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Old 02-16-2016, 06:46 PM
 
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Actually they are not good indicators. Seniors drive a lot less miles and for the amount of miles driven in the group they have more issues. But the low milages keeps their rates lower.
If seniors logged as many miles as teens they would be the same as far as crashes . Seniors are involved in more fatal crashes though.

Last edited by mathjak107; 02-16-2016 at 06:56 PM..
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Old 02-16-2016, 07:46 PM
 
Location: Wasilla, AK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soup Nazi View Post
Retesting every three years is a good idea; I am all for it. Of course, not if it means *I* fail the test!

Seriously, my mom was retested (road and vision) when she was around 84-ish, in New Hampshire. She had always been an excellent, careful driver. But at that point, she could not remember what all the knobs in the car were for to turn on the radio, heat, etc. so I actually had to label them for her. In addition, since her right foot was numb from MS, she would actually lift her right leg off the gas with her hand in order to use the brake. Scary! So (feeling like a total heel) I pulled the examiner to the side and explained all the issues my mom was having, hoping he would fail her. Nope. Passed the test with flying colors and the examiner said she never did anything like I described during the test. I finally had to be the one to take away the keys and that was one of the worst moments of my life.

But if I had a dollar for every younger driver who wanders into my lane (eyes on their lap) before jerking the wheel back over, I would have some savings now. Distracted driving is the new drunk driving for this generation. I just hope when I get as bad as my mom, someone takes the keys away no matter how much I kick and scream...and before I need the controls labelled.

You just described my wife's sister's husband. He has MS that has progressed to the point where he can barely hobble around. The last time I rode with him he also had to lift his leg with his hand so he could move his foot from accelerator to brake pedal and back. He constantly crosses lane dividers. I won't even drive with him anymore. My wife tries to speak up about it, but their daughter just says "Don't drive with him." They live in sue happy California, so it's just a matter of time before he hurts someone and they lose everything they own. Not that there will be much there. He's pushing 80 and both of them still have to work because of poor choices they made.
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Old 02-16-2016, 08:17 PM
 
Location: Near Manito
20,170 posts, read 24,253,889 times
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Originally Posted by lenora View Post
"nearly 90-percent of older drivers reported no moving violations or crashes in 2012-2013."

Well, no kidding. My (then) 89 year old father didn't report his minor accident either. Why would he?
See? Seniors are clever, too!
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Old 02-16-2016, 08:20 PM
 
Location: Near Manito
20,170 posts, read 24,253,889 times
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Originally Posted by mathjak107 View Post
actually they are not good indicators. Seniors drive a lot less miles and for the amount of miles driven in the group they have more issues. But the low milages keeps their rates lower.
If seniors logged as many miles as teens they would be the same as far as crashes . Seniors are involved in more fatal crashes though.
Do you have stats for those assertions? I'm a senior, I drive a LOT, and I see youngsters wrapped around poles or tee-boning each other all the time...and I haven't had a traffic incident since about 1965.

Of course, if by " seniors" we mean 80+, that changes the equation!
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Old 02-16-2016, 08:50 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles area
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Originally Posted by newcomputer View Post
....................... If you mean do I think we should have to go in and be tested...... no. I wouldn't pass the written test. And I am not yet 75.
........................
I don't understand your statement. How could a person not be able to pass the written test?
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Old 02-16-2016, 08:50 PM
 
Location: Lake Grove
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Originally Posted by Soup Nazi View Post
Very good point. In November, I drove from Portland, OR to Burlington, VT, alone with my dog and cat. Two decades ago, I would not have given it a thought. But you should see all the preparations I made for this trip, and how worried I was all the way that I would break down. More anxiety for sure. I know I don't see as well, so never drive at night, but also feel much more defensive during the day. I can't make the sudden moves on unfamiliar roadways anymore so if I go the wrong way, I just wait until I can find my bearings again.

But get me in Manhattan, where many much younger people fear to tread, and I am an ace. How can that be?

I drove a school bus for many, many years in NYC. In those days, you were given a wooden board with the route stops listed. No maps, no GPS. Rookies relied upon the kids for directions going to school; old-timers knew that only worked when going home :-) I have thought about driving a bus again part-time, since school bus drivers are always in demand (no surprise there!) but don't feel I have the necessary physical skills anymore, eyesight being the first. Even with glasses, I somehow feel like I just don't see well enough anymore. And those new digital signs? Can't read 'em.


This reminds me of a senior couple I saw on a cruise. They were ballroom dancing like seasoned pros. Once the music stopped, they gingerly walked back to their table as if they were frail as heck.
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Old 02-16-2016, 08:56 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles area
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Here is the situation in California. Drivers' licenses are issued for a time period of five years, and that's true regardless of age. However, once past 70 there are no more mail renewals allowed; one has to appear in person and take the vision and written tests. The road test is not automatically required, though. I've been through one California renewal since turning 70, and it wasn't a problem except for the inconvenience of standing in multiple lines. (You better have two to three hours available).
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Old 02-17-2016, 01:57 AM
 
Location: rural south west UK
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seniors are far better drivers, they don't take chances, the worst drivers are the "over the speed limit, got to get somewhere fast" brigade, that's why I don't drive on motorways(freeways) if I can avoid it, too many idiots on the roads thesedays.
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Old 02-17-2016, 02:50 AM
 
105,977 posts, read 107,921,072 times
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Originally Posted by Yeledaf View Post
Do you have stats for those assertions? I'm a senior, I drive a LOT, and I see youngsters wrapped around poles or tee-boning each other all the time...and I haven't had a traffic incident since about 1965.

Of course, if by " seniors" we mean 80+, that changes the equation!
usa today

Fatality rates for drivers begin to climb after age 65, according to a recent study by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, From ages 75 to 84, the rate of about three deaths per 100 million miles driven is equal to the death rate of teenage drivers. For drivers 85 and older, the fatality rate skyrockets to nearly four times higher than that for teens.

The numbers are particularly daunting at a time when the U.S. Census Bureau projects there will be 9.6 million people 85 and older by 2030, up 73% from today. Road safety analysts predict that by 2030, when all baby boomers are at least 65, they will be responsible for 25% of all fatal crashes. In 2005, 11% of fatal crashes involved drivers that old.

The only measure scientifically proven to lower the rate of fatal crashes involving elderly drivers is forcing the seniors to appear at motor vehicle departments in person to renew their licenses, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), citing a 1995 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

U.S. Census Bureau data published in 2012 offers a small snapshot into the actual number of crashes for each age group. Drivers 19 and under accounted for 4.9% of all car accidents, while drivers 75 and older accounted for 6.5%
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Old 02-17-2016, 03:40 AM
 
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If a person stunk driving a car when they were young, they sure aren't going to improve with age.

There are some people who never should have been given a driver's license

I am 68. I can still parallel park my truck and 4-horse stock trailer, and I can still back the race car trailer full of hay, around two corners of the barn and hit the mark, so the guys can off load the hay into the barn.

I can't unload/stack hay anymore but I can still out drive a lot of younger people-------- I don't text while driving for starters ------- what a concept.
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