Its almost everyday that a car accident is reported on the local news. According to a ranking list of the top leading causes of death in Texas (2008) from the Texas Department of Public Safety website, auto accidents is #4.
Of course, the causes for these accidents vary from many things like drunk driving, weather, and cell phone use. Recently, Texas laws have cracked down on drunk driving and cell phone use while weather reports were made to be more easily accessible for travelers.
However, there is another possible way to improve transportation safety, but it is not as "polite" to state openly. That is, elderly people who are incapable of operating an automobile safely, should not be on public roads that the community shares.
There are accidents in Texas every year due to the elderly making mistakes because of their lack of awareness and ability to react. USATODAY provides a great graphic on how aging affects the ability to drive, and among the reasons included are the elderly tending to have a slower reaction time, their vision is blurry without proper aid, and their joint pains and arthritis can make necessary driving motions painful.
However, there are always exceptions to any group. I dare not say all the elderly should be prohibited from driving on public roads but instead I motion for the license cancellation of only the elderly who are incapable of safely driving.
So how do we determine those that are capable and those that are not. Currently in Texas, there is a Katie's Law that requires drivers driver license applicants over the age of 79 to apply in person. The law also requires that those over 79 must renew their license every 6 years in person and must pass vision exams during renewal. Commercial drivers over 85 must renew every 2 years and take the necessary exams.
Though this is a good attempt, it isn't completely effective. For people over 79, a lot can change within 6 years. A possible amendment is instead of a 6 year renewal rate, these elderly drivers should be required to renew annually along with taking the necessary exams annually. Also, age 79 is quite old and the human senses do begin to deteriorate long before that for many people. It would be more appropriate to move the required age of 79 to a younger age such as 65. The exact age should be determined by researchers with more knowledge on the human body than myself, but the idea is the same; 79 is really too old.
Although the elderly are not the only group of drivers with a high tendency to not drive safely (in fact teen drivers have a much higher auto-accident rate), the prevention of unnecessary accidents caused by this group is completely possible with more frequent exams. By eliminating drivers that cannot physically and mentally operate safely, we are effectively decreasing the amount of accidents, and are taking positive steps to making Texas roads a little safer.
After reading Huy Le’s blog post dated July 27, 2012, titled "Stage 5: Why Old People Should Not Drive," I find myself in favor of the idea that “elderly people who are incapable of operating an automobile safely, should not be on public roads.” When I think of car accidents, I usually think of texting or drinking while driving. The thought of elderly people causing accidents as well is a very logical thought, it had just never occurred to me.
ReplyDeleteI think Huy did a great job providing evidence that some senses diminish as one ages. This suggests that a simple exam should be conducted to find out if one is still capable of being a good driver. I like that Huy stated that not all elderly should lose their privileges to drive but only those who cannot pass the exam. Currently, Katie’s Law forces those over 79 years of age to take this exam every 6 years. I agree with Huy that this age should be lowered. I think 60 years of age might be a better baseline age requirement with follow up exams every 4 years. Once the driver reaches the age of 72, an annual exam would be beneficial. According to the American Optometric Association, the most common vision problems in adults occur between the ages of 40-60 years, thus the reason I suggest the age be lowered to 60. Yes, it may seem like a hassle to get a license renewed more frequently once you turn 60, but by requiring this it may keep unsafe drivers off of the roads, hopefully reducing accidents caused by elderly drivers.
At the end of Huy’s blog post he states that “the prevention of unnecessary accidents caused by this group is completely possible with more frequent exams.” I believe a lot of the accidents due to age related impairments will be reduced, however; there are still cases of reckless driving that happen regardless of age.