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Should we ban elderly drivers?
A few months ago, something happened in Denver that happens everywhere: A wrong-way driver caused a horrendous, head-on collision that killed a father of three young children.
The catch?
The driver was 89. Eighty. Nine. Eight times ten. Plus Nine.
Why was she even on the road?! What eighty-nine year old person has enough nuts and bolts together to be driving?! I'm not saying they're all vegetables in a nursing home, but come on! At some point, they have to admit that they can't see as well...that their reaction time is worse than a drunk driver and their in-the-moment decision making skills aren't quite as snappy as they used to be - especially in the dark.
My husband and I have had more than one close call with these old geezers out on the road. One old man, probably pushing the ripe old age of 90, decided to make a left hand turn into our lane and almost side-swiped our car.
His reaction when he finally heard us laying on the horn like, "Hello! Wrong lane!"...?
He flipped us off. Like it was our fault.
At some point in the driver license process, there really should be a re-test once you hit a certain age. I'm not saying older people suck at driving (even though they do), I'm saying they don't want to admit they suck at driving, so they head out onto the road and put everyone else at risk.
We scream murder when it comes to drunk drivers or someone who has been munching on the magic mushrooms...yet we stay mum on the old people?
Why? Why would we want someone who is half blind, deaf as a door and can't determine which side of the road is the right one to drive on maintain the privilege of owning a driver license?
I get it - old people get all pushy and protective when they're told they can no longer do the things that they've been able to do since before we were even born.
But, really, Grandma, do you really want the blood of someone else on your hands because you forgot that the on ramp was really an off ramp...but you drove down it anyway?
I'd rather have someone drive me to my favorite hair dresser and Bingo Thursdays than live out the remainder of my days knowing that my inability to follow the rules of the road led to the death of another person.
The eighty-nine year old in the story? She got off easy, so to speak. Not that dying is the preferable choice but, still. Dying is easier than knowing you killed somebody decades younger than you who didn't get that same luxury of a long life.
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Comments (33)
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Report Fri Nov 25, 2011 - 7:44 pmMy father was killed in a car crash last year (see todays blog about funerals and weddings). It wasn't his fault. Yes he was 84 but he was perfectly capable of driving 6 hours to Scotland let alone round the corner to get his paper which is what he was doing when he was hit coming out of a T junction. I despised the local paper for the headline PENSIONER KILLED IN HORROR DEATH SMASH which implied a. he was old b it was therefore his fault c he was dispensible In my opinion older people are more cautious and more courteous than other drivers on the road. Yes you may get irritated when you're stuck behind them when you're in a rush for something but it's the middle aged men and feckless young boys who will race over speed bumps and put our childrens lives at risk. How on earth could someone say old drivers are worse than drunk drivers? It lacks respect. It lacks common sense. Get real.Reply -
4 replies, Last reply by Feral on Sat Dec 3, 2011 at 12:19 pm
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Report Fri Nov 25, 2011 - 4:08 pmThe number of factors that can cause someone to make a bad decision, while driving, are many. Being elderly certainly can be and often is a factor (I was rear-ended by a "95" year old women, last year, who had prior vehicle offenses and still had her license and was driving). BUT there have been instances of one of my daughters being rear ended by someone using their cell phone, the teen in a hurry to get to school who decided that red light was optional, the mother with 3 children screaming in the backseat who didn't see the light turn yellow, then red, before she plowed through it..... The list goes on and on. We all need to be responsible for our own driving and one of the things we can do to aid our own actions behind the wheel is to drive as defensively as we can!!!!Reply
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4 replies, Last reply by Kathleen Reifsnyder on Sun Nov 27, 2011 at 5:17 pm
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Report Sun Nov 27, 2011 - 1:10 amI just love the way you work. Thanks for sharing this great and interesting stuff. Fabulous post! I really enjoyed that.Reply
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Report Fri Nov 25, 2011 - 9:55 amAn 86 year old lady ran into my friend's car 2 years ago... she lost her baby at 26 weeks as a result of this collision plus long term physical and psychological effects. No-one wins here. The old lady handed in her licence and was given a suspended sentence. My friend buried her baby boy. Worse than drunk drivers I say.Reply
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8 replies, Last reply by Jessica Bold on Sat Nov 26, 2011 at 1:42 pm
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Fri Nov 25, 2011 - 3:50 pm
At 88 they gave my dad three chances to renew his license. It was totally absurd.Reply -
1 reply, Last reply by Jessica Bold on Fri Nov 25, 2011 at 3:55 pm
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Fri Nov 25, 2011 - 12:47 pm
I don't think that you can prosecute someone for being old but maybe the tests post 70 need to have eyesight categories. Husband is a pilot and he has to pass a hearing and eyesight test otherwise he loses his licence. It's difficult to police because of intent. Maybe we need to encourage 'responsible aging' - I can see the ad campaign - TIME TO ADMIT YOU ARE OLD, BLIND, DEAF AND SMELL OF WEE - STEP AWAY FROM THE CAR!!!Reply -
5 replies, Last reply by Clare Macnaughton on Fri Nov 25, 2011 at 3:07 pm
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Fri Nov 25, 2011 - 9:53 am
Here in the UK your licence is only valid until you are 70 then you have to reapply and then reapply every three years.. but that doesn't ensure that you are safe to drive.. I totally agree that there should be some sort of re test, the difficulty is that in rural areas there is little or no public transport and the local community infrastructure has disappeared and so there is a reluctance to take away people's right to drive their car, however badly. It is often down to family to have to make that decision for them.Reply -
2 replies, Last reply by Breeza on Fri Nov 25, 2011 at 2:53 pm
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Fri Nov 25, 2011 - 8:41 am
I'm with you on this. i had a post penned on exactly the same subject. it's tricky. In New Zealand you're retested every few years after a certain age, I'm not quite sure whether that happens in the UK (not - if you go by the ageing nutters on the road). I know they gave their lives for this country, but i dont' have to give mine. (i'm not being flippant about men/women's sacrifice in the war, honest). M2MReply -
1 reply, Last reply by Jessica Bold on Fri Nov 25, 2011 at 1:35 pm
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