Elderly Drivers

[g_shocker182]

Ignore gramatical errors. Agree/ Disagree: ? Your opinion?

Editorial

It is known that as we humans age, our bodies begin to deteriorate. This inevitable process of deterioration is characterized by many effects both physical and mental which, in time, hinders our abilities to operate a motor vehicle. As the nation’s population becomes older and older, an ever-increasing amount of drivers will reach an age at which it is necessary to retract their drivers license. The only major obstacle to this is the consent of the driver in question. In most situations, that individual is reluctant to give up something they have been doing for, in some cases, 35+ years. In their minds, this disabling action signals to them the conclusion of their lives, and in some ways it is. When the safety of others is in question, however, it is absolutely necessary to take this preventive step. Laws need to be enacted to prevent elderly citizens from having or acquiring a driver’s license. With these types of measures in place, there are bound to be fewer accidents and it is almost certain that many lives will be saved each year.
There are innumerable factors of aging that contribute to the impairment of one’s power to correctly drive a motor vehicle. These include a slowdown in response time, a loss of clarity in vision and hearing, a loss of muscle strength and flexibility, a reduced ability to focus or concentrate, and a lower tolerance to alcohol (Insurance Information Institute). The level of the effect of all these conditions are directly related to one’s age. It is also required of some older people to take multiple medications daily. These present a danger of drowsiness that a healthier, younger person might not have to worry about. As of today, few rules or restrictions are put in place in any of the 50 states. One reason to this lies in the unwillingness of politicians to levy restraints on senior citizen driving. They don’t want to do this for one reason: power. In recent decades, it has been known that a higher percentage of seniors citizen vote than any other age group. Seniors who want to retain their ability to drive would just simply not vote for that political leader who sponsored any laws against elderly driving. As of 2003, not even the state of Florida, which has the highest concentration of senior citizens, has enacted any limitations on elderly driving.
A perfect example of why driving restrictions should be placed on elderly drivers is represented by an accident that happened on July 17th, 2003 in the city of Los Angelus, California. An old man of 86 years plowed through a farmers market in his large Buick sedan. After the horror had ended, the man told officers that he was confused about where he was and that he “may have” hit the accelerator rather than have applied the brakes. Ten people were killed and dozens more were injured in that accident, which could have been prevented had the man been required to take judgement and reactionary tests. Just a few days before that the elderly man had been involved in another accident when he “accidentally” drove his car into his neighbors house at a low speed. Following that incident, no one ever confronted him about his ability to drive or took away his license to drive. As a result, he was let alone to commit 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter, and severely injure dozens of people.
Many solutions exist to improve the current problems caused by elderly driving. For one, senior drivers could avoid driving altogether, but this would probably be the least favored action of all. A family member could also suggest the following: to avoid driving at night, to drive only to familiar location, to avoid the highways and rush hour traffic, allow for plenty of time to get to the intended destination, and to not drive alone (Aging Parents and Elder Care). Public transportation is also a good option. Still, these are all just suggestions. It Is best, however, to make it a law for older drivers to be screened for vision problem, tested for reaction time, and/ or restrict the hours during which they can drive. Should any one person fail any specific one of these tests, it could justify revocation of their drivers license and could mean that someone’s life was just saved due to this preventive measure.
Although many senior citizens may take it personally, they need to know that it is in their best interest for them to stop driving. This can be done by family members in an intervention, or by having the elderly driver’s situation reported to the state DMV. In an even simpler and desperate situation, it may be necessary to take the keys away from the driver, or to disable their car in some way. Whatever it takes, it is important to know that these steps are absolutely necessary when it comes to safety on our roadways.


Works Cited:

“Elderly Drivers.” Aging Parents and Elder Care. 8 Oct. 2003 <http://www.aging-parents-and-elder-care.com/Pages/Checklists/Elderly_Drivers.html>.

“Elderly Drivers.” Insurance Information Institute. 8 Oct. 2003 <http://www.iii.org/individuals/auto/lifesaving/elderly.>.

[Tommyknocker]

A new form of granny-bashing.

[Canoe164]

There should be more younger aged divers, damn it! Start at 8. I understand that Ford has pedals.

[birdygal]

Drivers license's in America is a privilage not a right. I say they should have their driving skills retested at least every six years after the age of 70 to continue driving. And teenagers every six MONTHS LOL

[Will Hay]

Shit, I thought this post was about using out of date ATI patches.
Will

[Tommyknocker]

Drivers license's in America is a privilage not a right. I say they should have their driving skills retested at least every six years after the age of 70 to continue driving. And teenagers every six MONTHS LOL

Wow, BirdyGal, I do not want to get on that slippery slope. This is the way it breaks down if you get your way:

Teenagers -- .5 years

<30 years old -- 1.4 years

<40 years old -- 2.3 years

<50 years old -- 3.2 years

<60 years old -- 4.1 years

<70 years old -- 5 years

>69 years old -- 5.9 years

This is of course, age discrimination becomes legal (good luck).

By the way, did you ever get your European surge protector?

[birdygal]

Only under 21 and over 70 is where mandatory actual driving test not just eyesight and rules and regulation. Where I live the majority of deaths on the road is teenagers under 21 yrs of age. Of course it lack of experience. I got in the passenger seat once with my 18 yr old son and won't do it again till he's been driving for 3 or 4 more years. Alot of older drivers do not realize their skills have diminished until they have an accident Actual driving tests take some of those drivers off the road. I once saw an old lady sleeping at the wheel at a red light in South Florida. Everybody was honking their horn to get her to move.

[g_shocker182]

I think that as cars overpopulate the roadways, they should limit the legal driving age starting with the ends, like making driving illegal to the 16-21 age group and 75>~ group first and so on.

[redwudz]

g_shocker182: I would tend to agree, but the AARP will fight this as age discrimination. If I recall, in the case of the elderly gentleman and the market, that the proper and recommended vehicle barriers hadn't been installed at this location, and this would have greatly lessened the carnage. Also the AARP might relate that the 16-20 group has a higher accident rate due to inexperience. (I don't know this for a fact.) It would seem that the older group may the experience, but not the speed of reflexes needed to safely operate a motor vehicle. In the end, more restrictive laws for elderly drivers are bound to be passed, and this is probably a necessary, though somewhat unpopular soulution. Impaired vehicle operation, through drug or alcohol use or due to age related impairment should not be tolerated.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Shit, I thought this post was about using out of date ATI patches.
Will

..or Nero updates.

[gmatov]

Man, if only it was no 16 to 21 year olds!! I'dd have fewer grey hairs, as I taught all my kids to drive at 16, and they now range to 37.

Actually, as I approach 60, my own self, I some times think I am losing it.

Tooling 15 miles to work in my pickup I think I may have problems in a few years. One of the biggest problems is that we haave no public transportation so, if I, or the gov decide I am not capable of driving I have to impose or rely on one of my kids to deliver me to where I have to be.

Birdygirl,

Shame on you!!! Don'tyou know you have to pretend the utmost confidence in your offspring when they say the CAN drive, they just need enough practice to pass the test?

I will admit, you will pucker up when you give them the wheel, especially with 4 girls, but you would be pleased no end when one comes home and says "So and so said my car was in the way and they would move it for me Oh,wait, your car is a stick shift , Ican't drive one of them".

Or, when your kid, girls in my case, say "So and so stalled his car 4 times trying to get through a stop sign. I felt like asking him if he wanted me to drive".

Or when my youngest wrecked her car on Monday, I left work, she said it wans't her fault, and on Tuesday comes out and, with the saddest face you can imagine, says "Aren't I EVER going to get another car?"

Tear your heart out, girl . But, mebbe that's me, and you're you.

If you still have young'uns to teach, just pucker up. If it doesn't kill you, you'll live through it.

Cheers,

George

[gmatov]

BTW,

Does anyone remember either "Fried Green Tomatoes" or "Steel Magnolias", I Iforget which, where the punk girls cut off Shelly Winters and laugh "We're younger and faster."and,when they get out of the car she rams the hell out of their car and hollers, "But I'm older and have better insurance!!!"

[Tommyknocker]

Does anyone remember either "Fried Green Tomatoes" or "Steel Magnolias

I think it was Fried Green Tomatoes and Kathy Bates. Anyway, What if we start taking off certain drivers because of their age, because they tend to cause the most accidents? It would seem the only ones left would be the elderly and young, since they make up the minority of those age groups who cause the most accidents. The "monsters", as it were, would be the 20 to 69-year olds, since they cause the most accidents.