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For their safety and the safety of others, elderly drivers should be required to retake a road test to keep their driver's license. Many elderly people suffer from either gradual or rapidly worsening disabilities that can affect driving abilities, including vision problems, hearing problems, neurological response time issues, hand-eye coordination and the effects of more serious chronic and acute diseases. However, in most states, there is little recourse if you know of an elderly person, either a loved one or merely an acquaintance, who has shown problems on the road.

In New York State, there is a Department of Motor Vehicles form that can be submitted to request/suggest that another person retake the eye test for their driver's license. The form asks for the relationship of the person completing the form to the person they are suggesting for the test. Other states may have similar forms or procedures, but many have none.

My father had been having vision problems for years that affected his driving decisions. He no longer drove distances or at night, but I refused to ride in the car with him and was trying many ways to try to get him to stop driving. I decided to accompany him to his opthalmologist, thinking the good doctor would be a source of help. The doctor turned out to be a proud older man himself, who told me that taking Dad's driving privileges away would be like "taking away his life". So I needed to seek another method.
Up until Dad's heart operation at age 89, Dad was still driving locally. After the operation, during recuperation, I basically took away the car keys with the help of a visiting nurse, which was very unpleasant and demeaning for Dad.

I feel that a requirement to retake a driver's test would put the decision and the action in the hands of a professional reviewer in the Motor Vehicle Bureau with all drivers facing the same standards, instead of adult children or other citizens becoming the decision makers for their elderly parents. After all, Dad gave me driving lessons and my first car, so I am not comfortable taking his rights away. However I am comfortable with a driving test requirement for the elderly that would improve road safety for all drivers.

Learn more about this author, Dana Jaffe.
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