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Old 01-16-2015, 08:40 AM
 
Location: Long Neck,De
4,792 posts, read 8,161,777 times
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When a police officer see a person driving dangerously they should be able to require a driving test as well as issue a ticket.
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Old 01-16-2015, 12:23 PM
 
1,431 posts, read 907,823 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by notmeofficer View Post
We already do...
And anytime I stop someone who appears compromised I can issue them a notice of required retest... I use it sparingly and in cases where it is clear cut

Stopped a nice 80 year old guy driving in the parking lane at 20 mph when traffic was around him doing 60.. while there was some common sense to what he was doing he also had no idea where he was.. or more importantly where he was going
I took him to the station... found his daughter..who was unaware he was even gone...
End result.. voluntary surrender of license...

I took my dads license away at 80 when I saw he was parking by feel... my family got him a golf cart... he drove the wheels off it... still parking by feel... but without potentially injuring someone else... fortunately my parents prepared for aging by moving somewhere where such transport is possible ...

We will all face this...

I know I married a younger wife for a reason!
Yeah, those situations make sense.

Random question: how many people do you see driving at night with no headlights?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aredhel View Post
Won't solve the problem - these folks are driving without licenses because they need to, in order to get to where they need to go. It's the downside of creating a car-centric living environment; in most places, driving's really not optional.
What would be a better solution to keep them off the road then? Better public transportation? There has to be a feasible way to eliminate a large amount of unlicensed drivers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by veuvegirl View Post
At a certain age yes. But just to retest people every three to four years, no way. It's difficult enough now to just renew your license. Can you imagine having to take the test???? Nope!
Like I said, I would put up with it. And why at a certain age? I know plenty of people that drive a hell of a lot better than younger people. I understand the inconvenience factor, but it would be for the greater good.
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Old 01-16-2015, 03:36 PM
 
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
10,329 posts, read 7,913,824 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by veezybell View Post
What would be a better solution to keep them off the road then? Better public transportation? There has to be a feasible way to eliminate a large amount of unlicensed drivers.
Better public transportation would definitely help. And so would encouraging less-dangerous forms of personal transportation when feasible, such as bikes and low-powered, slow vehicles like golf carts. Someone up thread mentioned that these are used in some senior retirement communities with great success. Why should everyone be driving a two ton vehicle that can move at 80+ MPH just to go to the grocery store down the road?

As the Baby Boomers age, this is going to become a big issue.
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Old 01-19-2015, 05:03 AM
 
Location: zooland 1
3,744 posts, read 4,068,905 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by veezybell View Post
Yeah, those situations make sense.

Random question: how many people do you see driving at night with no headlights?



What would be a better solution to keep them off the road then? Better public transportation? There has to be a feasible way to eliminate a large amount of unlicensed drivers.



Like I said, I would put up with it. And why at a certain age? I know plenty of people that drive a hell of a lot better than younger people. I understand the inconvenience factor, but it would be for the greater good.



Driving at night without lights
One of the top ten indicators of DUI.... at 2am when the bars close it is not unusual to see cars driving away without headlights.... perhaps crooks casing a neighborhood...
With non nefarious types.... very rarely
We all like to see where we are going

There are many studies of aging and reaction time... states who retest use these stats to determine what ages they want to use for retests or enhanced tests

Solutions
Don't get old
Live where you can get around without a car... there are a number of these communities in sunbelt states
Live where there is a vibrant senior ride share or transport program
Marry young

I'm already thinking about all the above....so far the don't get old is stumping me....:-)
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Old 01-19-2015, 03:24 PM
 
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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Here in Ontario, Canada, the MINIMUM fine for driving without insurance is five THOUSAND DOLLARS, and the car is permanently seized. Driving with out a valid DL, or a suspended one is the SAME fine. No options, no breaks. Oh and if you have a bank loan on that seized car......you STILL owe the bank the outstanding balance.

A further point, if a driver in Ontario has any outstanding tickets, fines, or owes any money for toll roads in Ontario, they cannot re-new their DL on their birthday, each year. Pay up or don't get caught driving in Ontario.

We also have a reciprocal agreement with some of the surrounding US States, like Vermont, New York, Ohio, Michigan, and Minnesota. IF a Ontario licensed driver is convicted of a traffic offence, in any of those US States, their Ontario driver record is dinged, too. US drivers from those States, who are convicted in Ontario, will see points recorded on their US driver's license, too.

Jim B. In Toronto.
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Old 01-20-2015, 06:24 AM
 
1,515 posts, read 2,266,228 times
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No however I think police officers should cite people for very serious offenses and the person should be required to take a retest or remedial training.

I don't think a test is necessarily a great indicator of someone's skills and regular ones would add to beaucracy and in some cases impact someone's livlihood. I am not a fan of the DMV. Case in point.... I'm a very good driver. In my 40 years of driving have never received a speeding ticket, been in an accident or fender bender. I'm courteous, attentive and drive quite defensively. Ask me to parallel park....it is an iffy proposition. I can eventually manage but an over zealous examiner could also flunk me. When I returned from an Army assignment in Germany many years ago, I had to take a road test again because my license expired and our new state required a road test. I got into a squabble with the examiner who refused to put on his seatbelt. No one rides in my car without buckling up. Thought the gentleman was going to fail me which would have ruined my career. He was quite angry at me. The only thing that saved me was sitting there in my uniform I think. Now take your aggressive, tailgating texting driver. Would an exam weed these folks out?

Yes an exam could weed out an elderly person for example who was driving by "feel" as another poster mentioned. Run of the mill terrible driver? Not sure it would weed these folks out.
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Old 01-20-2015, 11:11 AM
 
5,252 posts, read 4,650,498 times
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Well, I think most here could agree on one thing and that is the fact that we'd all be better off if people drove the speed limit, practiced courtesy, SHARED the road instead of feeling they own it, and gave themselves enough time to be on time without making the rest of us suffer their shortcomings. How did these human failures get licensed in the first place? It isn't about the aged drivers, it's about those who don't care about anyone but themselves.

Yes, retesting is already part of the requirement in most states to renew your license, but I'm far more worried about the present day testing methods for a first license that have already unleashed an army of terrorists on our highways. My town isn't any worse or better than then the US average, poor driving is an American standard nowadays. Hurrying, seems to be the cause of so many accidents, you can look around you and see these raging types sneering, throwing up their hands in the WTF mode, violently accelerating around you to "show" their disgust for you, and cutting in front of you to show you just how you've been keeping them back. They rage on to the next light and the next, each impediment to their passage being a reason to become more angry each mile. These guys are dangerous beyond words.

These idiots now come from all age groups, across gender lines, driving beaters or Bentleys, even eighty thousand pound death trucks. They are the newly entitled, the road is theirs and you are in the way here. Most of the accidents are caused, not by not knowing, but moreover, not caring. How about those "professionals" in their ivory towers thundering down the interstate and acting as though delivering stuff was now a come alive video game? Maybe we need to ask ourselves if these folks need be on our roads at all.

It's up to us to determine if people don't know how to drive or don't care to drive responsibly even though they understand the rules of the road. This isn't about driving as much as it is about civility in general, a little civility goes along way out there on the highway. When the multitude of these recalcitrant types go to court the judge assumes they knew the law if they have a license. So, these folks have shown themselves to be a "to hell with you" and "to hell with the law" person, all the testing in the world won't fix this.
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Old 01-21-2015, 12:00 PM
 
28,896 posts, read 54,007,423 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by veezybell View Post
I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that there are a bunch of individuals on the road that shouldn't be allowed to drive for various reasons. I think that people should be retested every few years, maybe every 3 or 4 to reconfirm their ability to operate a motor vehicle. Thoughts?
Picture your average overwhelmed drivers' license bureau. Now picture your drivers license bureau is the amount of testing to be done is multiplied by a factor of eight. Or ten. Or twenty.

To me, the more rational and sane solution should be based on moving violations. If someone has a number of moving violations within a specific period of time such as three years, they should be required to pass both a written and road test before being reissued a license.
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Old 01-21-2015, 07:31 PM
 
Location: Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne
17,916 posts, read 24,230,378 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpg35223 View Post
Picture your average overwhelmed drivers' license bureau. Now picture your drivers license bureau is the amount of testing to be done is multiplied by a factor of eight. Or ten. Or twenty.

To me, the more rational and sane solution should be based on moving violations. If someone has a number of moving violations within a specific period of time such as three years, they should be required to pass both a written and road test before being reissued a license.
Very sensible.

Building a monumental driving qualification infrastructure to evaluate licensed drivers on an arbitrary time interval is like something out of a nightmare, bureaucratically and economically.

On the other hand, people who consistently show up on the radar as having driving problems as evidenced by infractions and accidents should certainly be tested.
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Old 01-21-2015, 09:01 PM
 
77 posts, read 89,058 times
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Default Testing driving skills with a DMV examiner

riding alongside isn't going to identify some real problems... cell phones, illicit and some licit drugs, speeding and reckless driving, fatigue, and general buttheadedness.

So, it's unlikely to even catch the stoner buttheards, hauling ass while nonsensically muttering into their cellphones, in a desperate attempt to hook up with their patulouli-smelling-hippie-chick ex girlfriends- before they nod off!

Testing is just a snapshot, and most people make an effort to look and be at their best.
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