What does everyone think about elderly drivers?

littlewiese

Yes I think we should have after a certain age driving test every year. Not just a come in pay the money do the eye test either a real driving test. Its one of those things maybe after 70 its every 2 years and after 80 every year and im not saying all older drivers are bad either but you have to blanket the situation at the expense of some good drivers.

baseballmommy

well what about the 16yr olds or a bit older....I would love to see that age limit go up, before getting in a car alone.

penny

they all live in florida

merigold00

It has nothing to do with age - it has everything to do with driving skill. Would you deny someone the privilege of driving who was still an excellent driver? How about younger drivers who are also bad drivers?

I think the problem is that there needs to be higher standards for getting a license, and more frequent and stringent tests for keeping it. Here in Arizona, you get a license good until your 65th b'day and only have to update it every 12 years, then every 5 once you are 65. Teens only required 25 hours of practice 0 no driver's ed - and have to pass a ridiculously easy driving test.

svthech

From one side, yes, old people may not have good vision, reaction, etc. but from other side, we all will be in this situation. What if they have no one who would care for them? - They need grocery, they need to go places too, right? Why they shouldn't have the same rights? I think, we just have to be more careful when around eldery drivers, give them more space, and things like that...

DNBursky

I honestly feel that senior citizens should be retested at age 70. I say that as I have concerns that sometimes adult children are uncomfortable telling their own parents not to drive when they are not able to. Many times senior drivers cannot turn their head as well. In addition, response times are not as fast as when they were younger. Lastly, as one gets older, sometimes one can have macular degeneration which causes the peripheral vision (the vision on one's sides) to decrease to sometimes none. It's a heated topic as many of our congressional representatives are seniors.

Paul

I had to confiscate my dad's keys after he drove over a curb turning right one day.

I say that after age 60, a YEARLY driving test should be mandatory.

With a STRICT examiner doing the testing.

MOST of you youngsters drive WAY too fast and that's why you hate us "mature" drivers who are staying below the limit.

admittedly, some of us do go WAY below the limit. Those people should be retired from driving.

Did you see the South Park episode?? LOL! Thats what I think! Yes they shouldt be allowed to drive after the age of 75 unless they have good hearing and vision!

answerman63

There's no doubt that there are older drivers who shouldn't be on the road...just as there are younger drivers who shouldn't be on the road. I personally have as many problems, if not more, with dumb kids blabbing on cell phones, playing with their makeup, eating, cutting me off, and racing, than I do with older people who drive slowly or erratically. I think the minimum driving age should be 18, and after 70 there should be annual testing for license renewal. If you look at the statistics, the under-21 and over-70 groups combine for a goodly chunk of auto-related injuries and deaths nationwide. Perhaps we need to revisit our testing procedures for both young and old.

That's my 2 cents' worth anyhow.

Older drivers are a traffic hazard. They drive way too slow, are slow to react, and generally do not observe other drivers.

I have the Florida problem (see above) in Tucson, having a large retirement community.

Don't get me wrong, I love old folks, but they need to know how to step on the accelerator. Heck, use your cane if you gotta.

You can't stop old folks from driving. Possibly we can develop better visual and audio driving aids and seating for them to help increase alertness and reaction time. I think there would be a huge market for this, especially with the upcoming aging baby boomers.

Granny 1

There comes a time when you need to stop driving, your reflexes get slow and you shouldn't be driving, I'm 62 and have made up my mind when I reach 75 that's it, I'll turn in my license. And before that if I feel I am a danger to others.

Doc8

I think it should be on an individual basis. People have different abilities as to sight and reaction time with age.

lepninja

It really depends on the individual but on average they tend to react slower and have been known to hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.
It isn't totally fair to generalize. My grandma is almost 70 and a great driver. She is fast and under control. My parents once left Baltimore headed for Chicago in a Porsche - shortly after my grandma left in a minivan. She actually got to Chicago first...

rranderson1968

I think that it just depends on the person.
My 90 year old grandfather drives better than most 30 year old.
I think that maybe a Dr should recommend to the state how often a certain individual should have to take driving tests or maybe even to have their license restricted to around town and emergencies. I also think that if you have been the cause of more than 3 accidents in 5 years that you should have to take a driving teat no matter what your age.

recklessabandon1433

there are honestly too many reasons why the older should have more frequent / stricter tests to be able to drive and another whole set of reasons why the age should / should not be bumped up

the only one i actually see going anywhere is the older generation age limit

KENBORDEN1

I think each individual is different. But it is true that your reflexes are slower, vision and hearing aren't as good. It depends a lot on the attitude of the elderly person. Some people are sensible and admit when they can't do something. But then you have these elderly (especially men) who have a hard time giving into the fact that they can't do things as well as they did 50 years ago. I know this 81 year old man who drives at least 15 mph over the limit, passes every car, and slams on the brakes. I told his wife I could not go anywhere with them anymore. His driving scares me to death!

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