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If I didn't live so close to my father, who seemed relatively normal in all other ways as he got older, and did not see his driving enough to know to take his keys away permanently, he probably would have killed someone or himself.
Not that worried about the ability to pass a written or driving test so much as a medical one. Someone with dementia could be entirely lucid for a short test every so often. Something like a comprehensive driving evaluation by an occupational therapy driving rehabilitation specialist as suggested here is more what is needed.
Plenty of elderly who drive while texting out there too. And in my experience they tend to write short novels as their texts rather than quick one liners. My mother-in-law is one of them.
And the problems with youthful drivers dwarf those with the elderly, as they always have. Truer than ever today, with these silly "phones".
The only accident I've been in was when a young woman hit me. She had her phone in her hand and eye shadow on one eyelid. I got the ticket. Nine years, and that still ticks me off when I think about it. I've almost been rear-ended a few times by young people (female) who either weren't watching traffic or assumed I was going to run a yellow turning red. There have been a few other times, but I can't categorize them.
My son caused an accident three months after he got his license. He was turning left across two lanes of traffic. I told him to not do that, but you know how that works. All teenagers are smarter than their parents.
Between the Boomer generation moving into late middle age/senior citizen status, coupled with better medical care allowing their elderly parents to live longer the nation is facing a large and growing number of "older" drivers on roads.
Problem is many of these drivers haven't been tested since taking their drivers education exams twenty, thirty, forty or more years ago.
I am ALL for getting elderly retested. However, NOT ALL elderly have driving issues. IF an elderly person has a few mishaps.. and there is suspicion of decreased capacity.. SURE by all rights ALL those having mishaps SHOULD be re-tested. There's also another group who get retested .. and that's when Family tries to claim " Incapacity" thus incompetent when they want to take over their family member's "Financial Controls"!
I've been driving for over 51 years.. and have not had an accident nor traffic ticket for over 40+ years. I don't drive so much these days.. But am still driving.. maintaining independence !!
What I would appreciate is Aggressive drivers get mandated to be re-tested ... with just one accident they cause ( after investigation) !! It's not just the age but competence to drive according to the rules of the road and showing consideration of other vehicles on the road with you!! IF you don't signal intention , then change lane/cutting off people .. yep.. hackles go up.. Most drivers here are mostly considerate.. BUT there are always ignorant, reckless types who constantly cut people off or do stupid things that put so many at risk! WHY not force Re-testing for anyone ( regardless of age) who has point deductions to their licence standing and Insurance Risks ( Ins. Companies always ^^^ Premiums ) in order to have a valid Drivers licence!
Sure, for ALL the elder drivers, there's some who need to be tested.. BUT to demand ALL get re-tested??? Nope!!
The only accident I've been in was when a young woman hit me. She had her phone in her hand and eye shadow on one eyelid. I got the ticket. Nine years, and that still ticks me off when I think about it. I've almost been rear-ended a few times by young people (female) who either weren't watching traffic or assumed I was going to run a yellow turning red. There have been a few other times, but I can't categorize them.
My son caused an accident three months after he got his license. He was turning left across two lanes of traffic. I told him to not do that, but you know how that works. All teenagers are smarter than their parents.
I can easily think of the same number of times where elderly drivers around me have almost caused accidents. Heck, a year ago, my 75 year old grandma was in an accident because she decided to turn left across traffic without looking and an oncoming car slammed into her. She swore she didn't see them, but they were there. This was after she noticed that her vision was starting to go in one eye and had surgery scheduled. She now, no longer drives.
It's so difficult for an elderly person to lose their driving privileges. For many it's their last freedom. Rather than demand they be re-tested hopefully there are family members who can intervene. Making things worse is that public transportation in many areas is non-existent.
My grandmother is in her 90s. She suffers from dementia (although managed to pass a psych test by some miracle). She is a terrible driver, and has almost killed other drivers and pedestrians on many occasions. Nobody in my family is able to prevent her from driving, and she's stubborn as hell and won't listen to anyone. She needs her license taken away. It makes me angry that my state (Texas) is continuing to let her drive. It's a hazard to her and everyone around her.
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Nine years, and that still ticks me off when I think about it. I've almost been rear-ended a few times by young people (female) who either weren't watching traffic or assumed I was going to run a yellow turning red. There have been a few other times, but I can't categorize them. 
