I’ve driven across much of Australia and around a countless number of Victoria’s marvellous little towns. Each of my cars over the years – a GT Ford,Holdens,a Simca and my very first car,a Raleigh – have been my right-hand man,there to help me whether I needed to pick up life’s essentials,simply get out of the house,or transport the kids and then grandkids around. (One thing I’ve learnt is that if you want to know what is going on in a teenager’s life,there is no better way than to put one on the back seat of a car with two of their friends and take them for a long drive.)
Jayne Malone learned to drive on the Bathurst track and has always loved driving.Justin McManus
And yet,I’ve made the heartbreaking decision to give up driving,and to sell my car. I respect driving too much,and I too well understand the responsibilities that go with controlling your own weapon of mass destruction.
I was 17 when my car enthusiast boyfriend took me to Bathurst,where he taught me how to drive on Mount Panorama. He really put me through my paces. When I came back to Melbourne and passed my driver’s test my examiner said he wished more people had my control of a vehicle – a story that I dined out on for many years afterwards!
I’m convinced those skills saved my life. Some years later I was driving under a bridge when a semi-trailer came barrelling through on the wrong side of the road. If I hadn’t had the reflexes to take evasive action in that moment,I would have been flattened.
But I’m haunted by a more recent encounter. I was returning home from shopping and about to turn right at an intersection when something,I’m not sure what,stopped me. I looked around and saw through my side mirror a young boy crossing the road. I immediately realised that I had completely failed to see him and if I hadn’t stopped,I would have hit him. My peripheral vision was not working properly,which was why I hadn’t seen him until the very last moment.
I drove through the intersection when it was safe to do so and parked a little way down the road to settle down,as I was shaking with the shock of such a close call. Throughout the rest of the day I could think of nothing else but that boy carrying his backpack,doing absolutely nothing wrong as he walked home from school,and how easily I could have hit him and destroyed his life.
I immediately made the decision to quit driving. To resist any temptation,I sold my car. It was hard to accept. As my friend drove my cute little 2004 Mazda 2 out of my driveway I cried my eyes out.
Last week I read about the. Not long ago,I had believed I could keep driving,but I was wrong.
Jayne with a picture of her recently sold car.Justin McManus
Someone was watching out for me and that boy that day. I’m now convinced it should be mandatory for the elderly to have their driving ability tested from the age of 75. Like a car,your body wears out,and there are no spare parts.
I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever and yet,this decision has been hard to deal with. I can’t go anywhere by myself. At times,I feel I am virtually confined to home. I need to ask for help to go anywhere and while family and friends have congratulated me for my courage,I’ve had to sacrifice my independence.
While nobody wants to give up their keys,I had long been confident I would not be one of those people whose days of driving come to an end because they put their foot on the accelerator instead of the brake and crash through the front of a shop.
But too many people don’t realise that driving a car is much more than just about looking after yourself. You have a responsibility to look after all the other people on the road,whether they be drivers,passengers,cyclists or pedestrians.
To all those elderly people who think they’re OK to keep driving as their skills diminish,I ask them to have a rethink. Yes,giving up your licence is hard to do,and diminishes your independence,but I can now sleep at night knowing I’ve done the right thing.
Jayne Malone is a Melbourne writer.
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