I drove sticks until 2001, when I bought the Ranger. My wife wouldn't let me buy a stick because I was having problems with my feet and knees. Fifteen years later they finally diagnosed it as gout! At least a half dozen doctors missed it. A (expensive) drug or two and I've been great since. I walk 10mi/day with little problem.
I always found it amazing that when I got in a car with a weak clutch spring that I couldn't get my foot off the floor to save my life. It just wanted to press that thing right to the pavement and nothing would convince that stupid left foot otherwise.
That's all I need is another reminder. I missed an eye doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago because I gave up trying to figure out what the notifications were. If I don't remember the appointment, the phone/watch buzzing won't help me remember.
I spun out on new ones. They reduce tire traction on dry pavement and on wet pavement they're horrible. You really have to be on top of them, much like driving on ice.
Drink a lot. It keeps from getting dehydrated (a problem for me). It also shortens the time between rest stops. Two birds, one stone. ;-)
For which end?
I find the other advantage is that I'm in no hurry to get anywhere. We didn't last year but before, we've always driven up to Vermont to see our kids. That's rather a long drive and there really isn't time to sightsee but if we wanted, hotels are easy pickings.
We just did MickeyWorld. On the way down, and back, we just stopped when we felt like it. There really wasn't anywhere we needed to be, though she wanted to get home to salvage at least some of our 50th anniversary, for some reason.
Not everyone is so fortunate. We live near a city that has golf cart paths everywhere. There is a row of golf cart spaces at every store (often closer than the handicap spaces). The high school parking lot has 10x the number of golf cart spaces as car spaces. Unfortunately, we're too far out to take advantage. The housing costs are higher than I've wanted to pay and it's becoming more and more of a yuppieville.
I remember many years ago (1960s), if you had a million you could put it in the bank and live off the interest and be set for life. Interest was about 5% and $10,000 a year was a good wage.
You totally missed my point. You specifically said "Most seniors, until well into the 80s, anyway, are much better drivers than 16yo drivers." That is a direct comparison of senior drivers to a single age. Whether you meant to do it or not, that's what you wrote and that's all I can respond to.
And I have been saying all along that I'm absolutely fine with testing all drivers for all competencies at the same frequency. I have also been saying all along that I am perfectly fine with more frequent and more stringent testing for groups that have shown to more apt to lose those competencies at a faster rate. I'm all for being fair and equitable but I also see the advantage of different testing based on statistics. Either way is fine with me.
See above.
Now you are putting words in my mouth or perhaps just ignoring what I wrote.
I'll repeat: "Both reasons for losing a license would make the most sense."
WTF? I've said I'm fine with testing "all" numerous times. Also fine with different tests for different cohorts based on statistics. Whichever makes the most sense.
Point missed again. I was talking about the driver who *originally* behind the truck *before* your asshole cut him/her off. *That* driver didn't come buzzing by you. (S)he was already 2 cars ahead of you. *That* is the driver that may not have been able to react as fast as they could have. Do you know how old *that* driver was?
I quote: "They generally don't put themselves in dangerous positions. They don't really need to get anywhere, *now*. "
That sure sounds like you are singling them out as being different than other groups of drivers. Regardless, when *anyone* is operating a motor vehicle, they are in a dangerous position. They may be the danger or they may be the victim of the danger. The question is: Who is more capable of avoiding that danger when it presents itself?
WTF^2? Did you not see the words at the end of my sentence? The words directly above your response?
I'll repeat: "the bad things can happen - to drivers of any age."
Good grief. It's like you are not even reading what I wrote. I don't know how to fix that.
Nice try. I'd be more than willing to participate in the building of that specification, given the requisite data, a set of criteria and the proper resources, just like you would do while working on a project at your job. I'd probably start by looking at what IL does and see how that could be modified to fit "all". I would dig deeper in the NYS "Driver Re-evaluation Program" and similar programs from other states.
I could just as easily ask you how you would test for "moronic driving" but I know that you can't answer that right off the top of your head - nor would I expect you to - so I won't play that game.
There shouldn't be any need for me to repeat myself again, so I won't.
I'm not talking about just the buzzing, I'm taking about buzzing along with words. I can set a location-based reminder on my phone that will vibrate my phone when e.g. I pull into my work parking lot or my driveway. It will also display whatever I told it to remind me about.
Tranny fluid should be checked while the vehicle is at operating temperature. I've set a reminder that displays "Check tranny fluid" when I pull into my driveway. That way I'll remember to check it right then and there.
I set timed-based reminders on my phone all the time - and I mean all the time. I've got daily reminders for medications, work related tasks, something interesting that I want to tell SWMBO, etc. All reminders display the text that I entered. I can even snooze them (continuously) for 10 minutes if I'm not ready to deal with them.
Even in '74, as a newly minted electrical engineer, working for IBM, my salary was $12,300. Yeah, $40K per year would have been hard to take. Today, with everything 10x, or more, not so much. A million, then, with a withdrawal rate of $40K per year, would be yield more than 100K per year today and if history is any guide, last forever.
Have you ever checked your Social Security statement? It lists your earning for every year since you reported. Mine was 1962 when I worked at a grocery store after school. My first full adult year as a full time worker was less than I made in a month later. Even retired, I take from 401k and SS every month more than a year's salary back then. Inflation!
Sure, the PDF is always open on my laptop. Remember, I'm retiring in three months. ;-)
Well, my first year working was in college. I started at $1.50 an hour, until the university found out that they were subject to minimum wage so I got a huge raise to $1.60 the next pay period. I left there in '74 and was making the grand wage of $2.25/hr. I'd worked up to being paid $.25 more than minimum wage.
IIRC '72 was the first year that employees of educational institutions had to pay SS. I don't remember the details but perhaps it was only employees who weren't covered under the state's retirement plan. That first year ('72) my SS taxable income was $3. The second year, $15. So figure 7.65% of that. The third year, I'd graduated so my SS taxable income went to $8,724. Different dollars, though.
It's not hard to take out more, per year, than you made the first year but I'll never get everything out that was paid in, even at minimal interest.
I used to do 12 hour days behind the wheel. Not any more. I might do
9 in 2 or 3 shifts. Hit the road at 9am - drive 'till about 1pm, stop for an hour, drive from 2 'till 6, stop for an hour, and drive another hour or two. - but not the second or third day of a road trip.
I much prefer taking my time - unscheduled. Drive untill I find somehing interesting. Stop until it's not interesting anymore, and on to the next thing that catches my attention - or a bed for the night. The beauty of being retired.
"Modern day pay raise and a bunch of pissed off workers" story...
I have a friend that works for a company that got a bunch of COVID related money from the govt and decided to give everybody a raise.
Employees with at least 10 years of service got a 3% raise on their base salary. In addition, anyone who was making less than $15/hour automatically got bumped up to $15/hour and if they had at least 10 years of service they got their 3% raise on their new base salary, putting them at $15.45.
Worker 1 is 10 year employee, making $15/hour. Worker 1 now makes $15.45 after a 3% raise.
Worker 2 is 10 year employee, making $12/hour. Worker 2 now makes $15.45 (the same as Worker 1) after a 28.7% raise.
Worker 3 is a 7 year employee making $11/hour. Worker 3 now makes $15/hour (almost the same as Workers 1 & 2) after a 36.4% raise.
Worker 1 is pissed because (s)he got a measly 3% raise while Workers 2 and 3 got an average of ~11x what (s)he got.
Workers 1 and 2 are pissed because lower scale workers have pretty much caught up with them salary wise without putting in the time and without being asked to shoulder any of the additional responsibilities that they still have.
HR was flooded with emails, threats of mass resignations were floated and talk of lawsuits surfaced. Adjustments were made to quiet the masses but the new minimum salary stayed at $15. Even though the "upper echelon" got their raises raised, their percentage never came anywhere close to the percentage that the $11, $12, $13 employees received.
2 years working basically for room and board in my 20s - about $5000 in '70s dollars debt accumulated. Owned one new vehicle at 25. Sold it to buy my first house Married at 30 - bought bigger house Debt free before 40, then a total carreer change - starting at the bottom with a wife and 2 young kids. Self employed at 47 - basically retired at 67 with COVID shutdown. House worth about 10 times what I paid for it but can't afford to "downsize"
Wife and I take a nice vacation about every 2 years - cruise or cross country trip - help out the kids a little here and there - so far managing on our combined Canada Pension and minimum required withdrawal from RIF.
With any luck my 25 year old pickup will last me another 8 or 10 years or untill I no longer drive and the wife's 7 year old car lasts another 10 without too many major repairs and the new roof on the 48 year old house doesn't need replacing again - and nothing else expensive needs replacement / repair.
A million really isn't much any more when a modest 2 story house is about $750,000 and a used car costs around $20,000.
A million in cash surplus is a (somewhat) different story -
The Hondas are ALL 4 stroke - but with enough miles on an Acty they burn oil as if they were 2 strokes. My baby brother had one and it smoked like a Trabant with only about 60000km on it. Some of the other KEI class vehicles have 4 cyl motors - even supercharged or turboed and seem to stand up better than the old Honda Twins. I considered a JDM mini truck at one point but waiting for common service / repair parts wasn't feasible using the truck for work. The Suzuki was one I looked into. DEFINETLY NOT a highway vehicle!!!!
Chevelle with a cable clutch?? Not from the factory on this planet. They had rods and a bellcrank - everything under compression and held in place with pins and springs and ball/socket joints.
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