Wednesday, January 13, 2010
too old to drive?
Yesterday, a 28 year-old mother was struck and killed at the intersection of Eglinton Ave. and Martin Grove Rd. while pushing her child in a stroller. The driver, an 83 year-old woman allegedly ran a red light, begging us to ask the question: at what point does someone become too old to drive?
Once a driver reaches the age of 80, they are required to renew their license by completing a vision and knowledge test. However, one can argue that these methods are not sufficient in diagnosing the driving ability of an individual. Reaction time, judgment, and coordination are all necessary components required to operate a motor vehicle. These components, however, cannot be tested simply using pen and paper.
So should the elderly be removed from the roads? One can argue that restricting the elderly from driving is considered age discrimination. In response to that, there's a good reason why individuals under the age of 16 are prohibited from obtaining a driver's license. Is that considered age discrimination as well? Obviously not, right? The rules and regulations are put in place in order to protect the safety of other drivers and pedestrians. So when the presence of the elderly on the roads puts the safety of others at risk, shouldn't their licenses be revoked?
I believe so. I don't think it should take a couple more incidents to occur before concrete changes to driving regulations are changed. Sure we want to allow the elderly the be independent, but to what lengths are we willing to go in order to fulfill their desire of independence?
Thoughts?
To view the story above, click here.
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3 comments:
I don't think setting an actual age limit is a good thing for the elderly. Of course I will be a bit biased b/c I'm minoring in geron and i love seniors *yay*. lol. Remember that there are different functioning levels for every single person. a 70 yr old can have lower functioning level than a 85 yr old . Look at the person at the whole (physical, mental, emotional), not at the age.
It is true that the info process time slows down as a person age, but sometimes it's not that big of a difference. We (seniors themselves included) often thinks that forgetting about something is because of age. That is actually not true and is a myth. Even younger people forget things sometimes. So same thing for the car accident. Even young people run red lights.
of course you can say that different seniors have different functional abilities. but you could make the same case for children. i'm sure some 14 year-olds could outperform an adult behind the wheel.
i am certainly saying that there's a point where you should be too old to drive. when you reach that age, you can't really be relied upon - health risks included. but prior to that, driving examinations should be more strict and more frequent.
ahhh ok yea. But also, the development of children are way more general than the degeneration than seniors.
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