Dear LPG,

Did you know that more and more pensioners are also drivers?  I found an article which informs that in 2013 there were a reported 4 million 70-plus year olds and 200 people over 100, (more than half the population of British pensioners), that still have the bit of paper which entitles them to get behind the wheel on an English road, although once we get to 70 the three yearly check of our ability to continue to do so safely is all important.  

I know that it is not everyone’s cup of tea but the statistics make for interesting reading.  I found some that date back to 2016 and on balance we are better at it than the youngsters when you look at the accident rate and percentage-wise, we also do more driving, when the number of licenced older car drivers is taken into consideration.

All that aside I also found out that today is National Name your Car Day.  Of course it is an American observance and one that I think should go international because they have been getting us around for over a century and they are yet another commodity that so many of us take for granted. 

But it did leave me wondering just how many of us do have cars with names.  I think that the ladies among us might be more likely to have a name for their car because, from what I have observed, to us, our conveyances are more often not brand new bits of metal perfection.  We ladies tend to cherish and appreciate our cars more because of their loyal service to us. 

I think it is ironic that, on balance and even in my family, doing anything to impair the appearance of the male members’ cars will often result in a telling off (I remember putting my coat on the bonnet of my brother’s car once while I opened the door.  According to him, a button could have scratched the paint work!)  I suppose my car is more important to me because it gets me from A to B and provides a private space where I can shout or have a good cry if I am upset, without anyone else hearing (especially if we are moving at the time). Like many of the ladies in my family, I talk to mine, respect her and give her a hug from time to time.  After an outing, when we get home and lock her doors, I always thank her for the journey.  I have to say that I think it a bit sad that the youngsters both boys and girls now tend to see them as a bit of a status symbol.

The men that do tend to give their vehicles names are more likely to choose one that reflects their performance, while we ladies are more likely to bend to terms, and names, of endearment.

But this is National Name your Car Day when, according to what I have read, we should take our wheels for a wash and pamper session and, if it does not already have a regular one, give it a name to help endear it to its owner a little more.  I think that this is a celebration day worth adopting.

AR, Downham.

AR offers some information about this celebratory day…

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… some statistics about older drivers…

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… and some suggestions in case you have not named your car yet.

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