Should There Be An Age To Ban The Elderly From Driving?

Jim Bassett turns 72 next month and still drives himself wherever he needs to go. Bassett, who lives in Roseville, assumes he might have to give up driving some day but notes that his mother drove into her late 80s. “Driving, to me, is an individual thing. There’s people in their 80s who are quite capable, and there’s people in their 40s I don’t think should drive,” said Bassett, who took time out of a visit to a senior center in Roseville to answer questions about elderly drivers. “If you’re capable, I could see no reason why you should give up your driving.”
Read Article

atc98092 - 1/20/2014 7:13:56 PM

+1 Boost

Mr. Bassett is correct. Age, in and of itself, should not be a hard limit for most things. My father-in-law was driving two days before a stroke got him just short of 90. But his age was no reason to stop his driving. He was probably a lower stroke risk than many 40-50 year olds. He had already voluntarily stopped driving after dark, but he was fine driving around town. And no, he wasn't a constant 5-10 MPH under the limit either.

When I reached age 56 several years ago, I could no longer control air traffic. This age limit is completely arbitrary, and was something the union bought into many years ago in exchange for a early retirement option. While I am still officially an Air Traffic Controller, and still have my same pay level, I now work a desk. Boring. I'd much rather still talk to airplanes.

Agent00R - 1/20/2014 10:17:22 PM

+1 Boost

I don't think there should be a ban based on age.

However, there should be a road test given to EVERY driver every five years, IMHO. This way drivers that are clueless are kept sharp and the states can rake in a few bucks they can put towards infrastructure or other DMV-related initiatives.

atc98092 - 1/21/2014 8:27:26 AM

+1 Boost

While I agree in theory, in my state (WA) a visit to the DMV office ranks far below a root canal in my book. They would really need to step up their service level before I'd agree to requiring a visit to them regularly. I've seen it take several hours to just renew, let alone how far in advance you have to schedule an actual test. Fortunately they've moved to online renewal for many drivers. Of course, that means they've lost their one opportunity to evaluate someone in person, limited as it might me.