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Should there be a maximum age limit for driving in the US?
Results so far:
| Yes | 54% | 770 votes | Total: 1433 votes | |
| No | 46% | 663 votes |
Yes
by Leonard J Sherrott
Created on: March 04, 2008 Last Updated: April 07, 2011
Setting a maximum age for driving in the US is an interesting concept to contemplate. Logistically, Telling fifty governments how to do their job might not go down too well. Even more difficult would be having fifty governors agree on the number. Regardless, while freedom of choice and anti-censorship campaigners may scream, the idea of introducing a maximum age for drivers has some merit.
The hardest thing to accept in aging is probably the need to be dependent on others. Unless a benchmark is set, very few will voluntarily surrender their right to independence. It is a harsh realization to resign oneself to. Unfortunately, there are remains of many citizens in cemeteries whose twilight years were cut short by a driving mishap. Tragically, some of them may have cut the lives of others even shorter in the process.
Obviously, it would be naive to suggest that everybody at the age of seventy, eighty or even one hundred instantly loses the ability to function. To that end the introduction of a maximum age limit would ideally include a clause to allow appeals on the grounds of competence to continue driving. The whole concept is common sense based. There is a minimum age at which each state believes drivers are mature enough to be behind the wheel. Surely the same logic should be applied by authorities to mature age citizens. No doubt many states already require retesting regularly for older citizens. In fact the state of Alabama begins the process from forty five years of age.
It must be appreciated that the average car is lot more responsive today than the designs of fifty years ago. There was also much less traffic on the roads. Automotive technology has taken a quantum leap. For the most part everybody drove a lot slower than we do today. Just over half a century ago, it wasn’t even compulsory to wear a seatbelt. Believe it or not, many of those enjoying the sunset of their lives today were self taught and paid a small fee for a licence. That doesn’t necessarily make them worse drivers than the rest. Their maturity of years however, makes them vulnerable to the elements of road rage and undisciplined behaviour of others which can result in injury or death.
Prevention is always better than the cure. Far from being an act of censorship, setting a maximum age would be morally and socially responsible for all concerned.
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No
by Amaryllis Holloway-Turman
Created on: February 11, 2009 Last Updated: February 18, 2009
When a person reaches a certain age, the prevailing attitude in this country is that they have lived a long productive life. Now they should be relegated to the elderly communities or nursing homes of America. Why are they being punished for suffering the advanced stages of a sickness we all have? Old age does not necessarily mean that a person cannot function in an ability to drive. People should not be made to feel that once they get a certain age they automatically lose the mobility and freedom they previously enjoyed. It is one thing if they are not physically able to operate a vehicle.
But what if they are capable? Would it be fair to penalize them?
Those are all questions that need to be answered when taking into account when asking the question if a maximum age limit is necessary for driving.
There should be measures taken to ensure that older people are capable of driving. As we get older, our bodies begin to break down. For some older people, that means they experience limited vision. Others have decreased reaction time. And others are not able to hear as well as they used to hear.
How does this affect their driving ability? Those whose vision is limited might not be able to see the road signs as well as a person whose sight is better. They might pull out into oncoming traffic because they could not judge the speed at which the other person was traveling. But this scenario is not limited to people of advanced age. If they are not able to hear well, they might not hear when someone honks the horn at them. A younger person could experience the same problems.
For example, some people make the argument that older people should not drive because they are typically on more medications which can cause slower reflexes. However, people of all ages sometimes need to take medicines that can influence that. A person might have a cold and take some cold medicine. Many cold medicines make a person drowsy. If this person decides to drive, they are taking a risk with their own lives as well as the lives of the other people on the road.
How do we distinguish an older person's ability to drive? What is the solution?
Increased driving tests.
Since it is true that older people are more prone to losing physical capabilities, they need to be tested to determine if their reflexes, vision, and hearing are good enough for them to operate a vehicle. Many states renew driver's licenses every 5- 10 years. But after a certain age, the state might call for shorter license renewal terms. This is in the best interest of the older person and the other drivers on the road.
The issue at hand is if the physical problems of some older people are enough to restrict all elderly people from driving. Setting a maximum age limit for driving is unfair to those who are able to continue driving. As long as a person is physically able to do so, no one has the right to take away their right to drive. If a person's right to do something does not endanger another person, they should be able to do it. Saying a person is old is not sufficient reasoning to restrict their ability to what they are capable of doing.
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