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Do you think there should be a cut off point in regards to age, when a person should no longer be driving?

I read this story yesterday... 😔

An elderly woman has died following a single-vehicle fatal road traffic collision in the car park of a supermarket.

The female driver, 91, was in the car park of a supermarket on Trinity Street, Wexford when the car she was driving hit a tree.

The woman was seriously injured and was removed to Wexford General Hospital where she later passed away.

She was the sole occupant of the car.

The collision occurred at about 1.50pm yesterday afternoon.
Jm31xxx · 46-50, M
I think they should be made to have yearly tests. See if you just ban them from driving, it's just going to piss of everyone who has to catch a bus. They take so long to get to their seat and make everyone late.
SW-User
@Jm31xxx 😆
Tarantulella · 36-40, T
@Jm31xxx 🤣🤣🤣
SW-User
@Jm31xxx I think there should be some regular reexamination of your abilities.

I have a medical condition and the doctor had my licence taken away, rightly so. But shouldn't everyone be retested regularly? Regardless of age actually. If you fail you have to relearn and take the full test again.
Wraithorn · 51-55, M
Firstly let me just say that I have great respect for elderly people and mean no offense when I give my opinion.
Not being able to drive themselves around anymore removes some of their feelings of independence and control so I understand why they are reluctant to stop driving.
When my grandfather was still alive we suggested to him that he should stop driving because it was obvious that his ability to do so safely had diminished.
He stubbornly refused. Then one day he cruised through a red light and crashed into a vehicle full of people. A magistrate then took his licence away.
Very close to where I live there is village which contains many retirement homes for the elderly. If you want to see elderly people driving slowly and recklessly then you drive around there for awhile.

I think that at a certain age people's driving abilities should be tested again and every year thereafter.

That said, when I am old I will probably be just as stubborn so there should be a law concerning that.
Wraithorn · 51-55, M
@ineedadrink Thanks. I was trying to be respectful and honest.
SW-User
@Wraithorn it is a very respectful and honest view. 👌👌I had an experience last year when on holiday in South of Ireland a driver wavering all over the road, going fast, slow, over the other side of the road.. Braking then speeds up when my husband tried to overtake.. We were all anxious in the car, I was thinking wtf are we going to crash here because of this "drunk" driver... We eventually got to overtake thank goodness and it was a very old and scared looking driver he also seemed sleepy 😴
That day I wished I had dash cam, that person shouldn't have been driving
Wraithorn · 51-55, M
@SW-User Yes, it's a bit of a touchy and sensitive subject but it still needs to be addressed for the sake of safety.
SW-User
Yes!

Above a certain age there should be a driving test every 2 years, and once that is flunked, no more license.
SW-User
@SW-User I like the idea of waiting until 18 to drive.
SW-User
@SW-User when I was getting insurance for my car in Holland, the system rejected my driving experience because I had been driving since I was 16 😕
SW-User
@SW-User My mom had been driving early like that, but she grew up on a farm.
SW-User
I really think we should all do some sort of refresher course, maybe every 5 years or so regardless of age and this should include an eye test and medical report. I've been driving 40 years and haven't even looked at the highway code since I passed my test. Much has changed since then.
As for older people yes a yearly check in some form from age 60?
indyjoe · 56-60, M
@SW-User I both agree and disagree with you...the basic traffic laws have not changed at all. Yes there are new and different laws and ordinances added to them that we should keep up with ( nut most of those are told to us in the news so they really don't require a refresher course. A lot of the violations I observe are the basic common sense things that everybody needs to know to get a license in the first place. What needs to be regularly checked is the person's eyesight, memory, attention, and reflexes...those are the basic most important in being able to safely handle a vehicle. And 60?...I was thinking more along the lines of 70 or 75.
TheConstantGardener · 56-60, M
That's a sad but all too common story. People live longer now than they ever have done in the past and with that comes some physical and mental issues. . I think that after 75ish everyone should have to undergo retesting. Maybe not a full test but something quick enough to give an accurate idea of the capabilities of the driver.
indyjoe · 56-60, M
No...Not exactly age itself as a factor, I think anyone should be able to drive as long as they are capable to do so. What I believe though is that there should be an age where regular routine testing (perhaps yearly or bi-yearly) should be put into place. They wanted to do that here, but the older people all yelled discrimination and raised hell about it so it was dropped. They said it was young people discriminating against the elderly...but they weren't taking into account that all of these "bigoted young people" would be subject to it as well when they reached that certain age too if the law was passed. I agree with the mandatory testing, I've been in two accidents and one very near accident all caused by elderly drivers, and as long as they can pass the test they're welcome to drive as late into life as they want.
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SW-User
@kingkyri the only thing they ever pulled me over for in Holland was to check my insurance and whether I'd paid my motorrijtuigenbelasting
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Picklebobble2 · 56-60, M
A lot of people are dangerous behind the wheel. Whatever their age !
Just because you can keep it together for a half hour test doesn't make you any safer on the road.
Personally i think everyone should have to re-sit a test every so often.
SweetMae · 70-79, F
Maybe but some 90 year olds are in better health than others.
SW-User
@SweetMae Yeah, I agree, sometimes though when I hear stories like this, I wonder should they be forced to have health checks more regularly than once a year or something. Last year a woman in her 80's driving with her husband in his 80's as a passenger crashed into another car and killed everybody..
SweetMae · 70-79, F
@SW-User That is what I was thinking. My father was driving well until he got sick. The happened in a few weeks.
SW-User
I don't think age should be the way to expect that, but chronic illness, which is usually correlated to age.
Tarantulella · 36-40, T
I feel the way most people do,, after the age of 80 make it mandatory to take road test and eye exam every year
DragonFruit · 61-69, M
Once you reach a certain age, everyone should be tested regularly....both an eye test and a road test.
Some people in their 90s are fine, some others in their 70s are having problems.
(So I don’t think there should be an age cutoff, but I do believe there should be mandatory regular testing every year or so after a certain age....perhaps 70 or 75).
Well my grandma is still driving at 83. She has all her marbles. What i think is they need to do a health check and mind cognitive test before stopping anyone over a certain age from driving. Maybe there should be a set age when this test is required, say 70 for instance.
dondon · M
That's why we need self driving cars
SW-User
It all falls on their medical records. If the doctors gives a 80 + year old the OK to drive despite certain health issues then 🤷🏻‍♀️ .... folks have to renew their license at a certain age too. I think it’s aged 70 here
DearAmbellina2113 · 41-45, F
I do actually. My own beloved grandma was my favorite person in this world, but she was dangerous behind the wheel after 75!!
ineedadrink · 51-55, M
I'm with the majority here, mandatory retesting after a certain age. Or after several driving related infractions no matter the age.
2cool4school · 46-50, F
I failed the eye exam yesterday literally at 40 almost 41 so idk ??
VolpeTredici · 31-35, M
Yes, but deciding where that cutoff point should be is tricky.

 
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