Elderly drivers, what age should you stop?

vtmoon

You need a test every 3 years regardless of age, that way no one can complain about age discrimination. As we get older our muscles don't function as well or as fast. But the decay is different from person to person. There is an 82 year old who plays racquetball at our gym, there are people in their 20s who don't have the reflexes for that.

So retesting everyone is the way to go.

ashleyisgreat

I think they are fine, they make them do test yearly after a certain age (in my area at least..)
So if you can still pass then you're safe to drive

lol it is a gender issue, young men drive wreckless

I love the irony of this. :laugh:

rduhlir

My father has Parkinson's Disease so this ways on my mind all the time. Sucks when roles reverse, and you become the person who puts their foot down.

vtmoon

I think they are fine, they make them do test yearly after a certain age (in my area at least..)
So if you can still pass then you're safe to drive

lol it is a gender issue, young men drive wreckless

I love the irony of this. :laugh:

I laughed at that too. :laugh:

marsellient

I believe here in Ontario, anyone 80 or older has to write a test. If they pass, fine. If not, they have to repeat and I think do a road test. It's probably not enough, but it's a start. I'm planning to move somewhere where I don't need a car before I get to that stage. Of course, I may forget I said that.????

luckyshilling

Sad story.
My Mom is now 65 and lives at a 55+ only appartment complex. There was a gentleman there that kept hitting the cars in the parking spaces on either side of his (asigned parking) these people complained to management and their insurance agents. The management reported this man to his kids, DMV, and local police. His kids agreed that it was time for him to lose his license because he had had a string of fender benders too and also made contact with DMV and local police.

The elderly man did not want to give up his license and put up a fight.

Unfortunately, before the process to remove his license against his will could be completed he killed someone. He was pulling into his parking space and hit the accelerator instead of the brake. He flew through the patio door of the apt. unit in front of his parking space and killed a woman watching TV in her living room. Her little dog on her lap was also killed. His parking spot was facing the building, but they were not close he had lots of time to stop, but instead accelled even more.

The man has to live with that and the womans family sued and pressed charges against him and his family. I don't know what the results of the wrongful death and negligence lawsuits were but I do know the man went jail for a little bit.

So many lives ruined. Just so sad.

eric_sg61

If I can run faster than you drive, it is time to stop

ninerbuff

Age has nothing to do with whether a person is competent to drive or not.

Agreed. It's gender.

Bwahahaha! Next thing you know it's ethnicity!!!!

My mom is 87 years old and still drives. She's the Asian lady that everyone screams at who signals but doesn't turn. We're at the point now that we may need a officer to take the keys from her.


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ashleyisgreat

It's definitely shocking how many elderly people are approved by their doctors to continue driving. My grandfather got into two major accidents (one in which he ran his car into a mobile home) and his doctor still approved his driving. He said "one more accident and we'll talk about taking away his license." Really? Two accidents aren't enough? Let's give him one more chance to kill someone!

It's a sad thing to have to do, but at some point it is completely irresponsible to let someone continue to endanger lives on the road. I'm not sure there's an age where we should begin to look at a driver, but definitely after an incident where the driver is clearly at fault and where it seems like it could relate to their vision/hearing/etc.

dbanks80

Sad story.
My Mom is now 65 and lives at a 55+ only appartment complex. There was a gentleman there that kept hitting the cars in the parking spaces on either side of his (asigned parking) these people complained to management and their insurance agents. The management reported this man to his kids, DMV, and local police. His kids agreed that it was time for him to lose his license because he had had a string of fender benders too and also made contact with DMV and local police.

The elderly man did not want to give up his license and put up a fight.

Unfortunately, before the process to remove his license against his will could be completed he killed someone. He was pulling into his parking space and hit the accelerator instead of the brake. He flew through the patio door of the apt. unit in front of his parking space and killed a woman watching TV in her living room. Her little dog on her lap was also killed. His parking spot was facing the building, but they were not close he had lots of time to stop, but instead accelled even more.

The man has to live with that and the womans family sued and pressed charges against him and his family. I don't know what the results of the wrongful death and negligence lawsuits were but I do know the man went jail for a little bit.

So many lives ruined. Just so sad.

That is sooooo sad! They should have taken his license LONG ago I don't care how much he fought it! It makes me so angry when they are so independent that they lose all sensibilty. I think that is very selfish!

1brokegal44

Age has nothing to do with whether a person is competent to drive or not.

Agreed. It's gender.

:indifferent:

ereck44

We had tried to get my dad to quit driving. His dementia was worsening and my mother doesn't drive. Even with a neurology note,the dmv would still have allowed him to renew his license,stating that elders have rights. Fortunately he couldn't pass the eye test.not sure if it was his vision or just not understanding what he was being asked to do.

Madame_Goldbricker

I don't think it's an age thing so much as a medical one. If someone has epilepsy and fits. They then have their license revoked till they are 3mth-5yrs seizure free (country dependant). Mandatory testing for everyone flagged up through optical/medical tests should be done. However, people in peak health, 20/20 vision can still drive like fools.

whierd

I think this is an issue that families need to be more aware of. Everyone is afraid that granny or grandad will get mad at them for taking their license away.

ereck44

I think this is an issue that families need to be more aware of. Everyone is afraid that granny or grandad will get mad at them for taking their license away.

Agreed. You have no idea how many people I have talked to about this issue and they know that their loved one is dangerous on the road and still do nothing about confronting the person or doing some kind of intervention. And it is really hard because when the keys go, there goes their independence. Yet it is just as dangerous as having a drunk driver on the road and most people would intervene to stop him, you know.

Pollywog39

A friend of mine just related an incident where her Mom and Aunt were walking across a somewhat busy street in my town.....they had the green light to cross, and an elderly gentleman ran the light and hit BOTH of them. Luckily, they were not seriously injured.............she said this guy didn't even pause, or look, to see that they had the right-of-way.

Scary.......

My olderly "friend-in-law" (my x's Dad) is 86. He still drives - quite well, in fact. He's sad at the the thought that one day he won't be able to drive anymore...................I keep an eye on him, and would tell him POINT BLANK if I thought he wasn't doing well anymore.

ereck44

A friend of mine just related an incident where her Mom and Aunt were walking across a somewhat busy street in my town.....they had the green light to cross, and an elderly gentleman ran the light and hit BOTH of them. Luckily, they were not seriously injured.............she said this guy didn't even pause, or look, to see that they had the right-of-way.

Scary.......

My olderly "friend-in-law" (my x's Dad) is 86. He still drives - quite well, in fact. He's sad at the the thought that one day he won't be able to drive anymore...................I keep an eye on him, and would tell him POINT BLANK if I thought he wasn't doing well anymore.

How sad about your friend's family. Glad they were okay!

I think that there are a lot of excellent elderly drivers and don't feel like I'm an agist but there are a lot that really should not be on the road.
One day I was driving to the gym to meet with my personal trainer, and on the way, I saw this car hit a parked car, "Bam" then it went into reverse, and hit the same parked car again, "Bam!!!!" the car hit it (the same parked car a third time) BAmmmmmmm!!!!! I watched the whole thing, and was stunned. Then 2 very elderly ladies got out of the car, and I was watching the whole time, hoping that they would do the right thing (call the police, try to find the owner of the car, etc.) As I was sitting there I memorized the license plate number and called my husband, asking him to write it down and if it wasn't reported, I was going to report it. The passenger of the car, walked up to my car, screaming at me, "What are you waiting on, what do you want?" I thought that I had better drive away for fear that they would attack my car. My husband told me that it was reported. The next day, I drove on the same street, and all of the cars that were parked on the street were partially parked on the sidewalk (2 wheels)--I guess to give those old ladies extra room to get by. Anyway, I hope that these ladies are no longer driving if they can't drive by a parked car.

EllenKay63

A lot of old people need to be able to drive. They don't have family who can take them to the doctor or to the store during the week. I live in sort of a rural area where buses and taxis aren't available. NOW having said that. I hate:mad: slow drivers that drive 10 miles below the speed limit, or people (of all ages i.e. texting) weaving all over the road. If I'm driving get out of my way so I can get to where I'm going.

smantha32

I have a relative that that is 78yo. Last year he drove his automatic car into a van in a supermarket car park (mistaking the accelerator pedal for the brake) the poor guy was sitting eating his sammies in his van.

The same relative wanted to reverse his car off his driveway so the window cleaner could get to do his cleaning, and he drove into the bin and luckily it cushioned the impact of him driving into the front of the house!

If going on a long journey he only drives maybe 2 miles to get a bus, or he drives to the doctors, but I am seriously worried about him causing a major accident.

The relative has recently been passed by his doctor to carry on driving :noway:

I see many old people trudging along in cars, people overtaking because they are stuck behind them.

In your opinion, should there be an age limit on when your licence should finish, pretty much the same as the one when you are allowed to drive?

I think it's more related to the person than their age. Your relative has pretty much proved he should hang it up. Unfortunately because of that doctor, he might do some real damage before he's forced to.

I had an old guy drive into my side once.. he made a left turn from the center lane... right into me. He couldn't even see well enough to find his license, and he had me look through his wallet to find all the cards he needed. After it was all said and done, and we drove away, I let him get a bit ahead of me, and sure enough he did the exact same thing... another left turn from the center lane.

toutmonpossible

I would use "older," not "elderly," at least if you actually want a response from mature drivers.

peachcats

Who cares?
Half+ the people I see under 35 are texting while driving.

JDMarlowe

I dont think it should be a cetain age.... but the older you get, i think they should re-test more often to make sure the person is still capable of driving safely.