Should people be retested for their drivers license?

[YogsVR4]

Based on this article – I think it supports my continuing “yes” answer.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._california_dc - Eight Killed as Elderly Driver Plows Into LA Market


I understand that people don’t want to be singled out for requirements more then anyone else. But the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) has got to get over the fact that some of their members are no longer fit to drive. Sure there are others who need their license taken away, but the fact is that age does impair ones abilities in the same way youth prevents someone from being able to drive. A license received at the age of 16 should not be a lifetime one. Retesting at renewal over the age of 60 seems like a reasonable and sensible thing to do.

[freakray]

I'm not sure of the facts, but I believe that in the UK, once over a certain age, the elderly are required to pass certain requirements before they can renew their licence.

Like I said, I'm not sure of the facts on that one.

On the other side, I agree Yogs, over a certain age and people should be tested annually.

[audi&benz]

Shit yes everyone needs to be retested periodically. My grandmother with fucking alzhiemers has a drivers license, and she cant remember peoples names. She cannot even talk some days but she can still drive a car, even though my grandfather doesnt let her (THANK GOD). Everyone should retested, that would get a lot so SOBs of the street.
Just my

[Neutrino]

i just love how they bring again the stupid old argument of discrimination....well not shit we have to discriminate....when you are not fit to drive then yes you have to be discriminated against since otherwise you can hurt other poeple.....

[sidewinder69]

I think in Canada, (Ontario at least) it's somewhere between 65-75 that you have to get reteseted....but still that's way too late.

I've heard instances where old ppl. think they're breaking but hit the gas instead.

Hell, it happened right here in the city. An old man almost killed his grand son/grand daughter who was in the car with him, because he hit the wrong pedal. Just lucky that he ended up in a church parking lot (after hours) and wasn't driving anywhere near a pedestrian filled area.

[jon@af]

I agree with Yogs, that if you are 60 or older you should be retested. All too often where I work have elderly folks mistaken the accelerator for the brake, and they've gone through many a glass door( BIG bay door with a lot of windows to let people in and out of the shop). They should have their eyes tested and be given a driving test, and this should be done every year or two. But just my thoughts.

[Dublinguy]

Yes I agree you should be retested but not at any particular age. In Ireland I believe if you are over a certain age I think its 60 you have to go through a medical to prove you are physically fit to drive. When you recieve a full license here the maximum length you can get a license for is ten years and my believe is that at the end of that 10 year period that you should have to go for a retest before you license is renewed. My fiance is going for her test soon and I told her that if I did the test now I would fail with flying colours and I only got my test 2 years ago. Thats not to say I am a bad or dangerous driver. Its just that I cant remeber some of the finer points of the rules that most people will ignore. For instance not parking within 10 meters of a bus stop or not parking beside a solid white line that runs down the middle of the road. Rules similiar to this I have forgotten.

Ciaran

[taranaki]

There's a rule in NZ,but it clearly doesn't come into effect early enough.Father in law turns 80 this year,drives like a blind psycho and willeventually drift across the centre line in front of an unlucky bastard.Too many people in this country seem to think that a driver's licence is a god-given right for life,even though their abilities and reflexes are nowhere near adequate for the speed and volume of urban traffic.The testing of elderly drivers is a key point in the 'grey power' pressure group agenda,they like to argue that dear old Mrs Jones should be allowed to keep her licence because she finds it exhausting to walk to the supermarket,and it's dangerous for slow and short-sighted old dears to be walking the streets.


.............HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!
iF THEY TIRE EASILY AND CAN'T SEE STRAIGHT,WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING ON THE ROADS?

[Neutrino]

newsflash...deathtoll rased to 10 now.....


what i find so sick is how a guy that ,considering the average life span, has only a few more years to live took the life of so many young people.....especially the 3 year old girl....that is just sick


btw now i was watching cnn and they kept bringing witneses saying how nice he is.....well hello its not a question of intent....i'm sure he never meant to do it....i ahte when they change the focus....the real probelsm the fact taht he was not qualified to drive.....

also a neibour kept saing how careful he was at drinving....well even though being careful is part of being a good driver its not even close to be enough......

[freakray]

Originally posted by Neutrino


also a neigbour kept saying how careful he was at driving....well even though being careful is part of being a good driver its not even close to be enough......

Yes, very careful.....is that why the police say they have evidence that he has damaged his own garage several times pulling the car in and out?

This whole case makes me ill, I feel for everyone involved, the old man included, but there is enough evidence to indicate he shouldn't have been driving anyway, so what do you do?

It's pointless sending him to trial and locking him away, considering the amount of time he is likely to live still, it would be a waste of tax dollars, but they should at least consider reviewing the law in the light of this incident.

[Neutrino]

Originally posted by freakray


Yes, very careful.....is that why the police say they have evidence that he has damaged his own garage several times pulling the car in and out?

This whole case makes me ill, I feel for everyone involved, the old man included, but there is enough evidence to indicate he shouldn't have been driving anyway, so what do you do?

It's pointless sending him to trial and locking him away, considering the amount of time he is likely to live still, it would be a waste of tax dollars, but they should at least consider reviewing the law in the light of this incident.

yeah i heard about the incidents he kept having with his car....

and i do feel bad about him too but you cannot make an exception to the law....

[YogsVR4]

If we made exceptions like that, we'd have a lot of old people being hired as hit men

[freakray]

Originally posted by Neutrino



yeah i heard about the incidents he kept having with his car....

and i do feel bad about him too but you cannot make an exception to the law....

I agree, you can't make an exception, but this also screams at them to fix the law.
I still wonder if it is worth putting a person his age on trial though, do you think he would survive the trauma of it all?

They need to have sort of competent drivers test in place now so this doesn't happen again.....

[freakray]

Originally posted by YogsVR4
If we made exceptions like that, we'd have a lot of old people being hired as hit men

True, I confess I never thought of it in that way....

...then again, how straight would a jittery old person shoot?
Or for that matter, drive?

[Prelewd]

Originally posted by freakray


True, I confess I never thought of it in that way....

...then again, how straight would a jittery old person shoot?
Or for that matter, drive?

I was hearing dr. drew and adam corolla talk about this on loveline last night. dr. drew was saying that he gets elderly patients like this all the time, where they have temporary lapses of the mind. it sounds very much like the state this man was in. he hit the gas instead of the brake and just went into a horrified trance. dr. drew was saying that patients have done this driving through windows and garage doors and what not.

He also said it would be hard to test these people because some are in outstanding physical/mental shape. They just have lapses sometimes.

Have you ever gotten in the shower and after awhile, can't remember if you've shampooed or not? I have, and I'm 19.