Driver labels
28 Oct
I was riding my bike in to work this morning and I came to some road construction (there’s been a lot going on in downtown Oakland for the past month or so). On the 3.5-lane road, the center lane was closed, leaving the left-only and right/straight lanes open, as well as the bicycle lane. Parked across the right/straight lane and into the bicycle lane was a station wagon, and peering between the openings in the steering wheel was a very confused, very elderly woman. I’m not even sure she realized that she was holding up traffic, or that she was parked in the middle of the road, but I was on a strict time budget so I just rode on by and went in to work.
I’ve talked about implementing new laws to keep dangerous drivers off the streets but it might be just as useful to make people aware of who they should watch for. Japan has been doing this for years, with Koreisha and Wakaba marks to identify new drivers or elderly drivers for everyone else on the road (the Koreisha/elderly mark is set for a redesign, according to JNC). It wouldn’t have changed my commute this morning, but it would make me feel a lot safer when I’m driving around.
I would add another sticker to the mix, something along the lines of 100,000 miles with no accidents. I can be reasonably sure that anyone with that sticker isn’t a driver I need to watch keenly, but the elderly driver who’s wandering between 4 lanes on a 3-lane road is probably someone who needs me to pay attention to.
New Jersey now makes anyone 17-18 put a reflective red sticker on their plate. . for profiling purposes
In Oz new drivers are given an “L” (for learner) than a “P” (for provisional) plate. They’re separate to the number plate, and are stuck on the bodywork front and rear. There has been some talk of adding a similar kind of plate for elderly drivers.
But I find the most effective method is the mods people do to their cars. If I see a “Unit” or the dreaded frangipani stickers on a car, I know for a fact the driver is a self-obsessed idiot and definitely one to be avoided.