Should our society place restrictions on Elderly Drivers?

Question

I saw something disturbing on my lunch break today, an Elderly woman driving a (Very large) Cadillac - as she drove she used both of the lanes of traffic on the road she was travelling on (Driving down the middle of the road). I watched as several accidents nearly occured as people tried to pass her (she was driving at about 25-30 MPH in the 45 MPH speed limit zone). Eventually she attemted a left turn (with most of her car still in the left lane as she waited to turn), when she turned left several cars coming the opposing way of traffic had to slam their brakes to stop in time causing a small accident a few cars back.

So, My question is: Since our society has an age restriction for teenagers, shouldn't there also be restriction ons older drivers? (Drivers age 65+ are a part of/cause almost as many collision related fatalaties per year as teenage drivers).

Maybe Restrictions such as: Yearly driving/vision tests? Weekend driving only?

What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

No, but everyone should be retested every two years no matter what age they are, young or old makes no difference as long as they are of sound mind and jugement..........

MARCH 2008

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year olds.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,490 drivers in this age group died in motor vehicle crashes in 2006 and an additional 272,000 were injured.

Drivers age 15- to 20-years old accounted for 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes.

Twenty-five percent of teen drivers killed were intoxicated. In 2002 (latest data available) the estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 was $40.8 billion, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov ).

Among licensed drivers, young people between the ages of 15 and 20 have the highest rate of fatal crashes relative to other age groups, including the elderly. In fact, the risk of being involved in a fatal crash for teens is three times greater than for drivers age 65 to 69.

Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two main factors leading to the high crash rate among teens.