trust your self assessment.

As you are suggesting driving "less congested routes", it suggests to me that you really don't trust your driving skills anymore.

Particularly in rural areas, I would recommend not driving back roads to avoid freeways. Non-freeways literally have 50 times the crash rate as they are not designed to be as forgiving, so it's a false sense of safety.

I think the idea of an independent 3rd party (such as a truck driving school or even a general driving school) give you an on the road driving test is a good idea. Make it very clear that you want honesty and not just a rubber stamp.

Honestly, at some age, it should become a standard that everyone has to pass an on the road test periodically to keep a license. It's hard to lose that independence but I've seen enough scary drivers who simply don't have the capability anymore.

[ferndaleflyer]

Here we go. I will be 80 in 3 weeks and have driven the DP over 10,000mi in the past year towing a 30ft enclosed trailer or a car on a dolly. The enclosed holds my race car which I also drive. Took that mess to West Palm Beach over New Years. We are leaving Monday to go back to Fl for a couple of weeks. So far myself or anyone else has noticed any driving skills dropping off but when they do I will park it. For now I will carry on.

[BB_TX]

Someone who has never met you can not offer any help with your personal situation. A combination of your own opinion and that of a close relative or close friend who has observed your driving and willing to give you their honest opinion, and whose opinion you are willing to believe, is the only way to make a valid decision. I had a brother in law, now deceased, whose driving at under 60 yrs of age I would be scared of. But my mother and my mother in law both were good drivers into their late 80's.

[Ivylog]

Sorry to hear you may have given it up prematurely. Some close, second opinions may be helpful. I’m not sure a smaller rig or back roads are safer.

My role model is an 84-year-old couple that bought a brand new 42’ motorhome and drove across country to a rally in 4 days. She was limping because of breaking her leg snow skiing the previous winter.

My question is what else do you do activity wise to help remain sharp? Not into video games but that may help your reflexes?

Guess I’m one of the luckier ones ..at 77 I still fly our plane but I usually take another pilot with me, not to fly the airplane as long as I am still alive but if I croak, it would be a shame to ruin a perfectly good airplane. I still run my heavy equipment that takes pretty good eye hand coordination and quick reflexes. 12+ hours behind the wheel are still easy, so I have no plans of going smaller or giving it up anytime soon.

*PS: I still go straight through Atlanta.