Stop Driving

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Crew Chief

I drive commercially and (fortunately) there is so much oversight that most elderly truckers aren't qualified unless they are truly able to handle a truck well enough to pass. Read recently where one of Walmart's senior drivers is in his 70's, has more than 6 Million accident and ticket-free miles. They're awarding him a new peterbilt. My guess is that he doesn't run nearly as hard as the young drivers do, though.

We need to address the problem of elderly drivers that can't drive safely. But, for many, you take away their freedom and independence. (Not that that should over-ride public safety). Difficult issue with no easy answers...

I am a fleet manager for a manufacturing company. I believe that when a person hits 50 years old (including me), that they have poorer sight, especially later at night. My father, a professional driver, told me that would happen by 60. I do not think that is a reason to pull a license but I do think that drivers need to acknowledge that they are more at risk.

Most OTR drivers who have problems with passing DOT exams are largely due to diabetes. I attribute a lot of it to the poor diet available to drivers at the various truck drivers.

I think that there should be eye testing after 60 and mandatory ANNUAL in-car testing EACH year after 70 and after any major health issues.

[jenlion]

"Everyone" knows that we SHOULD do something. But the problem is DOING it, politically. Old people VOTE. They're not gonna vote for somebody who puts in mandatory testing or age limits on driving. Period. So, we keep on having elderly folks in cars.

I wish that everyone would take responsibility for the elderly people in their own families, but nobody wants the hassle. When I lived near my grandparents, I promised myself that I would be available to take them to the store at least once a week and to whatever they needed to get to, or make sure they had transportation, when that time came. But now I've moved away, and when I last visited and saw my grandpa drive - he's about 73? - it's clear he's not the driver he was. He's not the little-old-lady-barely-over-the-steering-wheel-driving-15-in-a-45 that's going to cause accidents, but he can't see well at night and he doesn't see everything during the day. I wish that I had some kind of service to turn to whose business it was to chauffeur people to church and store and business, at an affordable rate. Maybe with the current economy, it'd be a good time to start such a biz!! There's no way my gparents are going to ride a bus (not that there's one in their neighborhood) or wait for a common ride as long as they can possibly keep driving themselves.

I get really mad when someone is SO CLEARLY unable to drive well anymore. Somebody who can't keep up with traffic, can't see the signs, can't turn, etc, who ties everything up and makes those prone to aggression be MORE aggressive. We need SOME way to fix that so they stop plowing into markets and killing people. But without people caring for their own family members enough to inconvenience themselves, and without stronger political will.... how?!

[Crew Chief]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

I am a fleet manager for a manufacturing company. I believe that when a person hits 50 years old (including me), that they have poorer sight, especially later at night. My father, a professional driver, told me that would happen by 60. I do not think that is a reason to pull a license but I do think that drivers need to acknowledge that they are more at risk.

Most OTR drivers who have problems with passing DOT exams are largely due to diabetes. I attribute a lot of it to the poor diet available to drivers at the various truck drivers.

I think that there should be eye testing after 60 and mandatory ANNUAL in-car testing EACH year after 70 and after any major health issues.

Good post! I have to agree that age does reduce ability. I see that I'm not the same driver I was in my 20s, 30's and even 40s. But I'd like to think my experience, better judgement and being inclined to take more time, leave more space offsets SOME of my reduced abilities as I age. But it's out of the truck if I ever have any doubt as to whether I can safely operate a truck...

Yep, I've got many of the same health issues that most truckers face. Even though I'm home every day, I work more hours per day than I did when I was an OTR driver. I look at CSA 2010 regulations and other efforts to improve driver health and safety as (mostly) a good thing even though all of the details haven't been hammered out yet. Pay-by-the-mile, I believe is the "500 pound gorilla in the room" and I don't have the answer as to how to fix that. Most of the changes to our transportation "system" that would help driver health would take far too much money in this deregulated industry...

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Originally Posted by NHDave

Some people should have never started driving.
You can't use an age, people are different.

Amen.

Originally Posted by Crew Chief

I drive commercially and (fortunately) there is so much oversight that most elderly truckers aren't qualified unless they are truly able to handle a truck well enough to pass. Read recently where one of Walmart's senior drivers is in his 70's, has more than 6 Million accident and ticket-free miles. They're awarding him a new peterbilt. My guess is that he doesn't run nearly as hard as the young drivers do, though.

We need to address the problem of elderly drivers that can't drive safely. But, for many, you take away their freedom and independence. (Not that that should over-ride public safety). Difficult issue with no easy answers...

Yes, I hope not. I've overheard too many trucker conversations of how often they've fallen asleep while driving, and woke up in time to remain intact.

As for age and driving skills, I believe Paul Newman was 60 when he first started racing. Granted, he was a superbly talented and disciplined individual, but it shows that age is an arbitrary marker.

Many other medical and talent-related provisions are much less regulated. Such as left-arm-ear-fused-disorder, which some drivers seem permanently afflicted with.
But they probably can't drive worth beans even when not interminably connected to their cell.

Originally Posted by ranger17

I dont know at what age it starts, but when going 45 mph scares the hell out of ya----- well maybe time to get out from behind the wheel....

Yes indeed, that's one sure marker.

Originally Posted by dkf747

I had to stop driving at 32 years old. I had a nerve condition that affected my feet. I now drive withy hand controls. It can happen at any age is correct.

Originally Posted by NHDave

Tha majority I see in my area is people not paying attention or doing something stupid, not agression. Also the ones that feel the need to be overly polite and disrupt the flow of traffic to let someone in or out, saw one idiot slam on his brakes in a 45mph zone with a line of cars behind him to let someone cross the road where there was no crosswalk, sure it's polite, but people aren't expecting the car in front of them to stop because there's no reason to in that stretch of road.

My father was an excellent driver until his later 70s. He started doing that at so many intersections, it drove me crazy. Disrupting the common course of events at right-of-ways, un-crosswalked corners, etc. is simply crazy-making and an invitation to a mishap.

Originally Posted by The Continental

It should be harder to get and keep a license

Driver training should be actual driver training. That doesn't mean how to use a turn signal and how to parallel park and how to score over 60% on the test a 3rd grader should pass first time though, although that is nice too.

[scarabchuck]

Originally Posted by NHDave

Some people should have never started driving.

You can't use an age, people are different.

I completely agree with this.
Some people at the age of 20 shouldn't be on the road, and then look at Paul Neaumen for instance. I think he drove a race car (road course) up until his 70's, I believe a Top Fuel team owner recently took a pass in a Top Fuel dragster at the age of 80, Howard Arnesson (87 years old ), has logged over 100k miles at over 100mph in an offshore powerboat, and regularly sees speeds close to 200. He also daily drives a Aston Martin DB9... pretty cool for an old dude.

I think it's all in how you age.

[The Continental]

Where's the 101 year old Camaro SS guy?

[whiteboyslo]

i agree to the notion of periodic 'on-the-road' testing over a certain age. actually, i wouldn't have a problem with periodic testing starting from the day you get the license.

Mike