Elderly drivers, what age should you stop?

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.