Should there be a driving age limit?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Or testing at 70 or 75...

I was at Home Depot, parked and walking in the parking lot saw two very elderly people, husband & wife, separated, looking for their car. I would guess 90s. I thought they'd find their car so kept walking into the store.

10 minutes later I'm out and see them still shuffling around aimlessly looking everywhere with some despair on their faces. I go over to the woman and ask if she's looking for her car and what kind is it. Honda Accord. Color? Grey. I look around and there's one 20 feet away in a handicap space out front. I ask her if that's it. She says no. I ask her for her keys and she gives them to me and I hit the lock/unlock button and the lights go on and off on the car.

We walk over to it, she calls to her husband, it's their car.

I could see them causing a serious accident to be honest.

[A930Rocket]

I don’t know whether to praise you for finding their car and getting them on the road or curse you for finding their car and getting them on the road.

We pulled the keys from my mother-in-law and my mom and neither one liked it. Not so much my mother-in-law, and she like to sit at home watching Mannix, Perry Mason, etc. My mom still like to drive to get her hair done and go grocery shopping. She said she lost her independence. No doubt though, neither one needed to be driving, not only for their own safety but others.

[Superman]

I see people every day who shouldn't be driving and age is not a factor. I delivered a brief motoring safety talk this morning to open a meeting.

But yeah....we took the keys from my mom at one point. She wasn't super thrilled about that but she was always a happy person. Yes, I think perhaps testing should be invoked at some point but there are two problems with that, which are actually two facets of the same problem. It would be seen as more idiotic government regulation that we shouldn't have to pay for, and it would mean that Americans are not always totally free to do any damn thing they want. Something else to argue about, I guess.

[herr_oberst]

It makes me mad when I think about how low the bar is set when it comes to issuing a license to a driver in this country.

If I was king of the world, drivers would be tiered depending on skill level, checked every couple of years. I live in Oregon, I just got my license last year, my next renewal is in 2029. That is absolutely ludicrous.
A master reset of the driving rules could probably thin the herd by 1/3 of people allowed on the roads, andthe rest should be required to demonstrate competency in order to move traffic smartly and efficiently, thereby negating the need to build more roads.

[pavulon]

From their perspective, a fair lot of people that age don't want to drive but do it because they have nobody else to do it for them. That doesn't make it better but perhaps better understood.

[A930Rocket]

On the flipside what’s the youngest somebody should be issued a drivers license? Our kids got theirs at 15 1/2 and they could drive by themselves, with state stipulations. Kind of scary.

I remember the first time my son drove my F150. We weren’t going that fast but when he made a turn one time, he did not realize the weight and physics of the truck. We made it, but it’s like he was thinking of a video game with no repercussions.

[Bill Douglas]

65?

[Evans, Marv]

Well, nobody better try taking my license away. I turn 80 soon, and don't have any problems associated with driving. I often wonder when that time will come though. I'm just lucky to have good balance, reactions, timing, and so on. I still thoroughly enjoy a fairly spirited drive in the local mountains, though I hardly ever drive above the speed limit anymore. Maybe I've been retired so long, I just feel like cruzin.

[aigel]

Definitely no age limit. And testing can be tricky, people will be nervous as hell and then fail for that. Are old people causing accidents really a big issue? The ones that should not be driving usually are driving very slowly and not going terribly far (won't see them on an interstate or highway where higher speeds may cause more trouble).

My expectation is that by the time I can't drive, there will be self driving cars. I also hope to move somewhere where I can walk most places. My plan will be to be more remote at first but when older move back into town.

[oldE]

My father surrendered his license in his late 80s. He had had a couple of fender benders and said,"This is it." I hope I have as much sense when the time comes.
One of my brothers drove commercially until his 80th birthday when his doctor told him after an annual check up, "Cancer: do what you want to do for the last year." So he drove across Canada.
Another brother stopped driving after his stroke and his wife took over the duties. It scared the heck out of us when we realized her ability to guide a motor vehicle wasn't too bad, but she had no idea where she was or where she was going. Sort of like the old folks in the parking lot in the first post.

I think an accident should trigger a review of one's license.

On the other hand, there was an elderly lady who was (in)famous in this area for her "service to the troops" during the war. Four decades ago, she had a battered Chevy Nova which bore testimony to her inability to accurately judge the relationship of her vehicle to its surroundings. One day while I was at the Motor Vehicles centre, I saw this poor old car parked in front of the Examiner's office and thought,"Finally, P... will lose her license and the roads will be a bit safer." How wrong I was. She walked out of that office with driving privileges intact and continues terrorizing the citizens of the area for another year or so until her final resting.

Best
Les

[cabmandone]

My dad says they should remove Reverse from cars after a certain age.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Well, nobody better try taking my license away. I turn 80 soon, and don't have any problems associated with driving. I often wonder when that time will come though. I'm just lucky to have good balance, reactions, timing, and so on. I still thoroughly enjoy a fairly spirited drive in the local mountains, though I hardly ever drive above the speed limit anymore. Maybe I've been retired so long, I just feel like cruzin.

My grandfather drove just fine until he passed away at 92. I actually changed his oil two weeks before, had dinner at a restaurant on the Connecticut River and you would swear he was 72. Many like yourself Marv are fine driving well into very old age but definitely not everyone.

It's nice to see you still enjoy driving, I think it helps keep you young.

[David]

I think a test is in order rather than a set limit.

My 79 year old mom wouldn't pass the test. Last year she asked me if she should quit driving and I said yes. The rest of the weekend she kept asking me and I kept saying yes. Needless to say it was past time.

I remember hearing that Juan Manuel Fangio had his license revoked at 85 due to age limits when he could arguably still out drive 99.99% of the population.

I also remember reading a story about 70 something Paul Frere driving a first gen Viper in Europe in the rain at 120 with the top ripping off as the journalist in the passenger seat rode in amazement. So another older driver who could out drive the vast majority of younger drivers.

And go to any PCA DE and there are plenty of older faster drivers.

[GH85Carrera]

A fixed age by law would be rebellious. I have seen several young drivers that should not be driving.

My old boss took in his words "early retirement" at age 92. He was a licensed pilot and took his final flight as a pilot in command on his 92nd birthday. He was still driving at age 98, and could have beaten 95% of the population in any math test done all in your head with no paper or a calculator.

Age is indeed just a number, and it we institute a test for driving at some arbitrary age it should be taken by ALL drivers. I would bet the fail rate would be astonishing for all ages. Driving schools are a joke in this country.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Age is less of a factor than cognitive ability. We took my Mom's keys several years back after she hadn't driven all winter just as she was talking about going somewhere. She was well on her way to showing dementia symptoms in her late 70's. She still *****es about it occasionally, now 5-6 years later. She barely recognizes us now and can't remember what you told her 30 seconds ago but still thinks she could drive.

There are folks in her memory care place who can't be much older than me, I just turned 59. They are either early onset or head injury patients.

[cgarr]

No but maybe a review every few years, my Dad at 92 is just fine driving and flying still.

[SiberianDVM]

Yes, but it should be my age plus 10, revised every year.

[URY914]

Pelican should have an age limit for posting.

[Superman]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

...If I was king of the world....

I agree with my esteemed colleague from the great state of Oregon. Here, in America, driving is viewed as an inalienable right. Despite the frequent reminders from agencies, police groups and courts, that driving is a privilege. In European countries, getting a driving license is a challenging process which includes proficiency testing which actually does test proficiency. And the process is also expensive.

Adopting that process here would reduce traffic congestion, accidents, injuries and deaths, and save money. Public transportation infrastructure, and ridership, would be increased. But the outcry about government over-reach and loss of freedoms would be deafening and several industries (auto manufacturers and oil companies to name two of the most obvious) would fan those flames. And so....it makes perfect sense but it also ain't gonna happen.

But yeah, I agree with herr_oberst. Testing should have nothing to do with age. All drivers should be tested regularly.

PS, I think a lot of current drivers would fail. It looks like nobody....and I mean NOBODY....seems to know that when making a left turn, drivers are required to use the "nearest or authorized lane." Everybody uses the NASCAR method of wide, sweeping turns across multiple lanes. This is but one of many dozens of driving rules that nobody seems to recall.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Superman

Public transportation infrastructure, and ridership, would be increased.

There are plenty of places where there is inadequate public transpo.

And, of course, these days that sort of move would be "racist." I believe one of the main arguments for requiring ID to vote is that poor blacks can't afford or manage to get an ID because they are too expensive or difficult to get. If you made a license expensive, I'm sure that would also be "racist."

PS, I think a lot of current drivers would fail. It looks like nobody....and I mean NOBODY....seems to know that when making a left turn, drivers are required to use the "nearest or authorized lane." Everybody uses the NASCAR method of wide, sweeping turns across multiple lanes. This is but one of many dozens of driving rules that nobody seems to recall.

Be careful with that one.

In FL the law is as you state, when turning right or left you have to turn into the nearest lane and then signal as usual to change lanes after you turn.

In TX the law is not the same. It's perfectly legal to turn into whatever lane you want as long as it can be done safely.