Elderly Drivers

7 Pages 1783 Words

In these modern times, the open road has grown to be a very dangerous place. There are many who may not be able to handle an automobile safely. One group of people who may have a difficult time driving, and may actually be deadly on the road is the elderly. Although not all elderly citizens may be a hazard to others, there are many who are. Older individuals may have poorer eyesight, trouble hearing, and they all have much slower reflexes than a person of a younger age. With all of these characteristics, the elderly can pose a serious threat to the lives of others on the road. The state should mandate that all drivers over the age of seventy should be retested every four years, to ensure safety on the roads for everyone.
On July 17, 2003 an eighty six year old man from California crashed his car into a farmers market. This accident killed ten people and injured several others. “The deadly accident thrust the issue of elderly driving into the national spotlight” (1). Then, just a few weeks later, again at a farmers market, a seventy- nine year old man lost control of his car and seriously injured three people. These two cases are going to play a huge role in the fight to have a mandatory retesting age for the elderly.
Driving skills decline with age; but not everyone’s skills decline at the same time. This poses a problem; For example, a state can not just say that at the age sixty, everyone has to be retested on their driving skills, and then every three years after that. No, they first have to prove scientifically when the majority of elderly citizen’s skills start to deteriorate. This study would be huge and it would take a very long time before any results were discovered, however this would be the best way to come up with a mandatory retesting age. Also, there would not be as much arguing over this topic, because there would be scientific research to back up the value, and effectiveness, of a retesting age. ...