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Should there be mandatory driving tests as people get older?

Well?

  • Total voters
    46
I could agree with a formal assessment by a trained DMV evaluator, starting at age 80 for the drivers in question.
Left up to the voters of each State, not decided at any sort of Federal level.

But not for drivers as young as age 60, that is both insane and unnecessary.
:)
 
mike2810 said:
I am 65. I can agree some drivers in their late 70's drive like you described. I have witnessed young people do the same, Especially when they are texting or using their smart phone.

I can agree older drivers should have more testing. What is debated is what is an "older driver"?. 65 is not old., imo.
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The statistics I know show that younger drivers are the largest danger on the roads. This remains so till above 70. So it is not really even debatable putting an extra burden on drivers at 65 and even over 70 the logic would be stronger for preventing persons under something like 24 from driving.
 
Not by age but by record. If you get tickets or into accidents, they should be able to require you to be retested.
 
Bodhisattva said:
And i mean late 60's or older... every five years? 2years? Depending on skills observed by instructor?
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I would say <25 or 65> the frequency they do it now.. is it every 4 or 5 years whichever it is.. If you have more than one accident or excessive tickets in that time period I think they ought to do it for anyone
 
I think a lot of people don't realize how much their driving skills have diminished along with changes in the driving laws that they are not aware of. I think defensive driving classes provided by insurance companies are great. I like the fact discounts are given to people who not only go but prove they are still capable of driving and are up to date on all the new signs and rules that have been implemented. I think it is important to work with the elderly. I work with my mom. She does not drive during peek traffic anymore and avoids driving at night because of her eyes. I have explained to her how the mile markers correspond with the exits. She never new exit 35 was 10 miles further down the road than exit 25. She now knows she has plenty of time to get around this slow moving truck and improve her visibility. Retesting after a certain age should be mandatory and if you fail just don't take the license. With today's video machines simulated driving test can show people they are not capable for highway driving or peek rush hour driving but with practice and care they can still get around safely. A lot of elderly can drive in their home town where they know the roads and where they are going. But throw them into unfamiliar area during heavy traffic and they are in serious trouble.

I think it is the responsibility of the younger sharper drivers to compensate for the elderly who drive only when necessary. I think the elderly need to realize their limitations and plan their trips to avoid rush hour traffic, night driving, or finding someone to take them to unfamiliar places that could get them into a situation they are no longer capable of handling.

Here is a quick fun test on line. I got a 100.

Road Sign Practice Test Results at DMV.org: The DMV Made Simple
 
joG said:
Why irrelevant? I actually responded because it is relevant. You asked, if people want segregation. I proposed that knowing the facts would help know, whether the measure could be justified. I take it you hadn't researched the background.
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Not segregation.
 
mike2810 said:
I am 65. I can agree some drivers in their late 70's drive like you described. I have witnessed young people do the same, Especially when they are texting or using their smart phone.

I can agree older drivers should have more testing. What is debated is what is an "older driver"?. 65 is not old., imo.
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75 or 80...
 
joG said:
You really seem to believe that.
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Legally speaking, which is all that matters... it is simply a fact.

Present an argument or prepare to be ignored on the point......
 
Bodhisattva said:
And i mean late 60's or older... every five years? 2years? Depending on skills observed by instructor?
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Yes...I would test every two years starting at the age of 66. And I am 62.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Why is it not already in place? My thoughts are politics. Losing the elderly vote.
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When my parents were getting old I asked if they had to retest for a drivers license. "No, they tried to get a law like that but we stopped them." We? The old farts. I gave my father a driving test. He couldn't start the car. I asked how he'd been getting in to town and he said, "The neighbors start the car for me." "And what to you do when you're in the bank for an hour?" "I leave it running." Where's a car thief when you need one.

My mother refused to drive for me. She screamed. She said a friend of hers had had eight wrecks in the last six months and she was still driving. "Still driving??" "Why not? She hasn't killed anyone."

It's hard to tell your folks they can't drive any more and quite often they threaten to change their will. Most don't but the threat is enough. Remember the old guy in California who drove his Buick through a lawn party and it was video taped? No one stopped him from driving and a year later he ran through a street market and killed a bunch of people. His kids never stopped him from driving.

When I was arguing with Mom about driving my father popped up and said, "I never told my mother she couldn't drive." I whipped around and said, "You and your brothers didn't have the balls." "Well, we were afraid of her."

And, I was a cop for thirty years. In our state a police officer could require an elderly driver to be retested by MVD. I did. And, the government-provided attorneys kept threatening to sue me for discriminating against old people. Aaargh!
 
Bodhisattva said:
And i mean late 60's or older... every five years? 2years? Depending on skills observed by instructor?
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Already happens in California.....

Happened to FIL.

You must renew your California driver's license in person if:

You are 70 years old or older.
Your driver license will expire in more than 60 days.
Your last 2 renewals were not completed in person.
You need to take a written test.


And there are restricted licenses available.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/about/senior/driverlicense/restrict
 
Patrickt said:
When my parents were getting old I asked if they had to retest for a drivers license. "No, they tried to get a law like that but we stopped them." We? The old farts. I gave my father a driving test. He couldn't start the car. I asked how he'd been getting in to town and he said, "The neighbors start the car for me." "And what to you do when you're in the bank for an hour?" "I leave it running." Where's a car thief when you need one.

My mother refused to drive for me. She screamed. She said a friend of hers had had eight wrecks in the last six months and she was still driving. "Still driving??" "Why not? She hasn't killed anyone."

It's hard to tell your folks they can't drive any more and quite often they threaten to change their will. Most don't but the threat is enough. Remember the old guy in California who drove his Buick through a lawn party and it was video taped? No one stopped him from driving and a year later he ran through a street market and killed a bunch of people. His kids never stopped him from driving.

When I was arguing with Mom about driving my father popped up and said, "I never told my mother she couldn't drive." I whipped around and said, "You and your brothers didn't have the balls." "Well, we were afraid of her."

And, I was a cop for thirty years. In our state a police officer could require an elderly driver to be retested by MVD. I did. And, the government-provided attorneys kept threatening to sue me for discriminating against old people. Aaargh!
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I read that post like you were doing stand-up... funny as hell.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Thnx... great to hear. Must be fairly new...
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On the other hand my grandfather drove the country roads in Wisconsin into his 80s... His big old station wagon would ooze down the center of the road and the locals would slide off the shoulder to let him by. It looked like Moses and the red sea.
 
Fledermaus said:
On the other hand my grandfather drove the country roads in Wisconsin into his 80s... His big old station wagon would ooze down the center of the road and the locals would slide off the shoulder to let him by. It looked like Moses and the red sea.
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Nothing... a town outside Detroit, Michigan was built up around our families early spark plug company back in the early 1900's. My mother told me how the first company president, my great grandfather, would drive his limo on any side of the road, over sidewalks and through red lights whenever he wanted and people would just get the hell out of his way. He was supposedly more of a tyrant and asshole then my grandfather who was a gaping asshole. So there!
 
Bodhisattva said:
Nothing... a town outside Detroit, Michigan was built up around our families early spark plug company back in the early 1900's. My mother told me how the first company president, my great grandfather, would drive his limo on any side of the road, over sidewalks and through red lights whenever he wanted and people would just get the hell out of his way. He was supposedly more of a tyrant and asshole then my grandfather who was a gaping asshole. So there!
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Love it....
 
Bodhisattva said:
Not segregation.
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then call it discrimination, if you want, as the term segregation also applies to the general discrimination against people belonging to a minority in communities.
 
Bodhisattva said:
Legally speaking, which is all that matters... it is simply a fact.

Present an argument or prepare to be ignored on the point......
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Mao's or Stalins mass murders were legal, legally speaking. It is simply a fact, that societies make laws from time to time, that are criminal. And it is the perpetrators that regularly use the Eichmann Defense to avoid the fact.
But, having reminded you of that, I think ignoring is the way to go.
 
joG said:
then call it discrimination, if you want, as the term segregation also applies to the general discrimination against people belonging to a minority in communities.
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Or for some it might be called exercising good judgement.
 
joG said:
then call it discrimination, if you want, as the term segregation also applies to the general discrimination against people belonging to a minority in communities.
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Oh lordie.. it is not discrimination. Get off the drama train already...
 
joG said:
Mao's or Stalins mass murders were legal, legally speaking. It is simply a fact, that societies make laws from time to time, that are criminal. And it is the perpetrators that regularly use the Eichmann Defense to avoid the fact.
But, having reminded you of that, I think ignoring is the way to go.
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If they are laws they are not criminal... boom. Nice try though.

:lol:
 
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