...The subject of elderly driving its a very controversial, While many agree that seniors should be required to take a driving test yearly many disagree. Do you agree or disagree on seniors retaking their driving test yearly? People and organizations disagree and defend the elderly rights. Though they are facts that argue against this. And as people become more aware of this issue a decision will be made. In my opinion, I agree the state should be more strict and ask for a mandatory driving test yearly to senior over 75. Like I stated before, many disagree and argue against this idea. Many argue against it stating that there is a very small amount of elderly drivers. Which statistics proves that is, in fact, true compared to the younger driving population. They also argue that the elderly as they become older become aware of their limitations being more careful in the road. They claim they modify their driving habits...
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...due to blocked lanes or motorists slowing to see what happened, and sometimes additional collisions occur in those traffic jams; only making traffic conditions worse. All of these systems fail to address the core issue, the drivers which control the vehicles. Research would suggest that all drivers should be required to take knowledge and road skills tests as part of license renewal, because it will take too long for all vehicles to have safety systems, the current license renewal procedures target the wrong driving population, and do not remove unsafe drivers from the road. The NHTSA has required that all vehicles less than 10,000 pounds have a backup camera as standard equipment by 2018 (Barth, 2014), and 20 automotive manufactures and the United States government agreed to make automated braking systems standard equipment in all cars by the year 2022 (Chappell, 2016). These improvements certainly will help increase road safety, and reduce vehicle collision rates, however the IHS states that the average age of cars on US roads is 11.4 years (IHS, 2014). At that rate, it will be at least 10 years before the majority of all cars on the road to have both of these features. The number of collisions due to driver error accounted for 95% of total number of collisions from...
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...driving on the road, experiencing road rage from other drivers. Also seeing the elderly on their phones and driving. In my personal opinion I believe the elderly shouldn’t be allowed to drive over the age of 70. My grandfather is 67 years old; he taught me everything that I know. He taught me how to drive when I was 16 years old. In the past 2 years he’s been in 5 accidents and somehow he keeps passing he’s drivers test. The first accident was that he ran through a red light and hit the car passing. The second he wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing on the highway and tried to lanes and hit the car on this left. Need I say more? I love him, but here comes a time when the elderly need to admit that it’s time to give the keys up and start taking public transportation. Not only is my grandfather the worse elderly driver out there, but there’s thousands. I may be cruel for saying if you’re 70 or older you can no longer drive, because it is still their sense of freedom. I think if the DMV gave frequent drivers test and other physicals for the elderly there would be far less accidents from them. Although 25-42 percent of accidents are because doctors don’t give direct directions about driving on prescribed medications. Although the elderly do drive very slow and don’t cause as many accidents as a 25-30 year old would. It is aggravating when you have a time limit to be somewhere and the speed limit is 45 and grandma decides to drive 30! Also the elderly do lower the percentage...
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...Effects of Driving and Testing for the Elderly Over Seventy and Driving Moraine Valley Community College Abstract This paper will explore five class concepts in relation to older drivers. Fluid intelligence, working memory, cognitive flexibility, vision and hearing, and stereotype threat. It will also show statistics of the dangers of older drivers, the affect they have on other drivers and how driving can hurt or even kill them. This paper will also discuss the stronger laws we need for driving test throughout the United States. What kind of testing should be done and at what age. Effects of Driving and Testing for the Elderly On June 13, 2012, 89 year old Margaret Tomascik was speeding when she failed to stop at a stop sign. She went on to hit a passing car, jump a curb, and crash into a construction site. Margaret hit two people, Thomas Cooney and Joseph Rubino, who were working on the construction site at the time. Margaret severely injured Thomas Cooney and nearly killed Joesph Rubino (Lewis, 2012). Obviously in Margaret's situation her cognitive flexibility was very much declined. She could not react quick enough to avoid this horrible accident. Though there were no deaths in this situation, the next time, there could be. As we have learned in our text, when the aging process begins, functions that are related to one's driving skills and driving ability start to decline. Projections indicate...
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...Elderly Drivers on the Road Elderly Drivers on the Road One thing that’s just as dangerous as a young and jittery, under-aged driver without any previous driving experience or perhaps even an intoxicated driver raging aggressively through numerous traffic lights is the thought of a vision impaired, elderly man or woman cruising nonchalantly through the wrong lane of traffic or driving 50 mph on a major highway. Due to the continuous trend of our older generation engaging in traffic accidents that could have been prevented if the proper precautionary actions were taken, I feel that it is only right those citizens who are driving at or above 70 years of age to be required to pass an annual test for eyesight and physical ability before they can renew their driver’s license. Though they stand at the most experienced end of the driving spectrum, it’s a contradictory fact that elderly folks are involved in far more crashes and highway fatalities than any other age group, after teenage drivers. It’s even more shocking to realize that drivers 80 years of age and above are actually engaged in almost 6 times as many fatal car crashes per miles driven as that of middle-aged drivers. “Although elderly drivers only consist of 9 percent of the population, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, senior drivers account for roughly 14 percent of all traffic fatalities and 17 percent of all pedestrian fatalities” (ABC News Internet Ventures, 2014, p. 1). These...
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...Retested Elderly drivers have been making the news quite frequently in the past couple of months. There have been many terrible accidents that have taken the lives of innocent by standers due to elderly drivers making poor driving mistakes. Clearly something has to be done; I believe that Senior citizens should have to retake a road test yearly after the age of sixty. According to Channel 2 News of Western New York, “The driver who smashed through the front of an Amherst restaurant, claiming the lives of a husband and wife and injuring their son and a waitress, is now facing a traffic charge.” The story goes on to say that a 74 year old, Beverly Kasmore-Torbert with her husband in the passenger seat, jumped a curb and went through the window of the restaurant.(As seen in Figure 1) The vehicle struck a mother and father, Joseph Bennett and Kathyrn Bennett who died from their injuries. Also injured in the crash was a waitress and Matthew Bennett, son of Joseph and Kathryn. Beverly and her passenger were unharmed in the accident. I find it unjust that someone who is unfit to drive and causes this much harm because of a rookie mistake, mistaking a gas petal or the brake can walk away with a simple traffic violation while a son goes home with no mother or father. I would like to propose a law that would have senior citizens in America retake their road test every year. At the age of 60, an elderly person’s license will expire and they will have to take a road test covering the...
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...city. Such things as wider roads (i.e. super highways), monorails, and even for some to re-take their driving tests. The use of monorails within a city as a means of public transportation would be a great way to get from point A to point B, without having to use a personal vehicle and therefore decreasing the amount of vehicles on the road. A downside to using a monorail is the cost. Currently the Bombardier MVI that is being used in Las Vegas, NV, costs $88 million per mile. Expensive yet effective. This would help cut down on the amount of stop and go traffic. Another helpful agenda that would reduce the flow of stop and go traffic is if each state were to issue a bill, stating that a driver after a certain age must retake their driving test. As stated by Moore, Peter in Front Page and Life, “Most Americans think that 75-year olds should have to re-sit their driving tests in order to keep on driving, while people also it’s about as difficult as it should be to get a license in the first place.” Can you think back to a time where you were on your way to say either a doctor’s appointment or running a tad bit late for work and you happen to get stuck behind a slow moving elderly person that clearly wasn’t even driving the speed limit? Having a set age limit by each state for the elderly to retake their driving test should ensure that getting behind one that isn’t driving the speed limit wouldn’t happen again. Increasing the amount of toll roads in a city would help deviate...
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...drivers. John Kennedy, executive director of NSC Defensive Driving Programs said “With our senior driving population growing, there will be more drivers over the age of 65, potentially causing serious safety issues on our roads.” When people get older, they develop health diseases and corporal degenerate. Elderly people loss many of its abilities and they can react to the activities that normal happened in the roads. They are two main reasons that support my point: physical and mental illness. First, when people get older they start to develop some physical diseases that affect their capacity to drive. For example, loss of vision, arthritis or fatigue meanwhile they are driving. Elderly people can’t see the same things or the same distance through they are going older. Also, they have other health problems like arthritis. Just imagine that a senior cause you an accident and then you know that the cause of the accident was that the old man has arthritis. It not was his fault, is fault of the authorities that permitted that people that aren’t in conditions to drive manage in our streets. Senior also can be affected by hearing problems that can affected them if they don’t hear a beep of another car or other auditory signs that help us in the road. On the other hand, we have the mental illness that can be, for example, anxiety, not many ability to focus, slowest reaction time and insufficient self-confidence. They are a lot of widowed seniors that doesn’t have the...
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...The elderly are a great contribution to society in many ways. But while behind the steering wheel they quickly become a threat to all. I believe that imposing an age limit on driving and at said age limit requiring yearly examinations. Along with cheaper and more available public transportation will make the roads a safer place. As Anastasia Niedrich states in her article on elderly drivers “Department of transportation statistics report that drivers over seventy-five have the highest rate of pedestrian deaths of any age group”. The death of innocents is an unacceptable price to pay for the transportation freedom of a small group of people. I myself was hit by an elderly drive while ride my bike and was very luck to survive. That being said I don’t think every person over seventy is incapable of driving. But there should be a system in place to separate the capable from incapable. A simple yearly cognitive and visual test to insure the individual still has the necessary skills to competently operate a vehicle. Katherine Siggerud states that “no state uses a screening tool to evaluate physical or mental function”. I think the government needs to change that’s. An alternative for those deemed unfit would be public transportation. But by making it cheaper and more accommodating to the elderly I feel there won’t be as much of an outcry over revoking driving privileges. Larry Lipman say “Losing driving privileges is traumatic” but it doesn’t have to be if you make the...
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...drugs and alcohol or medications impairing the driver’s, young or old, abilities to drive in a safe manner. Statistics show that an elderly driver is more likely to receive fatal injuries in an accident because of age. Those same statistics show the young die because of excessive speed and lack of experience. The driving laws in the United States are not well defined in regard to teenage and elderly driving requirements; however, statistics clearly present an imperative need for these laws to be reviewed. The young driver, who has only had his or her license a short time, does not possess the experience of the older driver. The older driver does not have the reflexes that are required to react quickly. One assumes they are immortal and one believes they are infallible. Statistics reported from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) say that 15 % of all fatal accidents involving teen drivers are due to excessive speed, while only 5 % account for the elderly. The young drivers believe that they can handle the speed on a straight or winding stretch of road and have no fear of crashing. The lack of fear and experience make it hard to convince the young that they are not being safe. Meanwhile, the senior drivers believe that since they have had ample driving experience, they must be driving properly and/or safely. The elderly also believe that even though they have had a few fender benders, or minor mishaps, they are still...
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...and hopefully, it will grow bigger in the near future. Elders should receive free bus rides because they are not as stable as younger drivers. Many are also retired and do not intake enough money. All elders should take retirement. In the first place, they work very hard, and when they do, they do not earn as much money as working adults. They retire as a result of their hard work for at least sixty six years. Every elder deserves to retire. Also, they do not acquire enough money to pay all their bills. Some elderly barely obtain enough money to make a living, because the prices are...
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... ii. Topics: The facts of old drivers, real-life stories, solutions iii. Thesis: I want a federal law to be passed that forces any driver the age of 65 and older to be retested every 3 years to not only save their lives, but others around them. II. Statistics: i. In next 20 years, the number of elderly drivers triple in amount according to Smart Motorist a. Older drivers more conservative when driving rarely changing there habits because of factors such as busy highways or nighttime where as other drivers may go another route b. More accidents than kids, mostly at intersections c. At the age of 65 there is a much greater risk for a driver to be engaged in a vehicle accident 1. At the age of 75 that risk increases from just a crash to an accident involving a fatality because of there higher risk of bad eyes or slower reaction time ii. Troubles with Age a. Bad at making turns b. Slower response rates and reaction times to a drastic change c. Studies show that most accidents involving the elderly are caused at intersections there also multi-vehicle accidents iii. In Japan (2006) a. 20.8 percent over age 65 b. 13.1 percent licensed drivers iv. Between 75-84 years old a. Rate of 3 deaths per 100 million miles 1. Over age of...
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...among senior drivers are visual field loss, visual attention, dementia, stroke, Parkinson disease, cardiac disease and other age-related disorders (Marottoli et. all). Another research, conducted in Canada showed that drivers aged over 65 have a high risk of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Among risk factors the following have been indicated: medical and physical conditions, inattention and little experience, wrong actions (such as wrong turning). Authors of the research argue that preventive age-specific strategies could improve the current situation and make driving safer for senior drivers, as well as for other participants of the traffic (Zhang et. all). An additional factor to consider is high usage of psychoactive drugs among elderly drivers. Of course, any drugs...
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...senior citizen should be taken away. By having stricter examinations of senior citizens at the time have to renew their license, we may be able to save a lot of lives in the future. Should Driving Privileges be Taken Away from Senior Citizens? In recent years, there has been a great concern over the high rate of fatal accidents involving the senior citizens especially those over the age of 70. The question that I impose to this problem is “Should Florida implement stricter laws prohibiting senior citizens from driving over the age of 70? This is a very important subject because of the high percentage of accidents on a yearly basis due to the elderly not having the same motor skills and diminished mental capacities. Senior Citizens don’t text and drive, drink and drive, and generally attempt to abide by the laws of the road a lot more than the younger generations and they are now the...
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...Develpoment Writing 2, online: Maria Escott To obtain a driver’s license, a person takes one test, usually when they are a teenager. How can that same test evaluate one's driving ability when they are a senior citizen? Although some people argue that they only have to pass a driver’s test once, it is a wise practice for all adults to test again as they get older. Some people believe that once you pass the test, there is no need to test again because you gain experience with years of driving and that is a valuable thing. However, it is a fact that "the elderly drive less, but have more accidents per mile than younger drivers." (Dugan, 2013) With this being true, it is only logical that people need to test more as they age to check their eyesight or reflexes or other things that may impair their driving ability. Most states have some kind of restriction on renewing a driver’s license once you hit a certain age. For instance, some require an eye exam. Others make the person renew in person and not online. Illinois makes a person over the age of 75 take a road test. The states do not share their ideas on how to handle this issue. ` According to Debate.org, some argue that "Knowing the rules of the road and knowing how to drive safely without making stupid decisions is way more important than age". However...
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