saw some old hag parallel parking from the far left lane on a two lane road ……..she crossed the right lane and tried to wedge her enormous car into a space ……failed ….all this time no blinker. and who the hell tries to cross a lane of traffic to parallel park? If you’re in the wrong lane, switch lanes first…….she cut off a bunch of cars and almost caused an accident…..
—no driving after 60
This article appears in Sep 10-16, 2009.
My 60 year old hub unit would love to have you as a hood ornament, sweetcakes.
I have to agree with the OP but would not generalize taht much,. I travel for a living and have seen some elderly drivers who simply should not be behind the wheel of a car. Then again there are young people like that too. I say bring back eye testing etc after 60
I wouldnt say no driving after 60, I’d say that you should be forced to be re-assesed and take a drivers test at 65 and maybe every year after 70 or something. I do agree that if you drive your land yacht around town cutting off traffic and driving 50kms/hr EVERYWHERE then you shouldnt be driving, miss daisy. SOME old people shouldnt drive.
People at many ages cannot drive, and I think this senior you saw has always been a bad driver if they’re cutting off traffic as you describe. Age affects vision and response time behind the wheel. Good decision making is something that should come with experience.
I agree with Plastic Diver Guy. There are lots of good and bad drivers at any age. Although, I must add, those suffering in the early stages of dementia get confused often and might not realize what they’re doing. Right now it’s up to their families to realize this and talk to the individual’s doctor about revoking their license. If there was some kind of testing system that didn’t infringe on their rights/privileges, then some of those people would be more easily identified.
My parents are very smart and youthful 65-year-olds, both are excellent drivers, who have been driving all their lives in large cities and small towns in all weather conditions.
However, I was once in a car with my best friend’s granny, a lovely lady well into her 70s, who had rarely driven outside of her VERY small town (one gravel road) and who was not very aware of “the ways of the big city.”
We approached a short section of a (very busy) highway where there was minor construction requiring us to drive briefly in the “wrong” lane, something most drivers encounter as a matter of routine.
She suddenly became extremely flustered by this “crazy” situation, and tried to drive for the NEXT 15 MINUTES on the wrong side of the yellow line “just to be sure it’s safe.”
I can laugh about it now, but I’m sure it was as terrifying for the people coming towards us as it was for those of us in the car. She honestly hadn’t noticed that anything unusual had just happened.
It’s not only eyesight and reflexes that can differ with age, it’s thought processes, judgement and decision-making ability. For some people, the world they learned to drive in and the world they now try to drive in are almost diffferent planets.
I actually think a “refresher” course in modern driving situations would be helpful for many people (of all ages) and I am not averse to the idea of “grading” a person’s driving rights re: night driving, highway driving, number of passengers etc.
Happy Motoring!
I think you should be reassessed every 5 or so years at any age. I’m glad its now mandatory to take a defensive driving course to get the N off your lisense. I see so many people do such stupid shit behind the wheel. I’m really surprised that there isn’t more serious accidents.
What happens when you consume alcohol?
•Judgment and movement impaired
•Speech slurred
•Balance and coordination impaired
•Reflexes slowed
•Visual attention impaired
•Memory impaired
These are the reasons why we can’t drive drunk. It’s dangerous.
What happens when SOME people get old?
•Judgment and movement impaired
•Speech slurred
•Balance and coordination impaired
•Reflexes slowed
•Visual attention impaired
•Memory impaired
See the similarities? I’m not saying that all people over 60,65 whatever, shouldn’t be able to drive, but we should institute some form of regular testing once drivers reach a certain age. Driving is a PRIVILEDGE, not a right. Many elderly drivers have become dangerous driver without even realizing it.
I was walking into the grocery store just the other day and noticed an older gentlemen getting out of his car, he was struggling to pull him self up out of it. He then popped his trunk and used the car to hold his weight and then pulled a walker out of his trunk and proceeded to head into the grocery store.All I could think was wow , lets hope he doesnt have to react quickly to anything on the road. It kind of shocked me and made me wonder how many other seniors drive in that condition.
I’ve always thought that mandatory testing after age 65 was a good idea. Another good idea would be to make the test itself more stringent, not just on older folks, but anyone who takes the test. The test itself is a bleedin’ joke, which means that any bad driver can pass it and that leads to a whole slew of people that shouldn’t be driving.
I just have to say this as a quick related bitch within a bitch, but God why do some of you oldies have to drive soo God damn slowly, about 20 km/hr below the speed limit, then SPEED UP when people are trying to pass you! Yes, I know people of all ages may do this, but it seems to be something particular with older people. I know my grandmother used to do this, which leads to another “crazy old granny who shouldn’t be on the roads” story.
My grandmother was the WORST driver ever! She would always be either 20 km/hr below or above the speed limit, would stop right in the middle of the road rather than the designated left-hand turn lane to make a left turn and wonder why everyone was blaring their horns at her, drive way over the other side of the yellow line (and move back just in the nick of time when another car was coming the other way, horn usually honking), almost always drive with the parking break on, take up two or three parking spaces, etc.
I think one of the scariest moments was when we were approaching a highway along one of those sharp curving ramps. Well, we were still on this ramp, where the speed limit was only about 40 km/hr or so, and Granny thought we were already on the highway and proceeded up to about 110 km/hr until WOOPS! Sharp, “unexpected” curve in the road… the two wheels on one side lifted a bit from the road and she almost flipped the car into the ditch (but luckily it was one of those big Subaru station wagons). I thought we were goners… or would have at least been pretty badly hurt.
Thankfully, she recently got her licence taken away, after quite a bit of a fuss and fight, of course.
retest every 5 years? virgomom, you’re such a baby. Why not own a license for 5 or 10 or 15 years+ BEFORE you make such a recommendation?
Only bad drviers object to retesting on a regular basis. Myself, I think that we should be retested every 2 years. You go to the RMV, hop in the car and go for a quick road test, followed by a written test. How well you score depends on how much your insurance rates should be. It’s a simple way to balance out insurance rates and will greatly reduce the number of bad drivers on the road. If you fail the test, kiss your license goodbye and you have to go back to driver training for it. Only the people who drive like complete idiots would object to a system similar to this.
LOL. Yeah old people just can’t drive. They’ve got the “death grip” down pat on the wheel, and the “stare into the oncoming headlights” look on their faces. NS should have mandatory re-testing at 60 years old. If old people don’t pass, it’s safer roads for us.
Never Wrong, do you think we should have to retest for our high school diploma every 2 years too? Only bad students would object to this? I think you’re wrong. Other people enjoy jumping through hoops to earn and maintain freedom and privileges in this country, I’m not one of them. The fact that we have to renew our licenses at a cost every five years irks me too but I agree the photo should be updated. 5 years is fine. As for testing your ability to drive well, your record demonstrates that quite nicely and insurance rates get to fluctuate depending on your performance.
I think I’d be okay with retesting at 60 but then again I’m not 60 with 44 years worth of driving experience under my belt. Are you, expatriot?
Kay, I’m guessing we don’t re-test the high school diploma because there aren’t dire consequences associated with forgetting sine, cosine and tangent. No one’s doing to die if you can’t remember what year Columbus discovered the New World.
On the other hand, forgetting the rules of the road can be fatal. No longer being physically able to do a shoulder check can mean taking someone’s life.
I see no problem with periodically re-testing drivers of any age to make sure they’re still worthy of being on the road.
I think the original driver’s test is far too easy to pass in the first place.
Sure, it proves you can basically operate the vehicle, navigate through ordinary traffic and (barely) parallel park.
The dangerous things that people really face (multi-lane highways, heavy traffic, night driving, bad weather and unexpected circumstances) cause a lot the problems on the road.
Not that the Driver’s Ed class and the license test should be like one of those professional obstacle courses (although that could be fun), but surely it could cover more than it does.
There are simply too many people who pass the test but really have no idea how to drive properly. Skills, confidence and attitude are all equally important in safe driving.
Bobby: I think in some instances eye testing is mandatory. My dad has eye issues b/c of his diabetes and has to do an eye test with his opthamologist every two years. If he doesn’t pass the doc sends a report into the RMV and his license is yanked. My dad is 63, but I know this can occur at any age.
As well, my mom’s license has been temporarily revoked because she had another seizure last month and if she can go three months without having another seizure while her meds are upped she’s OK to drive.
So, I’m pretty sure doctors have the authority to test and revoke licenses from the RMV…maybe this could be extended to certain groups on a more wide scale?
calling anyone “some old hag” is disrespectful.