What's your opinion of grandma and grandpa behind the wheel?
At a certain point, should elderly drivers have their licenses revoked....even if they haven't had any accidents?

I don't think revocation should be age based. There are some elderly people who are better drivers than others a fraction of their age. It should be entirely based on ability. I do think it would be a good idea to give some a road test at renewal time.

CeCe wrote:

I don't think revocation should be age based. There are some elderly people who are better drivers than others a fraction of their age. It should be entirely based on ability. I do think it would be a good idea to give some a road test at renewal time.

I'm not a fan of old drivers but I agree with you. When my license is up for renewal, all I do is pay the fee and that's it. I honestly cannot recall the last time I even had to take a written test to renew my license, much less a road test. I do think that drivers 75 and up should by law be required to take road tests every time their license is up for renewal. If they pass, then go ahead and renew them with whatever restrictions and provisions necessary. But I don't know how ethical it would be to say "You're too old, ride the bus."

We once knew a man in his 70s who was just about legally blind and he still went out driving every day and never had a single accident. That's better than most young people who have perfect 20/20 vision.

I get sooo sick of people thinking just because people reach a certain age they deserve to be treated less than human, like they don't count, like they don't deserve the same rights as everybody else.

My dad is old and he still wants to drive his car. I am totally against him driving, his motor skills are not what they used to be and he can hardly walk. He has arthritis in his hands and has had dizzy spells and has actually passed out. We argue about this all the time but I won't back down, he does not belong on the road. Should there be an age limit? I think so, people over 80 should be evaluated by their doctors to see if they have the mental and physical mobility to drive a car.

JM130ELM wrote:

CeCe wrote:

I don't think revocation should be age based. There are some elderly people who are better drivers than others a fraction of their age. It should be entirely based on ability. I do think it would be a good idea to give some a road test at renewal time.

I'm not a fan of old drivers but I agree with you. When my license is up for renewal, all I do is pay the fee and that's it. I honestly cannot recall the last time I even had to take a written test to renew my license, much less a road test. I do think that drivers 75 and up should by law be required to take road tests every time their license is up for renewal. If they pass, then go ahead and renew them with whatever restrictions and provisions necessary. But I don't know how ethical it would be to say "You're too old, ride the bus."

True, but I don't know how right it is to let a ninety year old drive a car. I understand that some elderly people take care of themselves, and have no one else to do it, and so they need to be mobile to survive. But, still. Motor skills need to be up to a certain level to be able to operate machinery.

Chris wrote:

True, but I don't know how right it is to let a ninety year old drive a car. I understand that some elderly people take care of themselves, and have no one else to do it, and so they need to be mobile to survive. But, still. Motor skills need to be up to a certain level to be able to operate machinery.

For people that old they offer services that will come, pick them up, bring them to the supermarket or the doctor's or even to their children's home. Its called access a ride here. Older people can take advantage of this and don't have to worry about driving and the expense of a car. They bring them home as well, you give them a time and they will be there as on time as they can.

Tony Marino wrote:

For people that old they offer services that will come, pick them up, bring them to the supermarket or the doctor's or even to their children's home. Its called access a ride here. Older people can take advantage of this and don't have to worry about driving and the expense of a car. They bring them home as well, you give them a time and they will be there as on time as they can.

Sure but if you've been driving yourself around your whole life, that's going to be like a slap to the face, like 'guess what, you're old and we're taking away your right to drive'.

This actually reminds me of the 'why would anybody want to live to be 100?' thing...it's all good and well for young people to say what should happen to older people's licenses, but just wait till you get there yourself and people are trying to take away YOUR license and see what you think then.

Had and experience earlier this year while driving the back roads here. I saw a white pick up truck coming along at a high rate of speed down the middle of the road. I kept thinking "they will move over." Not so and pretty soon I was run into a ditch to avoid a head on. Lucky for me I was watching, had slowed down and was able to get off the road somewhat before I hit ice and slid into the ditch. The other driver was a little old man, who never wavered from the middle of the road. He never even glanced in my direction. It was as if there were no other cars were on the road for him. He didn't even brake as I went in the ditch. Just kept on the center of the road until he was out of my rear view mirror.

I can not help but think about people like my mom, who insisted on driving while she had the beginning stages of muscular degeneration, even though the eye doc said no more driving. I often wondered how many near accidents she left in her wake while she was in her denial stage. Thankfully her license came up for renewal and she didn't pass the eye exams.

I personally think when people hit the ripe old age of 70, they should have to go through yearly driving exams in order to keep their license and when they hit 75, their licenses should be restricted.

I honestly don't like anyone past 80 years old driving period. Cars can be lethal weapons and someone who has poor reflexes and aren't quickly alert has no business driving one.

Supernova wrote:

Sure but if you've been driving yourself around your whole life, that's going to be like a slap to the face, like 'guess what, you're old and we're taking away your right to drive'.

This actually reminds me of the 'why would anybody want to live to be 100?' thing...it's all good and well for young people to say what should happen to older people's licenses, but just wait till you get there yourself and people are trying to take away YOUR license and see what you think then.

You are absolutely right, it takes away dignity and their freedom. However when a person that old no longer has the motor skills they had when they were younger, for their own saftey and for the safety of others on the road they should not be driving. I just came back from physical therapy and behind me was an old couple, the man driving was swerving in and out of both lanes and people were blowing their horn at them. I felt sorry for them however I feel more for the people on the road if this couple had gotten into an accident. I am sure that when and if I reach that age and my motor skills are gone, I will feel the same way as my Dad feels now however, for his own saftey and others, I feel I have done the right thing.

Something I find interesting is everybody likes to point out how bad older people drive, but I watch the news and I read the papers and almost every single car crash and wreck and accident I hear about, does NOT involve people over 70 or 80, it's 16 year olds, 17 year olds, college kids who were drinking, high school girls who are trying to kill each other, it's never senior citizens making the news for causing a highway fatality. And my brother and I are in the car a lot, on the main roads, on the highway, on the smaller streets...and the ones we encounter, who don't signal when they just curve out of nowhere, who back out too fast, who cut us off, none of them are older people, it's all the younger idiots who like speed and that God awful gansta music on their car radios that they have cranked up so loud you can't hear much else. So my gripe isn't with older drivers because the worst problem we ever have with them is that they don't push it to the speed limit when they drive, otherwise they are some of the best drivers we encounter out there because they don't text when they drive, they're not on the phone yapping to somebody and they're not trying to turn the interstate into a race track.

Supernova wrote:

Something I find interesting is everybody likes to point out how bad older people drive, but I watch the news and I read the papers and almost every single car crash and wreck and accident I hear about, does NOT involve people over 70 or 80, it's 16 year olds, 17 year olds, college kids who were drinking, high school girls who are trying to kill each other, it's never senior citizens making the news for causing a highway fatality. And my brother and I are in the car a lot, on the main roads, on the highway, on the smaller streets...and the ones we encounter, who don't signal when they just curve out of nowhere, who back out too fast, who cut us off, none of them are older people, it's all the younger idiots who like speed and that God awful gansta music on their car radios that they have cranked up so loud you can't hear much else. So my gripe isn't with older drivers because the worst problem we ever have with them is that they don't push it to the speed limit when they drive, otherwise they are some of the best drivers we encounter out there because they don't text when they drive, they're not on the phone yapping to somebody and they're not trying to turn the interstate into a race track.

The topic was Old People Driving, how did we switch over to the younger generation? For that matter there are people in their 30's, 40's 50's, 60's that drive like maniacs, cut people off and overall don't obey the traffic laws but we were talking about seniors. Point being that ANYONE no matter what age can be a bad driver. Seniors, especially over 80 do NOT have the reflexes that a speeding 20 year old might have. Yes they drive slowly as it is their right to do but when it may come to a situation where they may have to think or react, it may not happen and more than likely won't happen. I admire seniors, I help seniors and that means that I will protect them in any way that I can, if that means taking away the keys then so be it.

Tony Marino wrote:

Seniors, especially over 80 do NOT have the reflexes that a speeding 20 year old might have. Yes they drive slowly as it is their right to do but when it may come to a situation where they may have to think or react, it may not happen and more than likely won't happen. I admire seniors, I help seniors and that means that I will protect them in any way that I can, if that means taking away the keys then so be it.

And yet I could very easily see people who would be put in charge of those checkups and tests or whatever, saying 'he's 90 years old? Well then who cares if he can still drive? He could be dead soon so why bother giving him his license for another 4 years?'

The problem is some things that are started in an attempt to HELP senior citizens backfires and only becomes torture for them. Look at nursing homes, I'm sure once upon a time they WERE places they could go to be cared for when their families could no longer do it. But TODAY, everybody knows what happens, the orderlies beat the patients, dont' give them food and water, leave them in dirty diapers all day, don't bathe them, don't dress them, they have roaches and rats and who knows what else running around, but they always make sure to clean everything up when the board of health and whoever else pays a 'surprise' visit so everything can go on as status quo, and nothing is being done to change it, because the people in charge are still convinced that those facilities exist to care for aging people no longer to take care of themselves. But everybody knows if your kid says 'nursing home', they're just looking for a quick way to get rid of you.

I think it's more a skill thing than an age thing. However if the skill is gone, then sympathy due to their age shouldn't keep us from doing what is necessary.

Dan70 wrote:

...I personally think when people hit the ripe old age of 70, they should have to go through yearly driving exams in order to keep their license ...

Hmm, that's just five years away for me. So far I've had a "safe driver" status for the past 47 years. Guess experience dodging speeding, distracted kids on the hi-way doesn't really matter tho.

femme fatale wrote:

I honestly don't like anyone past 80 years old driving period. Cars can be lethal weapons and someone who has poor reflexes and aren't quickly alert has no business driving one.

I presume you are talking about that 20-something driver busily sending some VERY CRUCIAL TEXT.

lol m on i-95 doing 70 n ppl r honk... NO SIGNAL

Kral wrote:

First and foremost, driving is not a right...it is a privilege. I do think that EVERYONE should be re-roadtested every 3-5 years or so. I find that many drivers make many mistakes, it drives me absolutely nuts!

That would put a serious dent in the number of drivers license renewals. lol

Supernova wrote:

Something I find interesting is everybody likes to point out how bad older people drive, but I watch the news and I read the papers and almost every single car crash and wreck and accident I hear about, does NOT involve people over 70 or 80, it's 16 year olds, 17 year olds, college kids who were drinking, high school girls who are trying to kill each other, it's never senior citizens making the news for causing a highway fatality. And my brother and I are in the car a lot, on the main roads, on the highway, on the smaller streets...and the ones we encounter, who don't signal when they just curve out of nowhere, who back out too fast, who cut us off, none of them are older people, it's all the younger idiots who like speed and that God awful gansta music on their car radios

And just what makes that 'gangsta music' God awful? LOL.

Quote :

that they have cranked up so loud you can't hear much else. So my gripe isn't with older drivers because the worst problem we ever have with them is that they don't push it to the speed limit when they drive, otherwise they are some of the best drivers we encounter out there because they don't text when they drive, they're not on the phone yapping to somebody and they're not trying to turn the interstate into a race track.

I can tell you don't know how to drive. Please. A lot of the time, they get into the accidents BECAUSE some old ass geezer can't drive. Out in the left lane doing 40. I will never forget the time when me and my mother were driving to Philly one day. My mom proceeds to pass this guy who was in the right lane and she was passing on the left. If you know anything about highway driving, you know that you ALWAYS past cars on the left. If you have to pass a car on the right, that means some asshole is tying up the left lane. That backs up traffic. Anyway, my mother was going to pass and then this motherfucker started coming over on us. For NO damn reason. There weren't any cars in front him, the roads were all clear and as soon as we decided to pass, I don't know what kind of thinking he was doing, but he decided to get in the left lane. My mother had to break so fast and swerved off the road for a hot second (thank GOD it was a grassy median and not a concrete median) all the while honking the horn. Look over in the car, somebody's fucking 90 yr old grandpa is driving the car. After the honking horn obviously alerted him, he gets back in the lane and is STILL driving 40, looking straight ahead like he didn't almost cause a damn accident. Now, most 80 yr olds don't have that kind of reflex to avoid accidents like that. To answer the question Marc, I am for STRICT provisions on elderly people driving. Meaning that I think they should go through a strict process for determining their driving skills if they're over 75. And I mean strict.

While I hesitate to say that old people shouldn't drive at all, I do think that once you reach a certain age, there should be stricter scrutinizing from the DMV when it comes to issuing licenses. Meanwhile IA that NO 90 year old should be driving, whatsoever.

Marc wrote:

What's your opinion of grandma and grandpa behind the wheel?
At a certain point, should elderly drivers have their licenses revoked....even if they haven't had any accidents?

I hate getting stuck behind an old person! That age group cannot drive at all. They're very annoying. But I don't think their licenses should be revoked if they haven't had any accidents. Where I live, a person of a certain age (I think it's 75+ or something like that) have to get their license renewed every year. Good!

It's not just old people that are a danger on the road, it's all ages. Gabbing on their cell phones, texting, eating, putting on make-up, reading (yes, reading). Then in bad weather conditions (rain, snow, ice)driving like they are in clear conditions. Especially those who have 4-wheel drives(then you see them sitting in the ditch after they zoom past you).

As other posters stated, the best way to handle the situation is to do tests more frequently when a person hits retirement age. That would be the best way to determine who still can and who can't.

RedBedroom wrote:

As other posters stated, the best way to handle the situation is to do tests more frequently when a person hits retirement age. That would be the best way to determine who still can and who can't.

Why shouldn't tests be so frequent for everybody since nobody is excluded from having bad drivers in their age group? 16 year olds. 20 year olds. 50 year olds. They all have members who screw up on the road, sometimes in large ways, so why shouldn't they all have to pay for it like everybody wants seniors to do?