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Originally Posted by blueash
I am sure you carefully searched the policy position of the AARP on this issue of retesting the elderly or you would not have made such a strong condemnation of the organization. Or maybe you are just presenting alternative facts.
I think the AARP is supportive of research into the issue of how to get older [or any] unqualified driver off the road and is open to finding what methods would accomplish this goal, including extra scrutiny of the older driver. Why do I think this is true? Because I looked it up.
The AARP endorsed a 2010 change in Massachusetts law that permits doctors to anonymously report patients to motor registration for action if the doctor believes the driver should not be licensed anymore.
So now I await your reply showing where the AARP squashes any talk of retesting the elderly driver
There are two states that require a road test for older drivers. If you are interested in reality based facts you can read a detailed study of the success or non-success of that program from the NHTSA from 2013. Spoiler alert, the number of accidents per number of elderly in the population did not change. Pay attention to the analysis on page 99 but a complete reading of the report including its limitations is useful.
Take a look at the photo and tell me what two states have the road test? If the road test removes bad drivers those two states should have significant drops in accident rates after age 75 not seen elsewhere. |
My mom worked as a seamstress at a nursing home for 30 yrs. One resident was 106 and drove herself regularly. I don’t know if it’s discrimination or not but I believe the 106 year old should be required to take a road test, specifically because of her age.
I went to school in Daytona Beach in the mid 80’s. I recall an elderly gentleman drove through a bus stop killing many somewhere in S. FL. When the cops caught up to him he had no idea where he was or what he had done. The event created a push for age based tests and I recall like it was yesterday the fight AARP put up. I realize that was long ago and AARP may have changed their position, but I’ve seen nothing to prove that. As for their position on their website, I could not find anything that showed they were for age based driving tests. However, in fairness, I’m not a member so I don’t have access to their entire website.
A couple excerpts from one article:
“As drivers reach 70 years of age, their rates of accidents and fatal crashes per mile driven rise and sometimes surpass levels of the youngest, most accident-prone drivers. Drivers 85 years and older have the highest rate of fatal accidents per miles driven of any age group, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.”
“AARP policy opposes age-based driver testing that is not based on scientific evidence.”
<< Calls and email requests for comment from AARP were not returned. >>
<< A 2012 federal study found that almost two-thirds of all pedal errors — where the driver mistakes the gas pedal for the brake, similar to the Livermore accident — involve young and elderly women, and the highest percentage was women 75 or older. >>
I realize this is a sensitive topic in a senior community. No one is suggesting simply taking a persons DL away. All that is suggested here is at a certain point one needs to stop thinking of a driving as a right and realize it’s a privilege. I fly airplanes for a living. I also plan to fly in retirement. The FAA requires me to test annually now and bi-annually when I retire and fly small planes. Why is it wrong to request the same of those in cars??
Should older drivers undergo road tests to keep licenses? – The Mercury News