by Michael Baumgardner

Created on: April 28, 2009

Age should never be a determining factor when deciding whether a person should or should not retain a driver's license. I have seen people in their twenties, thirties, forties, and so on, that should never have been issued a driver's license in the first place! The reason a person is given the privilege of having a driver's license in the first place is that they were able to pass a written test and a road test to see if the have the ability to drive a car.

People do not lose their physical or mental abilities at the same age. Therefore, trying to determine an exact age at which a person should no longer be allowed to drive is not only unfair, but is age discrimination. I do believe that all people, regardless of age, should be required to pass a written and physical test periodically. I wouldn't mind if there was a particular age when we should all be forced to take tests, because generally with age comes diminished eyesight, reflexes, and the mental gymnastics required when driving.

Using myself as an example, I recently went to renew my driver's license and failed the vision test. My wife and I had just driven from Death Valley to Florida in six days. I did all the driving never noticing that my vision was not what it used to be. Does that mean I shouldn't be allowed to drive ever again! No. My vision was corrected quite easily with an eye exam and a new pair of glasses. My reflexes are as quick as ever witnessed by the fact that I still play baseball, tennis, and many other sports on a competitive level. In case you are curious, I am sixty-one years old.

One of my clients has just attained the age of ninety-six and she can still drive as well as anyone I know. She actually is quite a remarkable woman. I would not like to see her lose her license just because she reached some arbitrary age. I also have a client that is in his early forties that I will not ride with. He is literally dangerous. He tail gates, changes lanes without using a turn signal, and forget about obeying the speed limit. Unfortunately he is the kind that may never be in an accident but will probably cause many.

I am afraid that if we start using age as the determining factor as to when a person should lose their driver's license then what else will we use a person's age to do. Will we decide that people of a certain age should be put into nursing homes, not allowed to be out doors without an escort? There are reasons a person should lose certain privileges bestowed upon them by society, but age should not be one of them.

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