Retesting Elderly Drivers...Opinions - Page 3

dex · ‎03-09-2010

I think there should be retesting for anyone who has had more than one at fault accident in a certain time period.My mom passed the written test and eye exam but she still had too many fender benders.I think she needed a road test of her abilities...thankfully she decided that there were too many dangerous drivers on the road and quit driving..LOL

Zhills · ‎11-15-2011

I think they should be required to take an education course ever 2 years. Many of us learned to drive on 2 lane roads and have never really seen a driver's handbook since we got our license. Driving on the nation's interstates is never taught or even suggested in our lives. They design new road figurations and rules and many never are exposed to them so they are not sure how to drive on today's road system.

I think they should mention the laws on Public Media like they do other ads. Keep reminding us how to drive correctly.

Public service announcements would be great.

Plaid Pants2 · ‎03-14-2015

My Dad's doctor had the DMV re-test my dad.

He passed the vision, even though he has a cataract in one eye, but for the road test, he failed the first time. He passed on the second try.

His doctor also suggested that he be evaluated for his cognitive function, so he was put through a battery of tests, and the evaluator asked him if he would feel safe driving, if I were in the passenger seat.

He had to admit that he would not feel safe driving if I were in the passenger seat, so ultimately, his license was revoked.

Knowing my dad, if he had hit someone, he would either say that it didn't happen, not know that he had hit someone, or that it wasn't his fault.

When I come to a stop and I have to turn on to a one-way street, I always look in both directions, because you never know when someone might step out in front of you, or be riding a bicycle, and be coming from the opposite direction as the flow of traffic.

My dad wouldn't have done that.

I feel better knowing that he is off the road, and not a danger to himself, or others.

Yardlie · ‎03-10-2010

The same thing that happened to the OP happened to me a couple years ago in a Walmart parking lot. I was behind a lady. She was backing out of a parking space. She hit the front of my car. I got out of the car, looked at my car, and started walking toward her. She took off. I was running after her, but she kept going.

Fortunately, another customer who was parked saw the entire thing and took a cell phone photo of her license plate. I called the police. The other customer waited for the police to come. We described what happened. The woman who hit my car lived in another small town about 30 miles away. The officer said he would be going to her house.

The next day the officer called with her insurance information and said that he did not give the lady a citation because she was in her 80's and had hearing problems. I said: "Hearing problems? She could certainly have felt the collision!" The officer said, "I didn't think of that."

A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal. ~~ Steve Maraboli

software · ‎06-08-2016

@JML wrote:
Yes, elderly drivers should be tested after a certain age. Today is my 81st birthday and I do very little driving. In less than 2 years I have put on 7,000 miles on my car. I do not drive out of town and have adjusted my driving to certain areas that I am familiar with. I have a leased car which is up to date and safe. In my state elderly drivers are not tested. I have taken 2 drivers ed. courses offered by AARP and that has helped me in keeping up with the new laws. There are crazy drivers at all ages and in my town rear ending is a common occurence. The whole world is in such a d---n hurry to get somewhere.

Happy Birthday!

Bri36 · ‎02-20-2017

@Yardlie wrote:
The same thing that happened to the OP happened to me a couple years ago in a Walmart parking lot. I was behind a lady. She was backing out of a parking space. She hit the front of my car. I got out of the car, looked at my car, and started walking toward her. She took off. I was running after her, but she kept going.

Fortunately, another customer who was parked saw the entire thing and took a cell phone photo of her license plate. I called the police. The other customer waited for the police to come. We described what happened. The woman who hit my car lived in another small town about 30 miles away. The officer said he would be going to her house.

The next day the officer called with her insurance information and said that he did not give the lady a citation because she was in her 80's and had hearing problems. I said: "Hearing problems? She could certainly have felt the collision!" The officer said, "I didn't think of that."

That's a hit and run or leaving the scene, isn't it?

She should have been given a citation for that...

deepwaterdotter · ‎03-09-2010

The parking lot at the local Walmart reminds me of a demolition derby. This is one of the reasons I don't shop there. I wonder if the area is configured to promote collisions or if the patrons involved in fender-benders are not paying attention to their surroundings.

qvcaddition · ‎03-10-2010

@software

@software wrote:
I'm sorry this happened to you but there are bad drivers of every age.
Being elderly myself, I'm going to do everything I can to stay independent and drive safely, like I have for the past almost 50 years. I've never had a wreck!
E to my ear o
If the elderly must be retested, then everyone should be retested.

I,m with you. I have never had a ticket or accident. I,m 81, and have eyes in the back, front and sides. My daughter in law has wrecked three cars In three years and has a law suit going, her age 54. My grandson,, age 35, wrecked two cars. I see young women on cell phones turning corners and not looking to left or right. I almost got run over by some 20 something going through stop sign in a frigging hurry. I don,t smoke pot or have a cell phone to my ear.

We do get tested. I agree some need to know when to turn in their keys, but also need family to help them. I have a couple of friends in 90,s. No tickets in their driving lifetime or accidents. One just drives to the gym to work out. The other lives alone, no family, goes grocery shopping only. Because of my age, they keep raising my insurance even with an excellent record. Talk about discrimination. I also take the four hour test from AARP online to help lower insurance.

LilacTree · ‎03-25-2012

@ciao_bella wrote:

What do you think about retesting elderly drivers, and if so, what age?

Yesterday, I was at a local grocery store and leaving the parking lot. I had already pulled out of my parking spot and was in the lane to exit the lot but had to wait in line because a car was in front of me. The car had stopped in front of me and I was about a car length away from it. All of a sudden, the car in front of me started to back up. I blew my car horn several times but it continued to backup. There were some people walking in the parking lot yelling at the car to stop but it continued to back up. It happened so quickly, and the car hit the front of my car. Instead of the person getting out and acknowledging the accident, the car pulled forward and appeared as it was leaving. I followed the car, hand on my horn constantly blowing it and trying to memorize the license plate at the same time. Finally, at the very end of the parking lot I pulled around the car and yelled to pull over.

The driver pulled over into an empty parking spot and we both got out. The driver was an elderly woman, I would estimate in her 80s. She claims she had no idea she hit my car. Luckily my car didn't seem to have any superficial damage, nor did hers. I was clearly upset and told her it could have been a shopper with a basket, or a kid, or employee who rounds up the loose shopping carts. She did apologize but after the incident, it got me thinking. Clearly, she didn't look into her rear view mirror before backin up, nor did she hear my car horn blasting constantly, or hear any of the people in the parking lot yelling for her to stop.

So, what do you think about retesting elderly drivers, and if so at what age?

@ciao_bella

I took myself off the road five years ago at age 74. I have many physical disabilities due to RA and other autoimmune diseases, and I realized my reflexes were not as quick as they should be. Plus I have trouble getting in and out of a car even as a passenger. I felt it was my time to get off the road.

I still keep up a valid driver's license in case of a really serious emergency, but my daughter drives me to all of my appointments in my car. I was a very safe driver and enjoyed driving, but I knew I was not 100%, as I feel all drivers should be.

I would never want to be the cause of an accident that could wind up putting me and other innocent people in the hospital.

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986

Brooklynny · ‎07-08-2010

@Sooner wrote:
Ageist much? How about keeping drunk drivers off the streets first? Take away licenses for DUI. Road rage? I think the fear of old drivers should come way down on the list.

@Sooner, not ageist at all, but I'm afraid it's necessary. Just this past Mother's Day in the NYC area, a 56-year-old woman and her teen daughter were walking home after church. An 80-year-old female driver hit her accelerator instead of the break, crashed onto the sidewalk. The mother pushed her daughter out of the way, but she herself was hit and pinned under the car. Tragically, she died at the hospital.

Ageism? Not at all. It was an unnecessary tragedy that could have been avoided. Perhaps the driver is no longer as sharp as she used to be, her reflexes have slowed, or so many other possibilities. If the driver should not have been behind the wheel for any reason, that poor girl would still have her mother today. There was another accident here just a couple of weeks ago with an elderly man at the wheel, and several people were hurt when he, too, hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

I don't drive because I live in NYC and really don't need to. But if I did drive and I were older, I would want to retest just for my own peace of mind. I think we should stop being so sensitive about age and get real. There is no shame in being retested.