What to do with elderly people who drive poorly?

[Cheyenne]

http://sites.netscape.net/markhuffington/homepage

Not exactly a political thread, but one to make us think. In today's "Car Talk" column of my local newspaper, the above website is mentioned. This father lost his five year old daughter to a 79 year old driver going the wrong way on the freeway.

Should we have mandatory testing of older drivers before they can renew their license?

We don't have it in my state. I've been told that you can "turn someone in" who is a poor driver and request that they be tested at their next renewal date.

 

[Todd]

I would suggest the govenment start an aid program to hire full time chaffeurs for those who drive for themselves to dangerous. It shouldn't cost us anymore than an additaonal 3-4% raised taxes a year. Money well spent,

 

[Merelan]

How about mandatory retesting for all ages? Not just the elderly. You all know someone, at least one person, that shouldn't be driving and does.

 

[Barb Dwyer]

Cheyenne,

I see your point but, of course, bad driving is not limited to just the elderly. We also have to deal with drunk drivers, drowsy drivers, cell phone users, people reading the paper, putting on makeup etc. And let's not forget teenager drivers!

Elderly probably do have more visual acuity problems and slower reflexes than other drivers. I think annual mandatory testing for those over a certain age would be a good idea. A couple of states allow for people age 90 to renew their licenses for 10 years if they can pay for it in one lump sum. Theoretically, that means that we could have a 100 year old on the roads who hasn't been tested in 10 years. That kind of frightens me!

Several insurance companies require policyholders over 70 to not only pass a state sanctioned test, but to provide doctor's certificates as well. It might be embarrassing or hurtful for them to consider losing their independence but is it really any different from restricting the starting age of driving privileges? Regardless of age, most motor vehicle laws demand that licensing is dependent upon passing both a written and on-the road test. I don't consider it discriminatory based on age.

 

[*Lazer*]

Unfortunately it is one of the hardest things to give up for older people. It is a loss of independence and very demoralizing to self esteem. There are senior services that will drive people but usually an appointment must be made weeks in advance and that takes away from the quality of life. One of the reasons the elderly hold onto thier driving privledges longer then may be safe. Statistically older drivers are not the ones with the highest fatality rate. It is younger drivers and especially the impaired drivers. Most states have mandatory testing after a certain age. If you think someone is driving who should not, you can notify their families or the state. If you have the time you can volunteer to drive seniors to the market, appointments etc. Just call your local Senior Services etc. they will tell you how.

 

[Tabby432]

How about mandatory retesting for all ages? Not just the elderly. You all know someone, at least one person, that shouldn't be driving and does.

That's the only way to do it. Our politictians don't have the balls to do the right thing. Old people vote.

 

[Guest]

Excuse me but....

Last i heard, anyone over 18y/o could vote.

Did they raise the age limit?

 

[Tabby432]

Re: Excuse me but....

Last i heard, anyone over 18y/o could vote.

Did they raise the age limit?

Huh?

 

[Guest]

ok....let me try it this way...

Young people vote too.

 

[BlondGirl]

Mandatory testing of everyone every 4 or 5 years would be an excellent start--nothing moves fast, but this could possibly be a start. There are several restrictions available--just the eye test alone could help quite a bit--some people should be restricted to daylight hours only also.

I have had several patients tell me they voluntarily ceased to drive except in emergencies. Of course, all of these patients lived with a spouse or someone else who could take them to needed places. I have never had a single person tell me they did not drive. (There is no bus service in the town I work in and the town I live in takes a minimum of an hour to get from point a to point be usually-when i was poor and took the bus--it was an hour to daycare to drop off my kid and an hour to school from there. From daycare to school took an hour to walk--I often did depending on my state of well being that day and the visible crazies around. I will give credit for the city specifying each of the assissted living residences having a bus stop in front--also, walmart and k-mart have door side service. Not the hospital though--it is a min. 2 block walk from any door to any bus stop and about the same for the grocery stores.)

 

[Tabby432]

Re: ok....let me try it this way...

Young people vote too.

Of course they do. But out of the two groups older voters are more likely to be registered and vote. The numbers are some where around 60%-70% for the older people and about 25%-35% for younger voters.