Should old people be allowed to drive?

Post Reply New Topic

They frequently have had accidents where they hit the gas instead of the breaks and drove into buildings. I have nothing against old people, I just think sometimes they shouldn't be driving.

The same can be said of young drivers. Should they not be allowed to drive either? In Ontario, when you reach a certain age you have to take your road test every year or every other (I can't recall which), but I think that helps preventing drivers who shouldn't be on the road but they don't realize they're losing their skills. My Gram decided not to drive when she hit 85 simply because she didn't feel comfortable but she passed her exam.

Except that the kind of accidents old people get in endanger more lives. Hardly any accident is worse than one caused by stepping on the gas instead of the brakes. The accidents young drivers get into usually only affect the people in the vehicles.

I remember this one time very well, when my grandpap was driving me to the hardware store to get supplies to do work around there house. He was around 75 at the time, we get in the car, he throws it in reverse to back out of the driveway, hits the gas and slams the car into my moms car, smashing in the door of her car. We all look at the damage and determine that everything is okay (on his car anyway) and continue on to the store. We come up to the first RED stop light and he drives threw it like it wasnt even there at about 60mph , never even hit the break. After we got everything at the store I demanded that he let me drive us back. I didnt even have my drivers licence at the time, but I wanted to get back alive.
We should have testing every year for older people, and heck to make it better EVERYONE should have to be tested every so often, like say, every 3 or 5 years would be good. If you know how to drive it should not be a problem then.

No because remember what happened in South Park?

Generally, removing freedoms from people ticks them off. Freedom comes with responsibility, which means that only the ones who are irresponsible should be punished. It really sucks for everyone when people in general are punished because of the actions or inactions of a few.

Heh, my grandpa hit a metro bus that was parked to the side of the road, then drove off, and had no idea he hit anything.

Define old. I guess what I'm saying is one person at 70 years old would be still able to drive safely and another person is a hazard to have on the road. This, of course, can be applied to any age.

Young people are inexperienced, both at driving and of life's wisdom in general. They should at least be given the chance to learn.

If the elderly are unable to drive safely, they will not get any better and will most likely get worse until they have enough accidents to have their privileges revoked.

That being said, I fear growing old, no longer having my wits about me, confusing my left from my right, and having reaction time so slow that I could plow through a building and several people before I realized something was wrong.

People should have to retake their driving test every 5 or 10 years and their reaction times should be recorded and saved, as to plot the change over time. This would lead to old (and some young) people losing their liscences, but the good drivers would still get to keep theirs.

Why don't they just play Carmageddon instead at home with a racing steering wheel

link

Safer for everyone

Decline in cognitive functions (ageing) affects driving, just how low can it be tolerated is another question.

But over 80 yo nobody should be allowed to drive unless they live in a rural area, where they don't put other people's life at risk...

I am talking about powerful cars like Mercedes Benz or BMW...Jaguars, Porsche..Lexus..

small electric cars would be ok though

Life expectancies still continue to rise. So, required yearly testing for everyone over age 70 seems sensible to me. That's my personal opinion. Not exactly sure what the regulation is here. It'd be nice if realistic public transportation existed where I live.

But, understand, Florida is one of the retirement capitals of the United States.
Certain towns around here are commonly known by a number of sarcastic terms, like: "God's Waiting Room". The number of elderly people on the road is exponentially higher. And yes, most of the white-haired folks I see on the road drive poorly, at best. You just try and avoid them.

Everytime am out with support staff or sister and her boyfriend in their cars,they all think the same thing of them to.

am dont think old people should be banned,but maybe should have to do their test quite regulary once have got to a certain age.
am also think the youngest drivers should have to do the same thing up to a certain age,becuase where old drivers may have health problems or things they didnt get to learn affect their driving,am often think there must be driving instructors taking bribes as there;s no other way some of the crazy younger drivers could be driving legally on the roads.
they also put up insurance for all the good younger and older drivers so something should be done.
Sister and her boyfriend have had a pegeot,and a clio both completely wrecked by young speeding,red light jumping couldnt-care-less drivers.

My grandpa got in several wrecks in his late 80s. He had a lot of money, so he would pay off the person immediately afterwards so the insurance company wouldn't find out.

They should. But they should take a driving proficiency test and eye exam every year after a certain age.

No one under 18 should be allowed to drive either. High school kids live at home, are driven around by parents, and have school busses to get to school. No one needs a car until they get to college. Learning permit at 17 and license at 18.