by Sarah E. Sanuth

Created on: January 12, 2008

When it comes to retesting a driver, there are many things that should be evaluated. There are many people of different age groups that, in fact, cannot drive.

Unfortunately, with age comes many different circumstances that can affect ones driving; not just age alone.

When considering whether or not an elderly driver should be retested things such as medications taken on a regular basis, cognitive thinking, brain function, reflexes, an eyesight need to be considered into the equation.

There have been many times when each and every one of has had that elderly driver in front of us that seems to want to drive 10 miles under the speed limit. It's aggravating and obnoxious.

Driving history also needs to be considered into the equation. If someone has been pulled over because they are driving on the wrong side of the road or highway, this person should definitely be retested to see whether or not there are underlying issues. Maybe it was their eyesight that caused the issues, they thought they were entering an on ramp; it had nothing necessarily to do with their age.

The same would hold true of an average aged driver. If there have been many accidents on their record or many weird driving scenarios, this person should also be re-evaluated.
When a younger driver has been caught speeding too many times or has been in accidents, they are usually forced to enter into some sort of driving class to keep their license.

Why should younger drivers be held to different standards because they are young and the older driver not? It all boils down to someone's ability to drive safely and effectively. If someone can't drive properly they should be retested.

Each driver should be looked at as an individual, not a stereotype. There are plenty of elderly drivers out there that drive fine, they should be placed in a high risk classification because of a few elderly drivers. If we all followed this rule then we would all be a part of a stereotype.

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