Should older drivers be allowed to drive?

fire4511

Many older drivers can drive very well. I know some who are in their late 70s who drive with no problems at all. More accidents are caused by young drivers than older ones.

Rather than trying to stop older folks from driving, how about requiring all drivers under 25 to be off the road between 9 pm and 4 am? That is when most young people are arrested for DWI, so we should punish all for the actions of some.

That is what you want to do when you set an arbitrary age for people to stop driving or require then to take more tests.

Fred C

Go away with your rampant agism!
People like you just want your parents and grandparents to stop spending what you believe is your inheritance! Old people who are not capable of driving safely need their licences pulled, but it has nothing to do with age. There are people who are safe drivers into their 90s. There are people who are useless behind the wheel in their 20s. If somebody is a bad driver at 70, chances are pretty much 100% he/she was a bad driver at 30, just lucky. I am 62, and I would bet a million dollars I can get higher marks on any road test than you, especially if part of it is on the track testing accident avoidance and safety manoeuvres, the stuff young people usually don't have the patience to learn. Can you do a 270 degree 4-wheel drift to get out of a deadly accident situation? I can. Do you know how to threshold brake on ice? I do. Do you know how to do a J-turn in a front-wheel drive car with standard transmission? I do.
As a matter of fact, if you wanted to learn the above, I could teach you, except you would probably be embarassed to admit you learned something of importance from an "old guy".
If you are concerned with age being an indicator of whether or not a person should have a licence, I suggest nobody under 21 should be allowed a licence.
What driver under 21 can pay insurance rates as low as me, I get full discount for a reason. My father-in-law drive until he got sick at 84, and received full discounts for a reason. My dad, the same. I had an aunt drive until she was 88, full discounts. Most seniors now when it is time to hang it up.
If you pay attention, you will notice any time a senior has a bad accident, it makes the news all over North America, any time a young person has a bad accident, it only makes the news in the local area, unless he kills more than 5 people.
Look at professional drivers, those truckers that bring you everything you eat, wear, sit on, watch, etc. The group with the highest average safety rating is the 60 to 70 year old group, because they don't have the kiddie sense of invincibility, but they do have the experience, and the wisdom that comes with it.
Insurance companies have records going back a long time before you were born that shows senior drivers, on the whole, have lower accident rates than young drivers. Can't argue with the facts.
Seniors do not tailgate in snowstorms or driving rain, or fog, they know better. Seniors do not pass going uphill on undivided highways, they know better. Seniors do not drink themselves silly at parties then drive home, they know better. Seniors do not street race, they know better.

Miggy

it has nothing to do with age but with health.. I know afew 70 year old men that may bench press more than you.. and walk more miles that you and I put together everyday.. maybe when you get older your reflects should get tested. But to disciminate on this people just because of their age isnot cool

Kathryn R

Did you know that by class older drivers are safer than younger ones which is why they get discounts and the younger ones don't??? Most accidents are caused by drivers between the ages of 16 and 30 particularly male drivers. So yes there are some older drivers who should not be driving but the same goes for younger drivers also those who are more likely to drink and drive or to use drugs and drive. Those things kill more people each year than older drivers do. SO as a group older drivers are safer than younger ones.

jdlr46

I'd rather see a 70 year old driver on the road going a little slow than a 16 year old who just got a license and decides to street race for example.

I do agree that driving tests should be given at the time when a license is to be renewed. Doesn't matter what age the person is.

Fordman

After a certain age, I agree that people should have to take a test to renew their licenses. Maybe every 5 years or so.

I hate to say it, but there are a lot of younger drivers that abuse their privilege to drive, either through ignorance of the laws, drugs, alcohol, or just plain arrogance.

good luck

Ashley S

Sorry but I have to disagree there are actually a lot more younger people that do harm in accidents then older. I don't think that there should be an age cut off, my grandmother is going to be 71 and she can hear ,see and coordinate fine and is definitely not your typical 71 yr old she works out every day and takes care of her self , crap she can run circles around me n im 22! lol as well so putting an age limit on it would work. What they should do is after a certain age make it mandatory to do a road test when you have to renew after a certain age to make sure that your reflex's are good. I have also seen this due to working in a police department and seeing all the accidents that have come through they usually involve younger or middle aged drivers especially ones that cause fatalities

LAB RAT

(SEE LINKS) Street racers

http://nsd.dyndns.org/MC/R6%20Wheelie.jpg

http://www.horsepowerandheels.com/blog/uploaded_images/nick-hogan-722875.jpg

http://www.evostreetracers.com/street_race_accident5a.jpg

http://www.sanleandrotimes.com/imgs_stock/yonImage_081208_01.jpg

I rest my case!

I took the money I saved on my insurance and signed up for a defensive driving course.

inspector speks

I don't think it should be related to age specifically, but there definitely need to be more guidelines. Here are a couple ideas:

-mandatory retest when you reach a certain age like 65.

-driver retests every 10 years

-Doctors being required to notify the DMV of health conditions that impare driving. (this should be irrelevant of age)

$andman

a co-ordination and response time test should be passed by every driver

dirtytricksracing@sbcglobal.net

As much as young teenagers that talk on their phones and text and anything else they can think of doing while driving,.

UCANTCME

All drivers need to be retested every two years........."all drivers".

RaRa

I think at certain ages, the a road test should be mandatory. There are elderly drivers out there that are still good drivers, but others should have their license taken.

Ms.DamianMcGinty11/01/08-3/22/09

No, if someone is above the age of 75, then I do not think they should continue to drive.
First of all, they can cause accidents because they do not see where they are going, and they sometimes cannot hear. Also, they drive rather slow, causing traffic, which no one enjoys. [;

dusty w

no because they start to loose hearing and eye sight it would just be chaos on the road.

Live to ride

I think that everybody at age 70 should be retested for a drivers license. To many incidents occur with elderly people. We had an older lady where i live , drive right thru the front doors of a grocery store. Her story was she thought she hit the brake , but hit the gas pedal. Good thing nobody got hurt . RETEST THE ELDERLY AT AGE 70

poopsiepoo

well i believe that there should be a new law that forbids anyone over the age of 65 years old to ever have there license renewed and drive again!!!! its just the way it should be! your perception on everything is not the same , it is a danger to every driver on the roads, there is plenty of senior buses to pick you up and family members to take you around you do not ever need to be on the road. life is scary enough without worrying about the elderly thats on 10 different meds or more and wearing glasses with poor sight and poor everything else on our roads.they will hate it but you have to deal with it when i turn 65 im turning mine into the dmv. even if it seems like i can drive great its not true your just to old!!!!!

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