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Lots of people like it when someone validates their opinions. Many people ask but really don't want to hear anything that is different than their opinions.
If you are waiting for a self driving car, plan on a long wait. First thing that is needed is a reliable GPS. How is that working for you? I periodically cannot get mine to connect or I drive near a hill or on a tree lined road and it stops working. Periodically the gps gets confused and thinks I am driving on an adjacent road.
Google wants to be considered state of art, innovative. Their driverless cars all have a human driver on board. If the driver does not take over fast enough, there can be an accident as recently occurred.
Validating my opinion has nothing to do with it (I have no problem whatsoever with people expressing a contrary opinion). I even mentioned as much in my thread ("I'm sure there are some people that really enjoy driving, especially if you have a convertible, with the top down on a nice day").
I was merely giving a different perspective. I'd be surprised if we don't have driver-less cars within the next 5 years (but perhaps I'm optimistic). In the meantime, there are still the other options that I mentioned, which for me, would be very welcoming. No driving and no parking for the rest of my life would suit me just fine (I just can't afford it). And the response time with the current technology available is nothing short of astounding.
Last edited by bodyforlife99; 04-08-2016 at 07:32 AM..
I understand that a lot of people equate their car and driving with freedom and independence, but I would much rather be carless and free to walk or ride a bus anywhere without any aid than what I have seen happen to several folks 60+ who have been in car accidents. Something you might walk away from when younger causes much more damage and pain as you age. It is much harder to recuperate,many never fully do. There is also the mental anguish were I to hurt or kill someone, I think that would be far worse to live with.
No one will have to ask for my keys I am willing to give them up. I planned a few years back and have moved into an area where everything I need is within walking distance, or bus. Next year when I retire (yay!) my car will as well.
Some people might give up driving if they lost their insurance. Has anyone here seen an insurance company cancel a policy - especially after an accident (I haven't)? Robyn
I asked my insurance agent about that and she said that it has been her experience that most elderly people who absolutely refuse to stop driving do not care if they have car insurance or even a drivers license. She said that is why she, and the other agents that she works with, strongly encourage removing access to the car (depending on the situation, physically removing the car, or if there is another driver actually locking the car keys away) if the driver is unsafe and not just "taking away their license".
She gave an example of someone with Alzheimer's or dementia. If they "forget" that they are unable to drive safely what difference would it make to them if they had a valid drivers license or car insurance.
I believe that most car insurance companies just continue to raise the rates, just like they do for younger people who have accidents, rather than cancel the insurance if elderly drivers have accidents. I suppose if they have too many accidents they may cancel the insurance.
Last edited by germaine2626; 04-08-2016 at 02:00 PM..
Interesting about the insurance stuff. FWIW - Florida renewed my 97 year old father's driver's license last time around until he was 100 - without so much as a minor field test. His insurance company kept renewing his insurance too. He finally gave up driving this year after my brother (a lawyer like me) told him that since he basically can't walk - and has no motor coordination - he'd probably be liable for punitive damages and lose a lot of money if he caused an accident. Last time I drove with my father was about 10 years ago. About 5 miles - and he almost killed me twice during that short trip (running stop signs and red lights).
Several people in his senior living place have killed or seriously injured themselves and others over the last 5 years or so. We're looking at maybe 3 accidents - and 15 or so dead or seriously disabled people. Robyn
Interesting about the insurance stuff. FWIW - Florida renewed my 97 year old father's driver's license last time around until he was 100 - without so much as a minor field test. His insurance company kept renewing his insurance too. He finally gave up driving this year after my brother (a lawyer like me) told him that since he basically can't walk - and has no motor coordination - he'd probably be liable for punitive damages and lose a lot of money if he caused an accident. Last time I drove with my father was about 10 years ago. About 5 miles - and he almost killed me twice during that short trip (running stop signs and red lights).
Several people in his senior living place have killed or seriously injured themselves and others over the last 5 years or so. We're looking at maybe 3 accidents - and 15 or so dead or seriously disabled people. Robyn
Yes - it is unconscionable to allow someone obviously unsafe to keep driving as though you are helpless to stop them. You can anonymously report them and they can then be tested - that is completely fair.
Obviously, from reading the posts in this thread, it is apparent that many elderly are tested and still get their license renewed along with their insurance, even when they have large deficits and diminishment in their motor skills and cognitive abilities.
And that to keep them from driving, the only way to stop them is to remove the car from their premises, take the car keys, or disable the car, as suggested and stated in this thread.
Interesting about the insurance stuff.
FWIW - Florida renewed my 97 year old father's driver's license last time around until he was 100 - without so much as a minor field test. His insurance company kept renewing his insurance too. He finally gave up driving this year after my brother (a lawyer like me) told him that since he basically can't walk - and has no motor coordination - he'd probably be liable for punitive damages and lose a lot of money if he caused an accident. Last time I drove with my father was about 10 years ago. About 5 miles - and he almost killed me twice during that short trip (running stop signs and red lights).
Several people in his senior living place have killed or seriously injured themselves and others over the last 5 years or so. We're looking at maybe 3 accidents - and 15 or so dead or seriously disabled people. Robyn
I called our state DMV with the question "when does the state require behind the wheel tests" and the answer was "Never, unless someone reports an unsafe driver". When I asked more questions I wasbasically told that it is the responsibility of family members, doctors and others who are aware that a driver is unsafe to make sure that they stop driving or to notify the DMV and request that they be tested.
Basically, instead of the state government saying "All drivers above a certain age need to be tested" the people who actually ride with or see a particular driver no matter what their age is, need to be proactive.
Actually that makes a lot of sense. My mother could not drive, due to severe rheumatoid arthritis by her early 60s, yet her sister was a very safe driver until she had a stroke in her mid 80s. I have another relative who even in his 20s was not allowed to drive due to certain medical conditions. My own husband needed to give up driving at age 63 yet his parents were very safe drivers until their mid to late 70s. So there is no "one size fits all" for when someone of different ages becomes an unsafe driver.
But, Robyn shouldn't you have been proactive, about your dad being an unsafe driver, when you rode with him when he as 87 and "almost killed" you twice within five mile distance?
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