Like the photo above, the talk of elderly drivers is usually humorous in nature, good hearted ribbing, etc. But this morning on the news was an actual story of a 90-year-old driver who had been involved in an accident with a motorcyclist. The driver was found at fault and the biker lost a leg due to his injuries in the accident. He is now pursuing a new law, regulating the licensing and driving of elderly individuals.
So, of course people are already screaming age discrimination and on that principle, I agree. But the truth is, there has long been argument that people's rights cannot be protected at the expense of others' personal safety. There was an attorney on the news as well, clarifying that the actual legal argument was that there needed to be testing, especially for vision and reaction time, after a certain age.
Next came a parade of elderly individuals, predominantly spry and capable looking, touting their qualifications, insisting they were actually better drivers, due to their years of experience.
So far, good arguments on both sides. My side is this;
We don't let twelve-year-olds drive and no one screams age dicrimination. Their age does not afford them the cognitive ability to safely operate a vehicle. It has long been taught that as the elderly get older, they return to a similar state as when they were a baby, toddler and small child. People who have seizures cannot drive and no one screams disability discrimination.
The fact is, nothing that endangers others can be allowed, for the sake of free will. Testing for drivers, at whatever age or intervals the Department of Transportation sees fit, is not unfair. Having a license is a privilege that has to be earned by taking and passing a test. The state in which this accident occurred, did not require a driving or vision test for renewal. Just complete a written refresher quiz and pay the fee!
In Arizona, a driver's license is good for fifty years. How does this make sense? The photo would not even match.
We have to be careful we don't do more harm than good, when blinded by the pursuit of our almighty rights.
Agreed. Why not re-test us every ten years? Make sure we still know how to parallel park?
ReplyDeleteThen again, that would cost more government money. And irritate everybody.
We just had an accident happen here a few weeks ago. A 24-year-old woman ran through a stop sign and killed a motorcyclist. No health issues... just ran the stop sign. How can we test for sheer stupidity?