Dukatz 1

Michael Dukatz
Professor Jennifer Courtney
English 2010
5 March 2015

Restricting Elderly Drivers

With the population increasing at an alarming rate, more and more drivers are hitting the
road, to get from point A to point B. While driving, its obvious to see an increase in vehicles on
the road, and its more obvious how horrendous drivers can be. When the terrible drivers are on
the road you can tell immediately by their extremely slow driving that slows up traffic, or their
vehicle driving around like they have no idea what the traffic signs mean, or which is the right
way to go. More often than not, the actions that prove someone to be a bad and dangerous
driver, are performed by elderly
individuals, that are past a healthy ability
to drive. With elderly people arguing that
theyve been driving longer, its easy to
rebuttal that traffic has gotten busier, and
the automobiles today are a lot more
powerful than the buggies that use to be
driven. Arguments have been made that
restrictions need to be in place, for drivers
past a certain age. While not all elderly
drivers are bad, the risks still seem high,
with not changing the current setup, in a
way that can weed out the individuals that
are just not healthy enough, physically, and
mentally, to drive. Driving has become a
"Bus Crash", By:John Thurm, flickr
necessity of life that needs to be made as
safe as possible, to secure the livelihood of individuals on the road. With the amount of elderly
drivers over 65 projected to double by 2030, a change needs to be made, to keep people safe.
Now to say an individual past a certain age should be required to re-test for a drivers
license more frequently than younger drivers seems unfair, do the reduced amount of accident
offset that unfairness? It almost seems to be a very common news story these days, of an elderly
individual that is obviously past the age of a safe driver, being involved in a fatal accident. And
most of the time, these fatal accidents are due to the elderly driver having some type of health
episode while driving, or theyre just not mentally capable of driving. An article titled Crashes
Fuel Debate on Rules For Older Drivers, that was posted on The Wall Street Journals website,

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states that elderly drivers have more fatal accidents per mile driven, than any other drivers. Due
to the fact that elderly drivers are more fatal per mile driven, and the population of elderly
drivers will be doubling by 2030, states have been looking at ways to take action, at weeding out
the dangerous drivers that frankly shouldnt be driving on the road. Massachusetts, Illinois, and
New Hampshire, have added some special revisions in place to help with the war on poor elderly
driving. Statistics have shown that elderly drivers that go to get their license renewed, have
reduced rates of accidents. According to the article Crashes Fuel Debate on Rules For Older
Drivers, elderly drivers that felt they wouldnt qualify for a renewed license, wouldnt
participate in the renewal, with concerns that their license would be taken away, which studies
have shown that most of those individuals are indeed unfit to be driving.
The age that can define an elderly driver has been increasing over the years. According to
the article Are elderly drivers a road hazard?: Problem definition and political impact, the age
was figured to be 55, however that has increased to 65. That results in approximately 15% of
drivers on the road being considered elderly. Just like many individuals, elderly people depend
on driving as much as others. So to completely take away all elderly drivers licenses would not
be feasible. The trend for elderly drivers is to slowly decrease their driving habits. For example,
many will eliminate driving at night, choose their routes better, and only drive in certain
conditions, at certain times of the day. While the idea that the elderly drivers can in ways regulate
themselves, thats still not enough to reassure people that the elderly should be able to drive until
they decide otherwise. Problems that occur when elderly drivers are in accidents have been
linked to problems coordinating the brake pedal from the gas pedal, or the fact that vision gets
impaired the older you get, and the deterioration of the brain that can cause slow reaction speed,
and poor decision making abilities. While these problems can result in accidents causing
fatalities, such as the one described in Are elderly drivers a road hazard?: Problem definition
and political impact, in which a 87 year old individual drove into a group of third graders,
killing one, and injuring 77. These problems can be prevented by adding tighter regulations to
elderly drivers, and increase the time between renewals of licenses.
The percent of accidents caused by elderly drivers is quite alarming. According to an
article posted on smartmotorist.com (Older Drivers, Elderly Driving, Seniors at the Wheel), in
the late 90s, elderly drivers were involved in 5% of traffic accidents with injuries, 13% of traffic
fatalities, 13% of vehicle occupant fatalities, and 18% of pedestrian fatalities. With the amount of
elderly drivers accounting for approximately 20% in comparison to the rest, those numbers are
very scary. Some suggestions to get those numbers lower have been laws such as reporting laws,
or like in California they have a mandatory driving test if a driver over 70 is in 2 accidents in a
one year span. Other suggestions have been deficit screening, in which all drivers over a certain
age would require a screening by a medical physician, who would determine if their fit enough to
operate a motor vehicle. Also suggested was the use of statistics, such as how the accidents
happened, and what type of action was being performed, such as a left turn, or just stopping in
the middle of the road. All these suggestions are good, however would these be enough to reduce
the amount of elderly drivers just not fit enough to be driving?

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With the risks of elderly drivers on the road, without any double checks on whether
theyre capable of operating a motor vehicle, something needs to be done. The statistics are scary
to swallow, and the idea that its going to get worse is very frightening. Too often Im noticing
dangerous driving, by an elderly person that has a blank look on their face, while they are
controlling a large vehicle that can potentially be fatal to themselves, or others. Now Im not
saying all elderly people shouldnt be able to drive, I just want to see precautions in place, so that
the ones that are past their ability to drive, can be taken off the road. When I get older I assume I
will be in the same spot as some of these elderly drivers, in the way that I feel I can do what I use
to just fine. And thats what makes this topic a hard one. Getting old is tough enough as it is, let
alone if new regulations are put in place that you have to prove every year youre still capable of
driving. The reality of this sucks, however with the predicted increase in elderly drivers,
something needs to change, for the safety of everyone on the road, or those pedestrians just
crossing the street. Getting old sucks, however you still need to adapt to the changes to your
body, and mind, and come to the realization that what elderly drivers feel are best for them, isnt
necessarily best for the individuals around them.

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Citations
Cobb, Roger W., and Joseph F. Coughlin. "Are Elderly Drivers a Road Hazard?:
Problem Definition and Political Impact." Journal of Aging Studies 12.4 (1998):
411-27. Web.
Gresset, Jacques. "Risk of Automobile Accidents Among Elderly Drivers with
Impairments or Chronic Diseases." Canadian Journal of Public Health / Revue
Canadienne De Sante'e Publique 85.4 (1994): 282-85. JSTOR. Web. 04 Mar.
2015.
"Older Drivers, Elderly Driving, Seniors at the Wheel." Older Drivers, Elderly Driving,
Seniors at the Wheel. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.smartmotorist.com/traffic-and-safety-guideline/older-driverselderly-driving-seniors-at-the-wheel.html>.
Shishkin14, Philip. "Crashes Fuel Debate on Rules For Older Drivers." WSJ. N.p., 14
July 2009. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203577304574276442336
625248>.