# Sharing the road.



## LeeC (Sep 27, 2014)

The wife hauled me kicking and screaming to corporate medicine yesterday. One of the reasons was to get me an EpiPen because of my increasing reactions to bee stings. The doctor surprised me in explaining that reactions are normally beneficial as an evolved defense, inducing a type 2 immune defense to a damaging enzyme. However, he noted that since we all have variations of genes, some people have more severe reactions, being at greater risk of developing anaphylaxis. He also agreed with me that without pollinators we'd be in a pickle. I enjoy finding unexpected depth in peoples' understanding. 


Then the doctor went on to checking the declining functionality of my legs. At one point he asked if I still drive. I answered that the state let me renew my driver's license online, so woo-hoo, look out world. When he buried his head in his hands, I mentioned that it's not uncommon. Another state this year let my wife's 96 year old father renew his driver's license online for 10 years. It's not just motorcycles you need to look out for on the road


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## Deleted member 56686 (Sep 27, 2014)

I think Maryland lets you renew your license for eight years. As long as an optometrist says you can see you're in. Ironic since I'm not sure if my mother will even be able to drive again.


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## E. Zamora (Sep 27, 2014)

That's hard, the drivers license thing. My grandfather had two fender-benders, the second a little more serious; and had it not been for the alertness of the other driver, it could have been much worse. We'd been trying to wrestle his license away from him for several years, but that was his wake up call and he finally quit driving. Very fortunate, considering he could have killed someone of himself. I think over a certain age, you should have to take a test every two years, and it should require driving; something beyond a written test and cursory eye exam.


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## LeeC (Sep 27, 2014)

*mrmustard615*,


Oh, I can still see well. There's just the 'small' issue of reaction time in getting my foot from the gas to the break. Actually, besides around the farmstead, I only drive once a week to visit a friend's farm for raw milk and eggs. I'm unable to properly care for livestock anymore. Otherwise the wife drives me.


*E. Zamora*,


We start out life straining at the bit for freedom, and end up resisting it being taken away. 




> I think over a certain age, you should have to take the test at least twice a year, and it should require driving; something beyond a written test and cursory eye exam.



I agree, as long as it's done uniformly and fairly. In my middle years I used to commute from NH to Boston, and I can't tell you how many other drivers made the daily trip hazardous. So if the criteria were applied to all, driving enforcement wasn't so random, and driving offense fines were income scaled like they are in in Scandinavia, then I'd be happy to comply. It's not just physical infirmity that's hazardous, but lacking common sense in all ages. 


Actually, I only had one 'accident' in all those commuting years. Around 1980 I passed out on I-93, going off the road, thankfully not harming anyone else. The reason was loss of blood from a stomach ulcer, induced by a corporate climate ;-) We can't catch everything, but being human we commonly only see catching the other guy  


Oh, in a perfect world uh.


Peace,
LeeC


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## escorial (Sep 27, 2014)

just go fast dude


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## LeeC (Sep 27, 2014)

*escorial*,


Thanks bro, but life's already too fast for me ;-)


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## Gofa (Sep 27, 2014)

Looking forward the exercise of rust control is going to be ever increasing circles. I guess i have not had one careful owner


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## Plasticweld (Sep 28, 2014)

Lee I have a friend who builds hand controls for cars, you don't need legs to drive anymore. 

http://www.ai1.com/   I am sure someone out by you must do the same thing


We have a problem here with tourists.  I live in heart of wine country.  There are over a hundred wineries up and down the lake here.  We have drunk tourists going from one wine tasting to the other, all wine tastings are free so this is a pretty common destination and something we deal with all the time here.  Just look for the  car load of people trying to find the next winery on gps while zig sagging back and forth between the lanes.  Stopping for no reason, backing up because the missed the turn, every day stuff here in the Finger Lakes


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## E. Zamora (Sep 28, 2014)

LeeC said:


> We start out life straining at the bit for freedom, and end up resisting it being taken away.



Of course. The car was his last little bit of freedom. All he wanted to do was go to the grocery store, the barber shop, the bank. We could take him anywhere he wanted to go, but he didn't want to impose. We had the car at our house while I was selling it for him. When he was over one day, he put his hand on the hood and said, "Boy, I sure do miss my car." It was heartbreaking.


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## LeeC (Sep 28, 2014)

Plasticweld said:


> Lee I have a friend who builds hand controls for cars, you don't need legs to drive anymore.



:horror: Land sakes, ain't nobody gonna alter my old pickup.  

Seriously, thank you. Actually I'm aware of the company you note. At least I think it's the one we paid to put a lift in my father-in-law's van some time back. He still drives, but was unable to help his wife in and out of the van. When I can't safely get to my friend's farm anymore (and sometimes already), I let the wife drive me as she's still quite spry. 

I have a memory of that wine country. It must of been in the mid-80's, I got roped into visiting there with the wife and in-laws (she'd gone with me on a two week backpacking trek in the White Mountains). We came back with several cases of wine. I don't know if memory serves be right, but I seem to remember one winery that was (or had been) run by monks, and maybe they stored their bottled wine in a large cave? Anyway, your description sounds like fodder for a good story ;-)

Peace,
LeeC


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## midnightpoet (Sep 28, 2014)

My father-in-law was a truck driver, 30 years on the road, not one accident.  My wife finally convinced him to let her take him places.  He had a bad leg and it had become difficult to drive, plus he didn't want to stand in line to get his license renewed.  He was already past 80 at the time.  We sold his old 1950's pickup, it was hard on him.


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## Kevin (Sep 28, 2014)

_Hotwheels_ had a great idea for road safety.


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