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I know the stereotype and sorry to offend some people are that women and oriental people can’t drive but has anyone takin the time to watch how the elderly drive? Most of the time I feel like their napping at the wheel? I’m all for mandatory testing for the elderly every year.
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
12 Comments
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Testing should be mandatory anyway no matter how old you are. If you are 16 to 25 years you should be tested everyother year, 25 to 60 you should be tested when you renew your liscense (every 5 years) and the elderly 60+ should be tested yearly. Tests should be both written and practical. It’s not only speeding young punks and slow pokey geriatrics who need to be tested, everyone else should be tested regularly as well. there are way too many idiots on the road who WOULD NOT BE if this were the case…and hey, if I’m not up to snuff, too bad for me, I’ll take one for the team.
I am also in favour of periodic retesting. But you can’t just say people of a certain age have to be tested on a different schedule than any other age group. The Charter prohibits it. A possible solution might be that anyone who gets below a certain score on the test has to be tested yearly until the score improves. And if the poor score is due to the effects of age, it is unlikely to get better. Also, fail the test, no license.
Yeah…that charter thingy. I have always wondered how the NS Govt./Access NS got around the charter to institute the graduated liscensing for youth up to a certain age. One would think (as you posted above) that this sort of liscensing system would be in violation….??
Graduated licensing doesn’t apply to “youth up to a certain age”. It applies to ALL new drivers, no matter how old they are when they get their license. It’s not age dependent, therefor doesn’t violate the Charter.
To: James and CoyoteThe both of you have periodically presented ideas and suggestions that make perfect sense and do so in an approachable way…you must know that you would both seriously improve this province and the country if you would get into politics…I for one would vote for either of you. In all the posts I have seen you two submit, I do not think there was a uninformed or unfair statement in even one of those many posts.
Our political system doesn’t have a place for people who make sense and ‘can make a difference’. duh.
Christopher…Dude, Thanks ‘ol man! That means a lot. I know we have bickered back and forth (here) on a few occasions…and to be adult or civil about topics that arise speaks volumes. Here’s to ya! Cheers!
@ christopher:heheheh. When I rule the world, things are gonna be different…
@ cranky:You’re right. If voting could change the system, they’d make it illegal.
I think retesting is definitely called for, but I’m thinking more along the lines of driving experience/scoring, to be fair.You start out having to be tested once every two years or so, until you have five or six years behind the wheel. Then, it’s when you get your licence renewed. In addition, if you score borderline to failing, you have to get retested at least once more in the next calendar year (and maybe get some extra lessons, too).I’d also add that you have to get retested any time you get a ticket for a serious driving error; this could be speeding (beyond whatever level makes sense), running a red light or a stop sign, something of that nature.
I did hear on the radio they were looking into feasability studies on the new RFID capable street and speed signs…as you drive by the RFID is picked -up by a unit installed in the car and depending on how compliant you are to the posted speed you can either get demerits or points towards a reward…at least that is one of the possible RFID interactions…sounds interesting at least..I don’t agree with a reward for doing what is expected but the demerit system sounds like it might change things out there on our roads. At least for the people that chose to not drive when they lose their license, apparently NS has the highest amount of people on the roads with either no license or a suspended one and also no insurance, scary scary.Hey Coyote! When you rule the world can we install shock devices in car seats and when a drive is witnessed doing something moronic they get a nice little zap in the Netherlands? James, I would say we have debated, not really bickered, all in good fun my friend! Love a good informed debate and you and Coyote are certainly up to speed with good debate tactics and respect. Great fun always you two
I’m with you all on testing regularly for driving competency – written and road tests. There are far too many dangerous and agressive drivers on our roads for it to be just a coincidence. I know a lot of people would pass the road test easily because they’d be on their best behavious while taking the test. I kind of like the idea of the RFID. It might just make our insurance rates drop if the insurance companies charged people by their infractions rate and rewarded responsible drivers for their lack of infractions. Funny thing happened on the way to work this afternoon. Two old foggies in a gas guzzling car were doing 50 kmh on the 102 when I passed them. They got off at exit 0 too and when I parked my car at Bayers Rd. S.C. I spotted the same car doing at least 70kmh on the road in the shopping mall. Boggles the mind!