Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am considered elderly and just had to go in and renew my driver's license in person. We don't need a new law to back up the existing one. I had to take an eye exam and a visual test and passed both with flying colors.
Hate to break it to you... but good eyesight doesn't always mean good driving. My eyesight is horrible and I need glasses - I'm a much better driver than my hubby who has 20/20.
What is being suggested is not just an eye exam or visual test, but an actual person sitting in your car watching you drive to ensure that you are not a danger.
My mother-in-law forgot to renew her license a few years back and it expired. In order to get a new license, she had to take the written and driving tests.. guess who failed.
I'm an advocate of test the actual driving ability of every person ever 5 years.
I have a relative who is 91. He drives across town to work and back every day. Almost every day, he complains about people who try to run him over. Hmmmm. I rode with him 7 years ago, and have no intention of doing it again! He and his wife (who screams along at 25 mph, no matter the traffic or place) restrict their driving to daylight hours. Thank God!
I have a relative who is 91. He drives across town to work and back every day. Almost every day, he complains about people who try to run him over. Hmmmm. I rode with him 7 years ago, and have no intention of doing it again! He and his wife restrict their driving to daylight hours.
Why exactly do you have no intention of riding with him? Is it because his driving habits cause him to impede traffic (too slow?) - which is why he complains about almost being run over?
Or is it because of his actual driving (staying in the lanes, changing lanes, etc)?
I will have to add that my supervisor is 73 years old and drives like he's in nascar. He flew right by me the other day going around 85 in a 55 zone.
The elderly and the obese are the last to get any PC rights against this kind of bias, oh and the Christians.....not sure how the "mentally challenged" and "physically challenged" go so high up on the list. Wow, and the elderly obese, no chance in hell for "respect".
Anyway, the dangerous ones I see on the road are the soccer moms with their SUVs, very careless, very selfish with their BIG machines. Maybe is their only source of power.... And the young, foolish males in their pickups, very, very dangerous. But then they are invincible.
The elderly and the obese are the last to get any PC rights against this kind of bias
That's why my insurance for my car is around 3x the price my dad pays for his SUV- and he's caused multiple accidents in the past 2 years? If that's not biased, I don't know what is. ((Let's not even go into how much I pay for my SUV...))
In reality, the youth get no "PC rights against this kind of bias". It's so much easier to charge all youths high insurance rates because some are stupid and incompetent. I don't see many people standing up against this bias....
Seriously, see how much your same car insurance would be if you were only 18.
Quote:
Anyway, the dangerous ones I see on the road are the soccer moms with their SUVs, very careless, very selfish with their BIG machines
I think most people are very dangerous behind the wheel of an SUV. In fact, many people have this mentality of "I have four wheel drive, I can drive on ice without worry."
BTW, I regularly drive my lovely Ford Focus. I use my Chevrolet Trailblazer for hauling and a bit of Off-Roading (the real purpose for this vehicle). If I need to move something really large that won't fit in my Trailblazer, I borrow my father's Durango. I know how to handle SUV's and trucks; I know they're not invincible: I don't drive aggressively.
Why exactly do you have no intention of riding with him? Is it because his driving habits cause him to impede traffic (too slow?) - which is why he complains about almost being run over?
Or is it because of his actual driving (staying in the lanes, changing lanes, etc)?
No, he tends to run up on stop signs, red traffic lights, the car in front etc. He recently had cataract removal surgery, so maybe that helps.
I think the most dangerous driver is a teen-age or young adult, talking on a cell phone, with passengers. A couple of weeks ago in Alabama, a teen-ager with 6 (yes, 6, total of 7 in the car) fellow cheerleaders ran off a road, killing herself and several riders. She was apparently on her phone...nobody was wearing their seatbelt.
Which is why they should be evaluated on a case by case basis?
Agreed. My grandfather drove until he was 75. Now my grandfather was far from the average 75 year old guy. He lived to be 102 years old. Up until his last month of life he had it all together. Growing up this old man routinely took his grand children on 3 to 4 mile hikes picking berries.
I think a retest after 62 years of age is not unreasonable. But then I have no issue with a retest before then. I think we all have suffered following a very senior citizen weaving down the road riding their brakes doing 25mph in a 50 mph zone. I once followed an elderly woman. At first I thought no one was behind the wheel. I passed her and saw that she couldnt see over the wheel and was looking through the bottom cornor of her windshield. Now that was an accident waiting to happen.
A few years ago a friend of mine got t-boned by an elderly lady. The accident totalled both cars and, horribly, broke my friend's back. The elderly lady was fine.
The family of the woman said that now they finally have a way to convince the ol' biddy to give up her license. It was just too awkward to bring up before.
I think its simple. You test. It is completely disciminatory to revoke a license based on age. Teenagers cause far more fatalities than senior citizens. Should we ban all teens from having licenses just because some are irresponsible? No.
Test them, and possibly shorten their dates between renewals so they are tested at least once every 2 years. My grandfather is 87 and drives to the store 3 times a week and to church once a week. He drives just fine and is very active in a lot of things. Still spends 4-5 hours per day in his yard doing manual labor keeping his flower beds and trees up. He only drives during the day due to night time vision issues, but then again, he is usually asleep at dark! lol.
So, what we see is a group of instances dealing with good elderly driving and poor elderly driving - along with good and poor teenage driving, and good and bad middle-age drivers.
Could it be that no matter what your age - you could still be a danger to everyone around you?
Cellphones - whether hands free or hands on - take away your focus on the road. MythBusters even proved that driving while talking on a phone (they used bluetooth and holding to your ear) is actually worse than driving drunk (which they did, too)
Peer Pressure - since the rate of teenagers in high school with jobs and cars is a lot lower than having only one or neither - teenagers and young adults tend to drive with more passengers on a frequent basis. And, if all passengers pitch in for gas, takes a lot of strain off the driver.
Size - As you get older, most people start getting shorter. Osteoporosis is a big offender on turning once 5'6" tall women into 4'11 who can't see over the wheel. Not to mention that from all the years of improper posture has taken a toll - so we end up with elderly looking through the steering wheel.
Vehicle Size - Right now, the big push amongst the middle-aged is "The Biggest Baddest on the Road", an SUV. However, people want to drive their Hummers and other big vehicles like a car. They don't realize that they might be right on the line or right over the line in traffic - and over half the time, anything bigger than an expedition is parked like a toddler did it. And each new vehicle release, SUVs are getting bigger.
So, bad driving and good driving occurs in all age groups. What is the fair thing to do to try and cut down on dangerous driving? Here's a list:
- Special license if you purchase a vehicle weighing over 1.5 tons
- Mandatory driving tests every 5 years
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
