Elderly kills 9 in car accident. Should elderly be allowed to drive or not?

[bigpimpc]

I think they should have to continuoulsy take a driving test once a year after the reach a certain age. just my .02

[THE JUICE]

That was aweful and bad. But the guy is old 86 i believe. Ive seen old people here driving in the opposite direction on the rods causing trouble. I think Old people have the right like anyone else to drive but they need to get check annually where they get thier licesnce to see if they still qualify to drive. I think that would be the fairest tihng to do, to run tests if u can still drive.

[jipped genes]

i feel old people drive slow and piss us off but they are wise enough to know their reactions are slower and thats why they drive slow as a rule.there will always be the "killer blue hair" jamming down the highway in her 87 buick at 92 mph. i think after a certain age people should at the least have their eyes checked but my grandmother drove until she was 94 and never had an accident. insurance rates go down when you get older for a reason.

[CubanJuice]

I think they should take a driving test and eye exam yearly from 70 on period.

[bjtheman]

I HATE ABOUT 95% OF ELDERLY DRIVERS!!
Sorry but a majority of them around here are road hazards...going 40mph in the fast lane on the highway which is supposed to be 65-70mph, I mean cmon..wtf!
I think after 50yrs or so they should have to regularly take the driving exams over!
They are just as dangerous as someone speeding!

[BossDJ02]

my experience with elderly drivers is horrible. 2 months after just getting my 70 mustang back from the auto body shop ( i was having it fully restored and painted midnight blue with white racing stripes) an elderly driver of the age of 84 side swiped me in traffic. i was waiting at a red light and the older gentlemen was driving a moving truck, which is the company he own, he was blocking traffic tryin to merge into the one way street i was in. he didnt see my stang with the brand new paint job and hit me picking me up, rupturing my tire and tearing the corner of my gas tank. it was heartwrentching. the guy was 84 for gods sake. shoudl he be driving suck a big vehicle? i was soo pissed i was bout to swing at him but glad that i didnt. he's insurance payed for the entire bill of repair which came to be to 4 grand. so NO i dont think elderly people should be allowed to drive muchless drive vehicles of such magnitude.

[jipped genes]

Originally posted by basskiller
I see alot of young people killing others with cars... should this be applied to them also?

your right a hell of a lot more kids are wiping out and hurting people than old folks. i think they should be tested. and i dont like the way they drive because its usually slow as hell but just because i dont like it dosnt mean they dont have the right to drive 10-15 miles per hour under the limit. as long as they as going the minimum posted speed on the highway which is 45 in my neck of the woods.

[LOCO]

last year i did visual field testing (for glaucoma patients) at a hospital... and we had patients that were over 80 still driving. they were so blind they used to trip on chairs or any other object that was in their way just walking around in the room (and ofcourse they'd fail all the tests almost all the time).. but like i said before they were still DRIVING... that's like illegal....
i so don't wanna be around them when i'm driving...

[CubanJuice]

Originally posted by jipped genes
your right a hell of a lot more kids are wiping out and hurting people than old folks. i think they should be tested. and i dont like the way they drive because its usually slow as hell but just because i dont like it dosnt mean they dont have the right to drive 10-15 miles per hour under the limit. as long as they as going the minimum posted speed on the highway which is 45 in my neck of the woods.

I tend to desagree with the myth of young people being the most dangerous drivers. I live in the city with the worst insurance rates in the states (and next to the second one NYC) and most of the accidents here are middle age men and a very large number of women!! You rarely see young kids splatting their brains agains the dividers. I also see lots of old people taking red lights and stop signs left and right. That myth is the insurance companies' most favorite excuse to raise insurance rates. It's unfounded IMO. They have to do it because people here sue for just about everything and they have to make up for the loss.
Anyway, when was the last time you saw a young kid kill 9 people in a car accident all over the news?? I also believe that driving slow is not only a reason for like/dislike situation but it can also be cause to an accident.

[S0uL]

young drivers are just as bad.

[Blackfoot]

I agree with all of the above. 16 is too young. 18 should be the standard and after a certain age, say 70, they should have to re-take the driver's test. I know it would flood the motor vehicle offices but hey, whatever it takes to keep people safe.

[THE JUICE]

damn those old people, but i still love them. There are some that are old and grumpy, and are always telling u off. Those are annoying.

[dreamgirl]

I have 2 comments/thoughts... there will never be a test for elderly drivers because they are the biggest force in politics... no other age groups vote as much as they do... so no politician would ever be behind testing them to drive because they'll never get elected again

We've been trying to take driving away from my grandmother, she caused 3 accidents within a month last year, after this my mom and her siblings are taking her driving away this August when they are all visiting her. Maybe this is what it will take for her to realize why they are all so concerned.

[CubanJuice]

Originally posted by dreamgirl
I have 2 comments/thoughts... there will never be a test for elderly drivers because they are the biggest force in politics... no other age groups vote as much as they do... so no politician would ever be behind testing them to drive because they'll never get elected again

We've been trying to take driving away from my grandmother, she caused 3 accidents within a month last year, after this my mom and her siblings are taking her driving away this August when they are all visiting her. Maybe this is what it will take for her to realize why they are all so concerned.

Yeap... actually their political lobbying strenght IS the reason they are still driving today....

[edvedr]

Originally posted by jipped genes
insurance rates go down when you get older for a reason.

they start going back up again at around age 64