How old is too old to drive...

[redlava]

I thought the roads were unsafe, I can't even go to the dealership without the potential of dying.http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/....html

[BlueCrush]

My great aunt who just passed away at the age of 99, Drove until she was 95. Mostly to the casino! But, when you get to be above a certain age(80+) you should be tested yearly to be able to continue to drive.

[Mavrik]

I agree, I mean granted older people "should" have more experience on the road but when you can barely see over the steering wheel and your reflexes are so slow and you ride the brakes going 30... please pull over, the paper boy on his bike needs to pass.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »My great aunt who just passed away at the age of 99, Drove until she was 95. Mostly to the casino! But, when you get to be above a certain age(80+) you should be tested yearly to be able to continue to drive.I agree but I would bump it back to 65. I have seen my fair share of accidents (firefighter for 11 years) and almost every accident involving an older driver was caused by that older driver. Not to mention the fact that in my home town, about a year ago and older man (mid 70's) "thought he was pushing on the brake" and flew head long into a shop almost killing the owner.

[rasermon]

Lol, The car was written off.

[redlava]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »I agree, I mean granted older people "should" have more please pull over, the paper boy on his bike needs to pass.ROTFLNice one.My grandmother had one of those instances where she thought she was pushing on the brake instead of the accelerator. She will drive with two feet, one on each pedal, because it is two hard for her to use one. We were parking at a restaurant and all of a sudden we took off forward. Now I know why they have those small concrete slabs in front of the parking spaces because that was the only thing that stopped us from crashing into the kitchen.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Quote, originally posted by redlava »My grandmother had one of those instances where she thought she was pushing on the brake instead of the accelerator. She will drive with two feet, one on each pedal, because it is two hard for her to use one. Nothing against your grandmother, but this is what I am talking about.

[redlava]

Don't worry about offending. I'm scared $hitless when I ride with her. I do all of the driving now if I go anywhere whith her.

[rAERRK]

They should make them take a retest at 80

[Houston]

I'm 62. I find this thread interesting, too, and have read all posts. You are all right... to a point. I have to say, in all honesty, that the scariest drivers I've seen on the roads have been young laidies gabbing away on their cellphones. While pulling into the Genesee Valley Mall yesterday a young lady already there stopped as she was supposed to, but never looked to see that I was right there about to turn in front of her. Being old and somewhat aware of how you young folks with your new gadjets do things, I watched to see if she was looking for me. Nope. She never looked. Thanks to this old man, she didn't have an accident right then and there.You young guys, believe it or not, don't always do everything right.Pay attention!

[millster]

Quote, originally posted by Houston »You young guys, believe it or not, don't always do everything right.And all I have to say to that is...Neither do you old guys. That said, I don't think we can really restrict driving rights by age. My Grandparents are all age 70+ and with the exception of my one grandmother who gave up driving 20+ years ago, I can't imagine better drivers. They're all very careful, very aware drivers and I see no reason that would change.There are just as many young and middle aged (maybe more, even) poor drivers out there.

[Houston]

Agreed, millster, age has nothing to do with it.On the other hand, I'd sure like to see a law banning the use of cellphones while driving. I've yet to see an old man or woman using these gadjets while driving, while I've seen many young ladies doing it. To the credit of guys, I've seen very few doing it.

[Kari]

While I don't agree with completely banning cell phone use, I do think a hands-free kit should be required. When using that, it's no different from talking with someone in the vehicle with you, and it's much, much safer. I enjoy being able to use my phone in my vehicle, but I do it safely. Most people I see don't, however.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Quote, originally posted by millster »That said, I don't think we can really restrict driving rights by age. My Grandparents are all age 70+ and with the exception of my one grandmother who gave up driving 20+ years ago, I can't imagine better drivers. They're all very careful, very aware drivers and I see no reason that would change.Then your grandparents would pass the driving test no problem. See, I'm not trying to get all drivers over a certain age off of the road, i am trying to get the drivers over a certain age, who are not physically capable of driving, off the road.

[drunkenmaxx]

you are too old when you cant get to country kitchen buffet without killing someone!!

[bud_one]

Now that's freakin' funny - (removed)

[zionzr2]

I'm soon to be 28. When I observe many people drive... I would not be apposed to occasional driving testing at any age....Perhaps if your record has some marks on it you would have to perform a road test and or a completly random thing (for example you go to renew and by luck of the draw its your turn to perform a road test to complete the renewal of your license....

[ToolGuy]

Now that is a test drive!Worse off, how do you take the keys away from older people? Not an easy task...

[Kari]

Quote, originally posted by MiVibe-ToolGuy »Worse off, how do you take the keys away from older people? Not an easy task...No, it's definitely not. My great grandmother was insistent that she could keep right on driving. Finally, I believe the only solution was to take her car away from her completely and sell it, and take her license from her. We were all afraid she'd go out somewhere and get lost because sometimes she loses track of what she's doing, and I'm sure she's definitely not the only one in this situation. I don't think it's so much age as the fact that there are many people out on the road who just simply don't have the mental and physical capacity to perform the complex task of driving a car. You have to be able to pay attention to what you're doing, still know where you're going, and have quick enough reflexes to not hit anybody around you, no matter what they may do. That may seem like a simple task to so many of us, but to some people, it's not a simple task...and because it *should* be simple, they try to do it anyhow or insist that they can, even when they can't. That's why I agree that there should be driving tests at various intervals at *any* age...although the driving test in Tennessee is a joke anyhow.

[redlava]

Quote, originally posted by drunkenvibe »you are too old when you cant get to country kitchen buffet without killing someone!!Ah yes, a classic South Park episode.