Driving and the Elderly

The headline read: Elderly Driver horrified by teens death - followed by “ I didn’t know I had hit anyone”. 82 year old says. The article reminds of of a similar incident that happened just a week earlier involving - you guessed it and 84 year old driver. Two people lost their lives as result of these accidents. But do “accidents really happen - can someone really not realize they have hit someone or something - even as they dragged them for blocks?

BUILDING SAFER CARS - NOT SAFER DRIVERS: Is that our mistake? Both of these drivers have been driving for many years and consider themselves very “safe” on the road. Let look back to our youth - the all night studying, dancing until dawn - yes how anyone could of survived college on so little sleep - but things are different now: we’ve aged and as much as plastic surgeons and Viagra can boast - no one is immune.

Let’s not generalize - there are good and bad drivers at any age - but looking at statistics we see that 16 - 20 and above 70 are the ages that drivers are considered “riskier”. How do we know when it is time to give up driving - well that’s why eye tests and road tests sound like a fair idea - well not if you’re over 65 it seems. Lobby groups such as NARP have been called to arms at the mere suggestion.

Let’s look at one paragraph in the newspaper article: …the driver relies on their license for independence… the thought of losing it means losing oneself. Since when did having a driving license become a right not a privilege?
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