When should older people loose their license?

Frog

When they are unable to drive due to reflexes, vision, etc......
There should not be any set date or age to disqualify driving.

Tammy C

I do not believe there should be any set age. It should be determined by qualifications. When they are unable to see, or drive safely. These determinations should be made by DMV in tandem with a person's doctor or family member. After age 65, the DMV should require a person take a new driver's test every 3 or 5 years. I know people who are in their 90's who are perfectly safe drivers, and I've also seen people who are much much younger who are maniacs.

NJ Engineer

Just a point of view (and I'm way below this age), the numbers that are being thrown around here are mostly BELOW the age of retirement. So unless you want people to retire earlier and drain social security even faster than it is already... let them keep driving.

A good idea is to make EVERYONE (not just the elderly) take tests every few years. It can be stripped down a bit (who really needs parallel parking that doesn't live in the city) but more of a checkup type thing.

20/20

it's not an age issue as much as a "can't drive" issue. I've seen just as many younger folks drive like morons. I agree with at least a written test and a physical every------years. Discriminating against someone just because of age is STUPID!!!

UCANTCME

No one that is of sound mind and judgment should loose their right to drive however I believe that all people should retake their driers test every two years.........

MARCH 2008

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year olds.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,490 drivers in this age group died in motor vehicle crashes in 2006 and an additional 272,000 were injured.

Drivers age 15- to 20-years old accounted for 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes.

Twenty-five percent of teen drivers killed were intoxicated. In 2002 (latest data available) the estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 was $40.8 billion, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov ).

Among licensed drivers, young people between the ages of 15 and 20 have the highest rate of fatal crashes relative to other age groups, including the elderly. In fact, the risk of being involved in a fatal crash for teens is three times greater than for drivers age 65 to 69.

Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two main factors leading to the high crash rate among teens.

Yvette

I have been in an accident- NOT my fault- caused by a woman who was born the year the Titanic sank. this was her 3rd accident that year, and she had to go to court. my dad is friends with a body shop owner, and he says that woman's son pays for her car to get fixed with cash so it wont go on her insurance. i think old people driving are more dangerous than teens.

I think once you turn 60, you should have to take your drivers test every 2 years until you are deemed unfit to drive. unfit such as- not being able to reach the speed limit, not understanding the rules of the road, impaired vision and so fourth

the reason Agatha hit me was because i was going north, and she was on a road going west, but she was turning north. a truck went into the turn lane, blocking my car from her view. she jumped out in front of me and was only going 10 miles an hour. it was wet, and slippery, and i honked and swerved, but i hit her. IF she would have accelerated this all could have been avoided. but she was going 10 MPH in a 45, i was going 45, and i hit her going about 20mph. (my right headlight hit her left break light, cause i tried to swerve but i could not without going into oncoming traffic) she tried to lose me, too and i followed her for 3 miles before she pulled over. WORST day of my young life. then she LIED to the police and said i caused the accident cause i was on my phone. i NEVER touch my phone when i am in the car, and when i hit her i had my passenger call the police.
so that is why once you turn 60 you should be taking that drivers test once ever 1-2 years until they say you need to TAKE A BUS!

MisplacedFate1313

If there was a specific age, I would consider 55 or 60 as a bellweather area. However, many states have laws saying elderly people have to get their licenses renewed every few years after a certain age. While this is about as enforceable a law in this regard as it can get, the fact is that most DMVs treat old people as customers, rather than the hazards that they are. They rubber stamp their license - hell, they're getting paid to do it - and who can really deny a nice old lady her right to drive around in her old people car?

Laws are made defunct by the ineptitude of their enforcers. This is another such case. Cars themselves must be abolished - young and middle aged people aren't very good drivers either. Bring in the maglevs, the segways, the hydrocars, the fusionmobiles, transport tubes and chronospheres already, so we don't have to worry about killing each other every time we wish to travel some inconvenient distance.

It's feasible!

Laura

At 40.

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