My formost pet peeve

[loCAtek]

[dales]

Bugger the car so it won't work, it that fails bugger to old fogey.

[Miles]

Driving is not a RIGHT but rather a privledge.

You're correct, Miles (privilege). Driving is not a Constitutionally protected right but we all are allowed to drive. My point is that elderly people should not be automatically considered inept just because they've reached a certain age. There are plenty of young people that are terrible drivers that may never get a ticket or have a serious accident but they won't be scrutinized until they turn 70 yrs old.

Perhaps we as a society should be more concerned with our elderly and take better care of them. Permiting them to drive at an extreme age where the can harm them selves and others should be our responsibility. After all they took care of us as children should we not take care of them in their old age, or are we just too busy with our own lives to think of them.

Perhaps we are just a little too concerned with our own lives to consider those who we should pay a little more attention too.

[Joe Guy]

Perhaps we as a society should be more concerned with our elderly and take better care of them. Permiting them to drive at an extreme age where the can harm them selves and others should be our responsibility. After all they took care of us as children should we not take care of them in their old age, or are we just too busy with our own lives to think of them.

Perhaps we are just a little too concerned with our own lives to consider those who we should pay a little more attention too.

That's exactly my point.

Our government shouldn't be setting age limits for adult drivers. It should be the family's responsibility.

I'd bet that most people who are too old to drive realize it and stop driving without being forced to do so.

All we hear & read about are the exceptions. And that's because it's not something that often happens.

[Andrew D]

I'd bet that most people who are too old to drive realize it and stop driving without being forced to do so.

If we could find a way to measure that objectively -- a highly problematic endeavor -- I would take that bet in a heartbeat.

In our society, the privilege of driving is a hallmark of functional independence. And recognizing the absence of functional independence is one of the hardest things that the elderly ever have to do.

I have seen people who could no longer toilet themselves insist that they were still competent to drive. People who could not walk unassisted insist that they were still competent to drive. People who could not transfer themselves unassisted from their beds to their wheelchairs insist that they were still competent to drive. People who could not visually distinguish a person from a bedside lamp at a distance of five feet insist that they were still competent to drive.

You can say that those people are the exceptions, but my experience tells me that they are not. So I would take your bet. And I am confident that I would win it.

[Big RR]

I agree Andrew--for many young men and women getting a driver's license is an important step toward independence and adulthood; giving that up (especially in areas where there is no real alternative to driving to get around) is a pretty tough thing (as many of us don't ever want to admit we are declining in abilities/approaching the ultimate end). My mom was a nurse in a nursing home for years, and she told me of this one man who was in his 90s and blind who kept renewing his license for years (he got help with his mail), "just in case he needed it." He couldn't even find the parking ot (and had no access to a car for years, but he still insisted he could drive.

It's kind of like the tipsy guy insisting he is fine to drive--he's sober enough to know he's not, but he doesn't want to admit he fears he isn't in enough control to drive safely. Just as the families will not/cannot stop these people from driving, they will not stop a determined older driver.

[Miles]

I personally am on the verge of giving up my keys and I am only 62. My health has deterorated to the point where I am questioning my abilities behind the wheel. Before I put someone else in danger I will become a passinger not a driver.

[Long Run]

Our government shouldn't be setting age limits for adult drivers. It should be the family's responsibility.

I'd bet that most people who are too old to drive realize it and stop driving without being forced to do so.

All we hear & read about are the exceptions. And that's because it's not something that often happens.

What if the family doesn't exist or doesn't do its job? Society has to step in to protect everyone. Even if most incompetent drivers voluntarily give up their license, there are still many who do not. We read about the tragedies of someone who should have stopped driving, but what about the many close calls caused by the marginally competent to incompetent driver? Traffic safety improvements and the many alert drivers avoid the hazards that the bottom 1-5% of drivers present to the rest of us on a daily basis. For example, I bet everyone of us knows someone who regularly drives at .06 to .12 alcohol, who never get a DUI or cause an accident, but have a fair number of close calls; they're not competent to drive but they manage to get from point A to point B regularly without an accident. The same happens with other types of incompetent drivers.

[Big RR]

I'm impressed Miles, not that many people are so honest with themselves, nor willing to put the needs of others over their own wants.

[Gob]

Ditto. I'm impressed but not surprised, and, of course, saddened.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I personally am on the verge of giving up my keys and I am only 62. My health has deterorated to the point where I am questioning my abilities behind the wheel. Before I put someone else in danger I will become a passinger not a driver.

Sorry old buddy. While your health me be deteriorating, your mind is as sharp as ever.

[rubato]

"...

I'd bet that most people who are too old to drive realize it and stop driving without being forced to do so.

... "

You have no older relatives. All of us who do know that the opposite is true.


yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

You have no older relatives. All of us who do know that the opposite is true.


yrs,
rubato

Another bit of hate-free substance from Captain Substance...

[Lord Jim]

Sorry old buddy. While your health me be deteriorating, your mind is as sharp as ever.

I'd like to echo that sentiment...

You're one of the really decent sorts around here Miles; I wish you all the best.

[loCAtek]

Take care Miles, you can always travel the world from your keyboard

[Joe Guy]

I'd bet that most people who are too old to drive realize it and stop driving without being forced to do so.

You can say that those people are the exceptions, but my experience tells me that they are not. So I would take your bet. And I am confident that I would win it.

After reading your post I believe you're probably corrrect. Most elderly people will not likely give up their car keys easily.

But I do believe that tragic car accidents in which elderly people are to blame are not a major cause of death & destruction on the road.

Both of my parents - and my uncle who lived with them - gave up driving because they knew they were no longer competent drivers. My older brother quit driving when he realized his limitations, even though he was only 61 at the time. My grandparents did the same.

I guess my family's experience was probably very unique and that influenced my initial response.

[Miles]

Take care Miles, you can always travel the world from your keyboard

That and the mass transit system.

[oldr_n_wsr]

But I do believe that tragic car accidents in which elderly people are to blame are not a major cause of death & destruction on the road.

While I have no statitical evidence, whenever I read of an oldr driver being involved in an accident, it seems they were making a left hand turn and got T-Boned by someone as they crossed the oncoming lane. This indicates to me that judgement of speed of the oncoming car and not crossing the road fast enough are lacking. Judgement of speed is an eyesight thing. those with failing eyesight usually have oone eye worse than the affecting depth perception. I am an AAA member (not to be confused with my AA membership where the only requirement is the desire to stop drinking )and they had an article in thier magazine for older drivers. They recommended day time driving only and try to get where you are going by only making right hand turns.