Older drivers

[Racket_Man]

A retired professor of Civil Engineering from the Univ Of Toronto has written a commentary for the Canadian Medical Association Journal that posits the following:

Older drivers are getting a bad reputation when it comes to accident fatalties.

http://money.msn.com/auto-insurance/...bloomberg.aspx

http://www.carp.ca/2012/04/03/senior...torial-says-2/

The Professor contends that older drivers die more often because they are frailer but that does not mean they drive any less safe than other younger drivers.

in most of the comments in the first article there are a LOT of Flordia people posting.

[SongsOfDragons]

My housemate used to work admin for a team that looked at older drivers and gave advice letters to those who really should give up their licenses - often after serious mistakes such as driving the wrong way up an A-road or after their sight degrades...

[Boozy]

I don't have a problem with all older drivers, just as I don't have a problem with all young drivers.

My family faced many difficulties getting my senile grandfather to stop driving. He refused to do so willingly despite being a danger to himself and others. That's the nature of senility. My mother and aunt resorted to basically stealing his car.

I've shared this story many times, and everyone I talk to knows someone who went through something similar with their parents, grandparents, great-aunts and uncles, etc.

This process would be made so much easier for families if we could all just admit that senility is a problem that exists, makes driving dangerous, and affects the elderly population. Had my grandfather been required to take an exam and get doctor's clearance to renew his license after the age of 75, it would have prevented so much drama and heartbreak.

[siead_lietrathua]

i'm sorry but in this area, so many senseless accidents are caused by older people. i don't mean the genuine something malfunctioned accidents. i mean the not stopping at signs, accelerating instead of breaking, blatant disregard for road rules accidents.
heck, i have yet to hear of one accident near here involving a person driving into or through a building that involved a driver under 60 in about... 8 years or so.
i know i sound ageist. but older people do tend to have slower reaction times. when i see one that can't easily move a box of kleenex to the register, yet are getting in a car to drive home, it honestly is scary.

[blas87]

That's what it is.

Younger people do a lot more stupid shit, purposely or because they are distracted by a phone, other people, music, or drugs/alcohol. Stories on the news of 16 year olds plowing into trees and rolling over trying to recreate Dukes of Hazzard stunts is not unheard of.

Older people lose their memory, their reaction time gets slower and slower as the years go by, they forget which pedal is which, sometimes maybe who knows, they get a war flashback or something pops in their head, they forget where they are or who they are, and go flying into a farmer's market.

[tropicsgoddess]

That's what it is.

Younger people do a lot more stupid shit, purposely or because they are distracted by a phone, other people, music, or drugs/alcohol. Stories on the news of 16 year olds plowing into trees and rolling over trying to recreate Dukes of Hazzard stunts is not unheard of.

Older people lose their memory, their reaction time gets slower and slower as the years go by, they forget which pedal is which, sometimes maybe who knows, they get a war flashback or something pops in their head, they forget where they are or who they are, and go flying into a farmer's market.

Exactly. I've seen this shit a lot in South Florida. Sadly that was the norm to see on the news that a elderly driver that plowed in a store because they stepped on the gas instead of the brakes or some idiot young driver that lead footed the car, got drunk or high and wrapped their cars around a tree, lamp post or guard rail on the highway.

[Lachrymose]

This reminds me of a time I was in line at the DMV renewing my license, when an older lady was trying to take the eye test to do the same.

She kept failing over and over and over. But the clerk kept on letting her try, even kind of coaching her along.

Kind of scary...

[Nekojin]

It's kind of sad that the DMV is really only able to test aptitude, and not attitude. Because the latter is also important when you're behind the wheel.

[RedRoseSpiral]

I was just in the car with my grandfather today, and I really did fear for our safety as he was driving. It's gotten to the point where I don't want to go out with him when he's in town because of how badly his driving has deteriorated. I'd offer to drive but he refuses to leave his car at my house because he thinks my father will do something to it (they've never gotten along since dad helped my grandmother leave him). I also don't have the money to be driving around any more than I absolutely have to, so I'm stuck screaming in my head "For the love of Zeus break!" at every stop sign or red light.

[blas87]

Meh, a few weeks ago, one of my coworkers got into a pretty serious accident (worst of all, she had her kids in her van, they had just left the zoo) with a 94 year old man (who was at fault....also had his great granddaughter in the car with him!).

Imagine a stoplight intersection. Coworker is going to go straight. In opposing lane, old man is also set to go straight.

She has green light, he decides to turn left in a straight lane, and Tbone her van.

Thankfully, everyone is alright.

I hope that old man never drives again.

[bex1218]

Reminds me of the South Park episode where the older folks killed others while driving then got their licenses revoked.

I always get stuck behind the people going 15 miles under the speed limit. Its even more fun with the snowbirds coming down.

[Dreamstalker]

My grandfather didn't stop driving until he was 88, and he was the one who made that decision. My grandmother's reflexes and eyesight started to go around age 70, but she kept driving until mom threatened to call the police on her the next time she went on the road (which came about after Grandma nearly got both her and myself killed when she ignored a sign for a cross street that a city bus happened to be pulling out of).

[BlaqueKatt]

it will continue to happen as many cities are not designed for anyone without a vehicle, and due to this poor planning, driving continues to be viewed as a right and not a privilege.

[Silverharp]

I think the 2 worst I ever heard was an elderly man in the grips of dementia who had gotten onto the highway exit the wrong way and proceeded to drive down the middle of 2 lanes doing 70 into oncoming traffic. Fortunately their were troopers nearby who were able to stop him.

The other was a much more sad case where an woman in her 80's drove into a construction zone and had a fatal heart attack after her car dropped 6 inches.

[Lace Neil Singer]

A few months ago, there was this old man on the forecourt who was having trouble getting the pump to work, given that he was very old, around seventy and also using two sticks to support himself. My collegue Katie went out to offer help; he refused it and was quite rude to her, insisting that he'd been driving for over fifty years and therefore could pump his own diesel.

He eventually got it working, managing to spill several gallons of diesel on the floor as he did so, and some down his trousers, too. He veered crazily from side to side on his sticks as he staggered to the kiosk to pay. Once he was back to his car, he careered out of the petrol station, very nearly mowing down a female customer walking to the kiosk to pay; she only just managed to jump out of his way in time. He obviously couldn't see her.

That just confirmed my thoughts that all drivers ought to be re-tested the moment they hit retirement age. I understand it's hard to get around if you have trouble walking, but it would be a lot harder on you if, due to your inability to drive safely, you hit someone and kill them.