Should old people be allowed to drive 80+

[Seranthor]

What ever but karma is a bitch so dont tempt it.

If the husband of the queen of England (Iam English and a monarchist btw) can nearly kill someone while driving at age 97 then is it time to ask ourselves is it time to reduce these risks?

Risk reduction is the name of the game.

then you take the licences away from the 16-19 crowd... they cause 3x more accidents than their 20yr old contemporaries, and they STILL cause more accidents than the old folks you want to fuck over. There is your 'risk reduction' lad.

[Lochton]

Should old people be allowed to drive 80+

So if anyone has seen the news Prince Phillip who is married to the Queen and who is 97 crashed his Range Rover and was lucky to walk away but this asks the question should old people be forced to give up driving when they reach a certain age?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46918039

Now i said 80+ as a reasonable age for us to start asking cause i know the retirement age is 60 and i certainly wouldnt advocate 60-70 years bared from driving but when you hit that 80+ age then is it time to force them off the roads for everyones including there own safety?

If you can pass a driver awareness test every year, then 80+ is fine.

I am no more scared of 80 year olds on the road than I am scared of 18 year olds on the road.

[Flarelaine]

Many areas of the US don't have strong public transportation, so driving is a must for those elderly who still wish to function in society.

Regrettable, but they still should not drive when they become a public menace. Their convenience does not trump the safety of others.

[yetgdhfgh]

then you take the licences away from the 16-19 crowd... they cause 3x more accidents than their 20yr old contemporaries, and they STILL cause more accidents than the old folks you want to fuck over. There is your 'risk reduction' lad.

But like i said thats down to stupidity and not age related natural decline of the human body.

Is youthful stupidity a mental illness? Is youthful stupidity a natural thing? Does things like mental cognition decline with youth?

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If you can pass a driver awareness test every year, then 80+ is fine.

I am no more scared of 80 year olds on the road than I am scared of 18 year olds on the road.

Iam fine with that but who is willing to pay for that each year?

[Spiel]

Cool theory.
While in reality young drivers cause accidents due to driving too fast and beign reckless.

Sure, not as often as you think they are involved in accidents because of speed though, most of them can be avoided, but not by an inexperienced driver who has only been taught to watch the traffic lights and pedestrians.

Also the severity and consecuence of their accidents is usually smaller than higher age gaps. You cant really consider a 18yo hitting a tree with the tail because he misjudged the handbrake pull and walked away unharmed but with a ruined car, and most of these are the ones that grow those kind of statistics.
If I were to be "released" to the roads at 21 instead of 18, I would have driven exactly the same, perhaps with a greater urge, because I had been waiting for it for so many years. The way to go is make the filter stronger. Its commonplace that driving tests are too easy to pass, so too many people dont respect the 1-2 ton metal bucket moving at 100kmh+ they are in when they go out into the roads.

Teach advanced driving, and makepractical tests more strict. Germany does quite a good job at this I think. You rarely hear about people dying in the Autobahn with people flying 300kmh+ in the left lane. I know for sure that if I try these speeds here in Spain, even if there were limit free zones, too many people would be driving 90kmh in the left lane.

Young fellas are more dangerous on weekends, adults are the whole week. Most of the data taken from a Spanish insurance company, Mapfre. Ive got a relative working there and she shows mestatistic from time to time, always interesting to see.

[Amalaric]

Should old people be allowed to drive 80+

So if anyone has seen the news Prince Phillip who is married to the Queen and who is 97 crashed his Range Rover and was lucky to walk away but this asks the question should old people be forced to give up driving when they reach a certain age?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46918039

Now i said 80+ as a reasonable age for us to start asking cause i know the retirement age is 60 and i certainly wouldnt advocate 60-70 years bared from driving but when you hit that 80+ age then is it time to force them off the roads for everyones including there own safety?

If old people are capable of driving safely they should be allowed to do so.

[Lochton]

Iam fine with that but who is willing to pay for that each year?

Either it is a minimal price of 50 dollars, or, the state - but I know, I am too positive to believe all richer countries would cover such.

[Trassk]

I think past a certain age, more rigorous testing needs to be done. Having an elderly person driving who's reactive brain functions aren't as sharp as a younger person is a real concern, especially when driving something with the potential to kill people if your not 100%

I'm near 40 but wouldn't ever learn to drive due to my diabetic control, if that goes out of whack I could lose coordination and crash.

[Seranthor]

But like i said thats down to stupidity and not age related natural decline of the human body.

Is youthful stupidity a mental illness? Is youthful stupidity a natural thing? Does things like mental cognition decline with youth?

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Iam fine with that but who is willing to pay for that each year?

So you are perfectly fine with the carnage caused by the young, but you have a hissy over the risk of the old? Seems like you dont really want to address the risk after all. You are trying to use it as an intellectually dishonest excuse.

[BlackBoss]

I think if you are displaying medical signs that might impact your driving, you should go into a program to monitor how well you drive. If you suck, I think they should either offer a program paid by the state, to get you around or receive a stipend to get you around. Like an Uber welfare. Amazon already partners with the post office to deliver packages on sunday, so Uber and Lyft competing for state contracts should be normal

[Ozyorkbourne]

But we all know with age our abilities diminish and we cant test for everything at the DMV. Unless we force old people to pay for the test but imagine the shit storm!!

Old people vote en masse and is without doubt the strongest voting block there is regardless of race, creed or policital persuasion!

You use Prince Phillip as an example. You and I both know that he probably has constant physicals and mental assessments and if he was genuinely a danger on the road, there's zero chance that he would be allowed to drive.

[Realitytrembles]

Why? In a few years nobody will still drive a car.

I don't know where you are, but good luck with that in the USA. Huge country + people valuing their freedom of movement = political suicide to any politician who proposes such a thing.

[avitush]

As long as they can prove they're still capable of driving, I have no problems with it.

Although I do think people should have to prove that more frequently (through tests or whatever) after a certain age.

[Adapter]

and yet fines for speeding and reckless driving (using phone, driving while doing other stuff etc.) are almost exclusively given to the 30-50 demographic in my country.
Speeding is done more by experienced drivers because they feel more in control.

The majority of young drivers cause accidents because they are inexperienced, not because they speed and drive reckless.

Sure, not as often as you think they are involved in accidents because of speed though, most of them can be avoided, but not by an inexperienced driver who has only been taught to watch the traffic lights and pedestrians.

Also the severity and consecuence of their accidents is usually smaller than higher age gaps. You cant really consider a 18yo hitting a tree with the tail because he misjudged the handbrake pull and walked away unharmed but with a ruined car, and most of these are the ones that grow those kind of statistics.
If I were to be "released" to the roads at 21 instead of 18, I would have driven exactly the same, perhaps with a greater urge, because I had been waiting for it for so many years. The way to go is make the filter stronger. Its commonplace that driving tests are too easy to pass, so too many people dont respect the 1-2 ton metal bucket moving at 100kmh+ they are in when they go out into the roads.

Teach advanced driving, and makepractical tests more strict. Germany does quite a good job at this I think. You rarely hear about people dying in the Autobahn with people flying 300kmh+ in the left lane. I know for sure that if I try these speeds here in Spain, even if there were limit free zones, too many people would be driving 90kmh in the left lane.

Young fellas are more dangerous on weekends, adults are the whole week. Most of the data taken from a Spanish insurance company, Mapfre. Ive got a relative working there and she shows mestatistic from time to time, always interesting to see.

Speeding, drunk driving, not using seat belts - that's being young and dumb, not "inexperienced.

Time for you guys to whip out some statistics, conversation about feelings leads nowhere.

[Seirith]

Unless they come up with a cure or treatment for aging, I think 80 is a good time to check out.

A family friend's mother is 105 and still works out, drives, volunteers and shops. She is 100% mobile, sharp as a tack and looks like 75. People age at totally different rates.

[hynx]

But we all know with age our abilities diminish and we cant test for everything at the DMV. Unless we force old people to pay for the test but imagine the shit storm!!

Old people vote en masse and is without doubt the strongest voting block there is regardless of race, creed or policital persuasion!

the diminshing issues are easily handled by doctors who shoud have the power to restrict the privilege of operating a vehicle based on medical conditions. prone to diabetic hypoglycemic attacks? no license. glaucoma visual coning with less than 120 degrees of peripheral vision? no license. reaction time too slow? no license. physical limitation to range of motion? no license because you cant fucking check your blind spots. etc. its not that hard to take the license away, when you have the proper reasons to do so. your excuse just endangers the public.

[Stormspark]

It depends on the individual. I've seen old people that can drive just fine. I've also seen younger people that can't drive worth a damn and should've never had a license to begin with.

[Vash The Stampede]

I think we should test people at a certain age to see if they're able to drive.

[Airlick]

Young drivers cause way more accidents than old drivers.
So if you want to improve safety, raise the legal driving age to 25.
End of thread.

And then you'd have most accidents caused people of age 25-30. That's because this is something new, and not only do people that just got the license need to really learn to drive (since, let's be honest, you only learn basics during the courses, and it's a different thing when you end up alone in a car with noone to guide you), they also want to test the limits a bit. The reason why 30+ year olds cause less accidents is because they are used to driving and they pretty much saw everything that can happen on the road and know how to react to it, and because driving becomes a habit instead of a new treat. That is also why young drivers get much stricter fines for causing accidents or violating traffic rules.

There should definitely be stricter health tests for people over, say, 50, that should be more frequent as they age. Health deteriorates, you lose both mental and physical capabilities, and at some point you just don't have any business driving a car anymore. The thing is to fish out these people in time.

[PreparedFor]

People aged 70+ should be banned from driving. Research shows this is the problematic age and onwards from when mental faculties and driver awareness deteriorates. Sorry grandma but it's not safe for you to drive the grandkids around in your current state.