How old is too old to drive?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

SHILOH, Ill. (AP) -- After an 84-year-old driver plowed through an elementary school lunchroom this week, killing an 8-year-old boy, his mother pressed lawmakers to bar the elderly from getting behind the wheel.

''We very much support a mandatory limit on the driving age for seniors,'' Amanda Wesling wrote in a missive directed at driver Grace Keim, who authorities say was en route to a driving class at a senior citizen's center Monday when she struck Ryan Wesling.

Wesling's plea raises new questions about how old is too old to drive, an issue state legislatures continue to grapple with in the wake of similar tragedies in recent years. While many states have enacted or are considering tougher testing for older drivers, they're weighing those changes against the rights of millions of older people to have the independence a license allows.

Among the incidents prompting calls for change:

_ In November, an 89-year-old man whose car hurtled through a farmers market in California in 2003, killing 10 people and injuring more than 70 others, received five years of probation because a judge deemed him too ill to go to prison.

_ Last August, a sport utility vehicle driven by an 89-year-old man plowed into pedestrians and vendors at an open-air public market in Rochester, N.Y., injuring 10 people.

_ In October 2005 in North Dakota, an 87-year-old woman on her way to a doctor appointment smashed her car into the hospital's lobby, injuring five women.

At least two dozen states and the District of Columbia have laws singling out older drivers for special attention, from required road tests to vision examinations, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

In Connecticut, there's a legislative push to require automatic retesting of anyone over 75 who has had more than two wrecks in a calendar year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In New York, a pending measure would halve to two years the renewal period for anyone over 70.

''Different states are doing different things, but they're addressing the issue,'' said Anne Teigen, a research analyst for the NCSL. Still, she says, legislatures are trying to balance safety concerns against the unwavering fact that older Americans want to drive.

Illinois has some of the nation's toughest restrictions on older drivers, joining New Hampshire in requiring a road test for renewals after age 75. Illinois also is among at least 15 states that have an accelerated renewal schedule for older drivers, requiring renewals every two years from ages 81 to 86, and then every year after that.

Democratic Illinois state Rep. Kurt Granberg says setting an age for drivers to hand over their keys wouldn't be appropriate because ''everyone's different.'' But he says he wouldn't be surprised if Ryan's death prods lawmakers to revisit the state's requirements for older drivers.

Advocacy groups for the elderly urge states not to overreact to each incident, noting that accidents happen in every age group and that taking away an older person's license could rob them of their independence.

''The issue is not age; it has to do with the person's physical and mental limitations, and that goes beyond age,'' said Beverly Moore of Illinois' AARP.

Older drivers, she says, still tend to be more cautious behind the wheel, and family members can be involved in helping decide when a driver should give up the keys.

Studies have shown that vision, reaction time and other driving skills can diminish as drivers age.

Statistics from the Insurance Institute show that older drivers generally are as safe as other age groups until they reach 75, when they tend to have more accidents. Drivers 85 and older are about as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as those ages 16 to 19, but they're more likely to die than others in car crashes because their bodies are frailer, according to the institute.

Keim's license was up for renewal March 3, her 85th birthday, and her driving record shows no citations, according to state records. Investigators have not said what caused her to drive up a dead-end drive and never stop, hurtling through Shiloh Elementary's cafeteria, killing Ryan and injuring two schoolmates.

While sympathetic to Ryan's family, 67-year-old Joan Juergens considers his death ''totally a freak occurrence'' that shouldn't require stiffening Illinois' licensing requirements for older drivers.

''I don't think you can broadbrush one age group and say it can't drive anymore. It's unfair,'' Juergens said.

Others aren't so sure. At 66, Mary Baum says she wouldn't mind state lawmakers taking a fresh look at Illinois' licensing protocol after an elderly aunt of her husband's flunked a drivers license test, then admitted to the family that her vision was failing from age-related macular degeneration.

''Something has to be done,'' Baum said. ''Some are qualified to drive, some are not. And I would not want to be on the road if I'm not.''

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A...RONT01/70203003

[KarenCee 3]

When incidences like this happen, yes...I think there should be a limit. Or maybe a more stringent test to see if you really ARE able to drive competently.

[Nessa 23]

no I don't think there should be an age limit, maybe a year renewal. It doesn't matter if you're 65 or 85 as long as you're very heatlhy and in perfect condition to drive.

[Cassie 8]

Honestly, there should be more stringent guidelines for getting driver's liscenses renewed -- ie. after a certain age limit, one must be tested more frequently, like every year or two years.

[sophyie 0]

I think there should be tests.

Something like: Starting at 60 every five years, starting at 70 every two years, starting at 80 every year... something like that.

Vision, reaction and hearing tests.

There was a recent test in Germany where they randomly pulled people over and had them test their vision and they found that something like 30% (!!!) out of the group (several hundreds) needed glasses or different/better glasses!

And that was people of all ages.

[Fandango 1,440]

My accident was caused by an 86 year old man who was driving on the wrong side of the road. He came around a curved underpass so I didn't even see it coming. Then he was yelling at me to move my car (presumably so that the cops wouldn't be able to know who hit whom) and as I was sitting there, a bloody mess, with chemical burns, broken bones, etc...he told the ambulance drivers that I was 'faking it' for a lawsuit.

Oh, that was AFTER he attempted to leave the scene cos his 'stories' were on the telly and he didn't wanna miss them.

End of the day, he had 10k insurance, didn't own his home, nowt on paper, so ####### was I gonna get?

I wound up needing surgery that my chances were 50/50 'at best' for surviving it, and 75-80% that I'd be paralyzed from the neck down. THANK GOD!!! that I survived in one piece, able to walk, no brain issues whatsoever (a few of you may disagree ) but the wreakage that was my life took years to rebuild. Add to that about $900k in debt!!

But that's all sorted now, and yes, I seem bitter...I don't know...I am thankful for living thru it all, and it took my life in different directions, but sometimes it seems like a bitter pill to swallow still to this day. So yeah, I am ALL FOR testing for motor skills and whatnot once you reach a certain age, tho the legislation will never see anything like this cos it'll be called 'ageist'

[Fandango 1,440]

Oh, ps & btw...my dude had just renewed his license by mail & it was good til he would be in his mid 90s!!!!!!

And one more thing that infuriates me...I was at the DMV changing my name after my divorce...they were calling out a name to give out a license. The man the license was going to was practically deaf and couldn't walk. The DMV lady was sat there calling his name for EVER, then someone nudged the guy and he started to hobble up to get it. In the time it took him to walk up and get it, I wound up getting my new piccie taken, had it printed out, and still left before he hit the door to leave with his shiny new license. Unfreakinbelievable.

[melly 0]

I think there should be tests.

Something like: Starting at 60 every five years, starting at 70 every two years, starting at 80 every year... something like that.

Vision, reaction and hearing tests.

This sounds good to me. As long as someone can drive safely, why not let them?

I know when my grandma got into her 80's, her kids took her car keys away. She was soooo pissed but they felt that it was necessary. However it wasn't because she couldn't drive well (though that could have been an issue they weren't aware of) but because she had alzheimers and would go out and get lost and not know where she was.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I think there should be tests.

Something like: Starting at 60 every five years, starting at 70 every two years, starting at 80 every year... something like that.

Vision, reaction and hearing tests.

I agree.

[mmb 0]

As well as mandatory retesting after a certain age I would like to see mandatory reporting by doctors of certain medical conditions after all a fit healthy 68 year old is very different to a 68 year old with sleep apneoa, transient ischaemic attacks, diabetes etc. So many medical conditions, or the drugs to treat them impair driving skills, and unless these drivers are identified and face more stringent testing we all all at risk.

[raymaga 26]

Age should not be the determining factor..... ability should be.

There should be yearly road tests (as well as vision tests) for people over a certain age, and if they don't pass the tests, they lose their driving privileges.

[Nancy2015 2]

My accident was caused by an 86 year old man who was driving on the wrong side of the road. He came around a curved underpass so I didn't even see it coming. Then he was yelling at me to move my car (presumably so that the cops wouldn't be able to know who hit whom) and as I was sitting there, a bloody mess, with chemical burns, broken bones, etc...he told the ambulance drivers that I was 'faking it' for a lawsuit.

Oh, that was AFTER he attempted to leave the scene cos his 'stories' were on the telly and he didn't wanna miss them.

End of the day, he had 10k insurance, didn't own his home, nowt on paper, so ####### was I gonna get?

I wound up needing surgery that my chances were 50/50 'at best' for surviving it, and 75-80% that I'd be paralyzed from the neck down. THANK GOD!!! that I survived in one piece, able to walk, no brain issues whatsoever (a few of you may disagree ) but the wreakage that was my life took years to rebuild. Add to that about $900k in debt!!

But that's all sorted now, and yes, I seem bitter...I don't know...I am thankful for living thru it all, and it took my life in different directions, but sometimes it seems like a bitter pill to swallow still to this day. So yeah, I am ALL FOR testing for motor skills and whatnot once you reach a certain age, tho the legislation will never see anything like this cos it'll be called 'ageist'

OMG... What an a***ole!!! I'm so glad you have recovered after this terrible accident!

I am all for frequent testing for people after reaching a certain age. I think they test older folks here in CA, but I'm not sure if it's mandatory or it's only in case they had an accident.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I agree that there should be some sort of mandatory testing set up for certain ages and up, but not a mandatory cut off age. There are some excellent older drivers who should not be penalized because they are over a certain age, while they are some horrific younger drivers. Graduated licensing may be an option - level A is unrestricted, level B cannot drive on interstates, level C cannot drive at night, etc. dependent on health and physical wellbeing. Re-certification on all aspects of driving should be re-done at 70, then bi-annual testing from 75 and on with annual testing before re-licensing from 80 on along with a doctor's clearance might get some of those who should not be driving off of the road and allow those who are still competent to drive to be on the road.There would be resistance I am sure, but driving is not a right - it is a privilege.

[brnidokiegurl 1]

Base regulation on ability not age. In todays times its the reaction time with the new speeds that they cant respond to sometimes. I know my mom (thinks) she can drive but between me and dr have convinced here she (shouldnt), she has the beginning of ALZ. she would be so confused in a stressful situation, (as maybe a child or animal run in front of her) no telling how she would react. How do you regulate the ones in 20s and 30s that are so reckless still?