Old People Driving

I think that's silly to call it discrimination, and if the result would be to eliminate unfit drivers, that can only be a good thing. People like you (and me) would still be free to drive.

@Fleura That's probably true - at least test everybody that is known to have those conditions. It would be impractical to test everybody.

@jaboUK I don't know that it is silly, younger people can also be affected by diabetes, heart problems, bad eyesight etc. so perhaps everyone should be tested at regular intervals!

@jaboUK Here, there have been some serious accidents and deaths caused by elderly people that should not be driving anymore.

I'm glad you agree - it makes sense to me.

@1hopefulman I'm not surprised.

Lol - I gather that driverless cars are an actual possibility - wouldn't fancy that myself.

@jaboUK driverless cars are the future soon there would be no need for humans to drive manually, probably we can't see or fancy it now as we did with computers and phones as we use them now but car improvement has no where else to go except go driverless or probably fly.

Older drivers can be perfectly competent, but it's a fact that medical conditions do rear their ugly heads the older a person gets. It would be sensible to test them before renewing their licences.

@DianneN Agreed, but chronic conditions can be detected.

@jaboUK Tests may not always help for certain things like a heart attack or stroke.

Yes, that is true, though a lot of us are still fit to drive. A lot aren't though.

'allknowing' commented that not many women drive in India and certainly not senior women. What you say bears that out.

@responsiveme That's good that you have good public transport so don't need to drive.

@jaboUK I do not own a car. I prefer taxis and autos. Kind of helping reduce traffic on roads - I mean it.

Goodness Grace - have you never driven? I'd hate to be without my car.

Yes, that's it exactly - safety for themselves and other people.

What do you mean? If you mean while they are still physically capable, I agree.

I know that there are bad drivers in every age group, but I'm talking specifically about those who are medically not fit to drive. Most of them would be in the older age group.

Oh yes, there are people who shouldn't be driving, however old they are.

I'm glad you are with me on this, I think it makes sense.

Similar to England?

@jaboUK yes, I am not sure about the age but I think it is at 75.

That's so true Carol.

Yes, I know that lots of older people are perfectly fit to drive (I consider myself one of them), but having to have a medical would weed out the ones who are not. And I don't think familiarity has anything to do with it - we all know that the unexpected can happen when we are driving.

@jaboUK it must be frustrating not being able to start the car up again

@jaboUK good that he has your support

@arthurchappell He didn't mind actually because he always had me to drive him round

@jaboUK Switzerland does this from many years. You must go to a doctor appointed by the authorities, they want to be sure you do not cheat. In Italy they cheat a lot, in fact the 85 years old step father of my husband had his driver license renewed and he had a very serious accident soon after Christmas. At least there is no more car and he surely will not be allowed to drive anymore.

That's exactly what I'm advocating for Anna - I didn't know that Switzerland was doing this already. If they can, why can't we do the same in England?

@LadyDuck Having to go to an appointed doctor is a good way to satop the cheats. Let's hope that your husband's stepfather has his licence taken away.

I agree, but don't think it should be up to their children to stop them. That could cause resentment, whereas if they were stopped on medical grounds that's the end of the matter. (I'll be 80 in December Marsha).

@jaboUK I think that's why most kids don't step in even when they know full well that the parent shouldn't be driving. I don't know whether the driving laws will ever take into account medical illnesses. Most illnesses wouldn't be ones that should affect driving it should be more of ones that affect mainly the elderly plus a few others I suppose. My mom had macular dementia and we finally recommended she quit driving when she got in an accident. No one else was hurt, but she couldn't see over snow piles in the winter. Maybe others had issues in that location, but we didn't want to take any chances. Because her sight was getting worse, she didn't fight us on it. Some people have neuropathy and it affects their feet as well as their hands. My husband is beginning to have that and I'll want to remember to ask him periodically how much it's affecting his foot. He only has the one foot, but even then, I'm sure he won't think about whether it's safe to drive if it gets worse through the years. I know the mayor in my town and while she doesn't have the duties many other mayors do, maybe she'd know how to get something like this included in driving license renewals. If I find anything out, I'll let you know.

@jaboUK I would think that by a certain age all drivers should stay out of the driver's seat, but I have no idea what age that might be. Even when people are still sane and don't have detrimental diseases you'd think their response time would be a lot less at some average age. I've even noticed myself thinking differently such as I've realized too late that I could have turned left on a light and I stayed put instead. I'm sure I made a few drivers in back of me mad. Later, I double-checked that signal after doing that twice in one week to see if it was obvious or not on whether I could go and I discovered the light was exactly where it should be for the driver to know. I'd rather sit at a green light than go through a red one, but sometimes that's just as bad as the other. I think that either having the elderly do the written test or do a verbal one where odd ball questions are asked to determine the cognitive quality of each individual would be a beginning. I realized a few years ago that it has been years since I've had to do the written test. When I was young I had to do it about every eight years or so. I found out that isn't done anymore. Whether they quit after a person reaches a certain age, or whether no one has to do the written ones unless they're a newer driver I don't know, but that in itself concerned me. Because for those drivers where their sight is failing, that would be the first sign.

So they do have an eye and driver's test for older people where you are?

@DeborahDiane Everybody has to take a driving test here from a qualified examiner, and that includes being able to read signs etc. That applies whatever age you are, but you only have to take the test once. My test was over 60 years ago.

@jaboUK - Yes, after the age of 70 you have to retake the written test each time you renew your license. People of all ages have to take the eye test whenever they first get their driver's license and each time they renew it. New drivers have to take a driving test, where they drive around a neighborhood with a special police officer and prove they can follow the laws, park and do similar things correctly. After a certain age, senior citizens can also be asked to take the driving test under certain circumstances, but I'm not sure how old you have to be for that.

@Janet357 Here you can lose your licence if you drive recklessly.

It does need to be worldwide I agree. LadyDuck tells me they do it in Switzerland from age 70, so why not everywhere else?

@jaboUK yes. Also in Japan, they are very strict. If you are a reckless driver they wont give you a license.