Elderly drivers and suppending there licence

JOCCO

Well-known Member

Don't want to start a war here!! What is your state doing about this issue? It comes up from time to time for mine there is an eye test and a doctor can suggest revoking it, seems to be about it. Children/family have little power to put an unfit elderly drive out of service. Oh there is talk about a road test for say people over 80 and a bunch of other stuff but never seems to get off the ground!!! I would also note that there are few cases where intervention are needed as I see it. Where a DR or family member has already put a stop to it. I do feel its an issue that needs work but the real question seems to be how to go about it. SO LETS HERE FROM YOU AND KEEP THIS CLEAN
 
Father in law in Iowa went thru several steps with macular degeneration. 1st, no driving at night, then restricted to within 25 miles from home. I've seen an older gentleman deprived of his rights take an 8N ford to town weekly for grocery's in all kinds of weather.
 
Last year we knew my mil's driving was getting bad, mostly because of her vision. I stayed out of it, until one night she stayed the bar too long and hit the hitch of a parked pickup and tore the door off her Buick! Then we said that was it. Two days later, we were surprised when a cop showed up, he said they had her on video and she had sideswiped a brand new cop car parked outside the jail. The cops said if she wants to drive again, she would have to take a test, and it would be a very hard one. I live in MN. After that, she had to walk to the bar.
 
Just turned 80 last December and only had to have an eye test. I'm good for another 8 years. Been on my second million miles of driving and haven't had any complaints about how I do it now or in the past. Only had one reportable accident in all that time. Twenty years ago.
There should be a way of testing us old goats should our driving skills decrease to a point that we are a danger to ourselves or others. The problem comes with who determines when it becomes time to quit. How do you keep it from becoming a form of harassment or a way of gathering more fees for the DOT.

My friend in CA has to take a driving test every year. A form of harassment in my mind since I have ridden with him and never saw any reason why he should be forced to stop driving. Seen plentyy of younger drivers that should be kept off the road.
 
As with everything else, things used to be a lot more practical than they are now. When my grandma was in her 80's, she backed into a tree at the park because she couldn't get her foot off the gas and onto the brake quick enough. It was about time for her to renew her license, so mom went to the local license examiner and told him of her situation. He was an old Army buddy of my dads, and said he would make her take an eye test when she renewed, and with a wink, said he was pretty sure she'd fail. She did just that, and was really upset with the examiner, but it took the heat off mom. We took her car, and then would come to town and drive her around on her errands one day a week.
 
In MN we have to take an eye test when we renew, and I thought older drivers had to take it more often, but I can't seem to find anything online. My wife got herself in a little predicament, her birthday is next month and we are in AZ, they have a snowbird option but she may have to pay for an eye exam here in AZ. We are only 65 so the old age thing doesn't pertain to us yet.
We see some drivers here in AZ that act like they shouldn't be driving, and some of the locals treat us that way too!
 
In the Phoenix metro area, there are 3-4 incidents a year where old people drive through store fronts and injure people. There are a lot more store front crashes attributable to drunks.
 

I have a long story, but basically the testing means nobody has to be the bad guy. A doctor who pulled somebodies license around here would not have many customers in a hurry. A sheriff who pulls a license, does not get reelected.....I went thru this with my neighbor, and my grandmother. Btw, a 90 year old woman can be very nasty about this, and also decide to drive without a license. We had to disable her car. :shock:
 
I believe there are two parts to this, first is vision, second is reasoning.

My dad had degenerative optic nerve disease, lost license due to vision at 62. He could actually see pretty good, learned to over scan and fill in the black spots, but could not pass the test. Iowa does not require a license for tractors, so he bought the Farmall H and used it as his winter vehicle and bicycle for summer to get back and forth to town.
 
We've been through this with a few parents/grandparents in last few years.....and I'll probably be next someday. Accept for wifes uncle (she was guardian) our family has been close enough to make the right decisions and all has been well. The one uncle had the city police watching him and finally nabbed him weaving all over road and hitting curb. That was it for him. That being said, MEDS are , in my opinion , as much the issue here as the actual mental capacity of the person. The cops and/or DMV don't know about them but the family DOES ! This is why the "laws" will not remedy this problem and we are right back to family. You remember....family,,,,that almost extinct thing that the new order doesn't see the importance in ??? We have enough "government meddling" now ! Family ..get involved...nobody said it would be easy..you might save a young guy or gals life that's just starting out.
 
It is a real problem. My brother and I just had that emotional battle with our 95 year old father.
No doubt his driving was a problem, but he denied it. "I never killed anybody". It would be good to
keep that record in tact. My brother and I decided we could not live with ourselves if we let him
kill some innocent person. Staying within the local area is no good either, dead is dead regardless of the
distance from home. He kept hitting curbs and destroying tires. Running off the side of the road.
My brother followed him home one night and said he almost had 2 head-on crashes in the first 3 miles.
That did it. After the mad, yelling, threats..we have his keys and now a few months later
we are friends with Dad again. He has sort of forgiven us.

The problem will only get worse as we baby boomers live longer and longer.

The states won't deal with it because old folks VOTE!
 
An old guy just outside a small town had been suspended forever for about a half dozen DUI's. So he would drive his Ferguson 30 to town to the bar, and was surprised when he got stopped and ticketed for DUI on his way home. True, he could drive the tractor without a license, but he was wrong about being immune from DUI as well (its a "motor vehicle", which is the requirement for DUI). "Busted on a technicality".

I was working in the county jail at the time, and he got 6 months. He was a familiar figure at the jail, so they made him a "trusty" as soon as he was booked- lived in an open cell that was never locked, had his run of the place 24/7. Helped out around the jail, and we'd send him across the street to get cigarettes and snacks for the deputies- we always gave him a little extra to get something for himself, too. Nice old guy- we talked a lot when I had graveyard shift by myself.
 
It can be a problem however, A more serious problem is the potential increase of younger people under the influence of alcohol and Marijuana. I never hear of an elderly person being in a head-on collision driving the wrong way on the Dallas/ Ft. Worth freeway at 2:00 am but it happens routinely, almost weekly.
 
I've been through this several times and its not so much as losing your licence but losing your independence. It's a sad time but i find it can be avoided if you are willing to before hand show them they don't need a car but there are people and resources available
 
As I remember the AZ license process from my few years in Glendale, you get a license when you first apply. No retest UNTIL age 65 (not sure on the exact age) then must be retested every 1 or 2 years. That seemed to be a good plan. Has it changed?
 
My Mother turned 100 last September. She drove into her mid 90's and gave it up on her own when she needed to renew her license and sold her car. Shortly before she gave up driving I followed her for about ten miles one day. She drove the speed limit and came to a complete stop at the three stops she had to make and took off normal and back up to speed normal. I did not see a problem with her driving. Mom did drive tractor in the field for years fitting ground and hauled grain to the Co-ops at harvest time. She could mirror back a truck with the best. The background might make a difference in how old people drive.
 
In Georgia you can request a review of a loved ones license status. Had to do this with my uncle, who was losing his sight, they were great and checked with his doctors requesting updated testing and a report sent to them. Within 30 days the state revoked his license. Please don't think your loved ones will hate you for something like this, it will happen to us all one day, not worth injuring or killing the selves or another.
 
I taught Driver's Education for about 10 years and people in town would ask me to take their parents out for a road test to help them get a licence renewal. There are many factors, prescribed drugs, mobility and good functioning brain. I had one gentleman out one day and he drove very well, did not appear to be restricted in any way and then I said we could go back to his place and end our session..he had no idea where he was nor how to get home. I had to give him instructions to get back to his driveway.A friend's mother forced several cars off the road when she had taken her prescribed meds..very dangerous. If an older person has lost mobility, being able to turn around to look back or operate pedals atc, this is dangerous. What I found is this : Most older Driver's can pass the road test !!! They have driven so many years that the process of driving is an automatic reaction to the environment around them. I had several drivers whose families told me not to worry, their parent wouldn't pass the road test, well they would pass and then they would tell me their parent shouldn't be driving. That makes things difficult and I didn't like being in the middle , but that is a reality. Here in Ontario if an elderly driver is involved in a fender bender or gets a ticket , they automatically have to be tested , sight, written rules and road test. Over the age of 80 and the same thing applies. A lot of Ontario drivers give it up at 80.
 
After reading down thru the subject, I am not to happy with some of the reply's. First let it be known I am 85, had many serioyes problems including bypass surgery rwo years ago. I can still drive and think I do very well. When a crises arises I still do what I was trained to do. I started driving on the road at 12 Years because we had to during WW II. WE were taught well and to this day recall what My Dad said while learning. When I became a pilot in the Air Force I also learned to apply many of those rules to my car and subsequent motorcycles. When the day comes to get my license pulled. it will be because I relinquished it, not someone else decides. My Aunt died last October at 103 and she was a good safe driver up until then.
Don't get all aquatty because of age, its the skill set you should judge. A BIL on wife's side was the worst driver you would ever want to see. Nobody wanted to ride with him but he kept his certificate until he died at 78 So be careful what you ask for. You may end up to be the guy who get's his pulled before you want to.
 
In my experience with elderly relatives, less quit driving voluntarily, than the ones that hold on too long.
 
(quoted from post at 14:28:47 01/15/17) In the Phoenix metro area, there are 3-4 incidents a year where old people drive through store fronts and injure people. There are a lot more store front crashes attributable to drunks.

Around here it's popular for the driver taking the test to drive throught the wall or window of the motor vehicle licensing office. Usually an automatic fail.
 
NYS has a means to have a driver re-evaluated.

Click below.

It's a problem around here, always an elderly person with a terrified look on their face as its pressed against the windshield with a terrified look on their face while they are driving 20 MPH under the posted speed and there's a dozen or more cars trailing behind them. You cannot deny that based on what is easily seen on a daily basis. Lot of retirement residences now where crops were grown, people live longer and a fair amount of them may need to be re-evaluated. Not always an elderly person either, but most often it is.

My mother is one of them, she's accident prone and does not have good ability to back up, I have to park the vehicle in the garage daily. She won't give it up until something drastic happens, there is no doubt being as stubborn as she is, same with cigarettes, people just don't want to make changes even if its for the safety of themselves, and more importantly, the safety of others whom have no idea of the ability of who they share the roads with.

I have a 94 year old relative, who drives fine, but I have seen him with a trail of cars behind him too as I recall.

Thankfully, you can recommend that a person get re-evaluated here in NY.

I had an experience with one while driving a tractor trailer years ago, when I was 21, or 22. Elderly driver tried to turn in the same direction as I was on the inside, and the truss trailer hooked onto his car. It felt like a brake was hanging up, I was up shifting the R model Mack with a 300+ and 9 speed transmission. By the time I looked back, the car was pulled into the curb, breaking or bending the wheels off one side and it popped all the windows out of it. The driver was ok, but could not explain why he did what he did. The law decided it was my fault and I received points on my license, which was completely wrong. I had my turn signal on and was making a 100% legal turn. Old guy said, well at least I am getting a new car out of the deal !

People need to know when to give it up, but they just don't sometimes. All of us will be there someday.
DS7

Driver Re evaluation
 
Do you really think taking the license away will stop someone from driving? My FIL was an over the road driver until he retired and I know for a fact the last 10 or 15 years of his life he did not have a license. After he retired a car dealership close to where he lived needed a driver for dealer trades and he did that until shorty before he died. Never had an accident after he retired. I think the bigger problem now id cell phones, This affects all ages. I would say get stopped 3 times while using one lose your license
 
Your just a youngster compared to my dad. They were going to deny him when he renewed his licence but i made him drive to the exam office got hold of the examiner and explained to him that he probably didn't drive more than ten blocks just for groceries and church. He got it no restrictions not even glasses i think he was 98 when he finally quit. No accidents ever. Sometimes having a person to back you up and letting them know you're not going cross country helps.
 
Looks like the problem(s) are about to go away:
"The six levels of automation, defined under international standards by the Society of Automotive Engineers, range from “no automation” to “full automation”, explains Sven Raeymaekers, of tech investment banker GP Bullhound. “If you look at the most recent predictions, the majority of car manufacturers estimate the first highly to fully automated vehicles [AVs] will hit the market between 2020-2025,” he says. " Any one of any age can 'ride' and talk on cell phone or text.
 
My mom quit when she was in her early 70s. Started having glaucoma trouble. Dad quit when he was 88. What gets me is when you see that little old lady who is sitting not behind the wheel but UNDER the steering wheel. She is just able to see over the dash if the steering wheel is all of the way uo and she is leaning forwards. The other is the teeny boppers with a smartphone in their little well manicured hand and one heck of a lead foot. Called 911 after one of them went right past a school bus. They had her pulled over about four miles down the road.
 
I have cancer at 66. So I know my driving days could be over soon. I think in Texas as long as you are not a safety hazard and can pass the test. You can keep driving. In my town there are several older people that don't have a licences.Everyone knows it including the Sheriff and DPS troopers. But the only time they drive. Is to come to town to buy groceries do their business and go home. They all use the back roads very little traffic and they have never been a problem. We do have one guy that drives his tractor into town. Baskets front and rear.

The younger ones are the problem around here. Think they drive for NASCAR. Of course deer and hogs have taught a few of them driving lessons.
 
I to am in my mid 80's and I do drive a lot. I still have my CDL and I must pass a physical every year to keep it. You will not see me driving 20 mph with a caravan behind me. In fact you would not have a clue as to my age by observing my driving. Several times each year I will make trips over 200 miles each way with a big pickup and a trailer loaded with tractors and farm machinery.

It is true that there a lot of bad drivers out there but most are not that old, just fools who somehow got a license to drive. Then again, if they could not drive very well when they were young how do you expect them to drive when they get old?
 
Real tough situation. I had to take Dad's license away before he was ready but admittedly way past when he was safe on the road. Couple minor accidents then finally a ticket. Real kicker was when he went to renew, they sat him in front of a tablet and told him to take the test. He'd never ran a computer let alone a tablet and was totally lost. But DOT lady was real nice and gave him a second try, sat with us to go thru the test line by line. He failed miserably and was so upset. Been about a year now and he's adjusted but occasionally he still says the state stole his license. One of the toughest things I've ever done.
 
I renewed my license last year with just an eye test when I was 81; good for another 5 years.
 
Is it possible that these self driving cars will help us in the near future to remain mobile?
 
I haven't waded through to comments yet, but I think younger drivers should have to pass a driver's teat as well. Especially involving common courtesy pertaining to tailgating, lane hopping, use of turn signals, cell phone addiction, and in general not being a horse's patootie behind the wheel. TDF
 
My 83 year old MIL decided last November that she didn't want to drive any longer..She hadn't had any accidents or tickets...We put her 2003 Toyota Corolla on Craigslist and sold it..My MIL now uses the Oats bus to do her shopping..
 
i had a great aunt who was in her mid 80's she lived with her daughter who was a real mercenary PIA treated her mother terribly..
my aunt had recently had her car repainted real low mileage Buick, the daughter got it in her mind that she should have it and talked to my aunts Dr. and he sent word to the state the state then sent word to my aunt to turn her license in..


well my Aunt didn't get that far in life being stupid,SHE gave the car to her 92 year sister who still drove and didn't have any children!!!!!
 
When I worked for the telephone co. they had a real good school on safe driving that you had to go thru every few years. It was like a mild video game. As the screen showed you moving down a street you had to pick up on all the hazards. You had to watch close or you'd miss something and have to go again. I think that would be a good way to check skills and the computer is the bad guy if you fail. It could be as hi-tech as a flight sym. or not.
 
My mom would have qualified to have her license suspended , she would not drive in town ,but liked driving in the rural areas . at 92 she was a poor driver but wanted her mobility and could not believe she was a poor driver till she had a few close calls,. she crowded the rite side of the road and nearly clipt serveral mail boxes with my oldest sister riding along . mary suggested she stop driving and she did ,,. none of the other 7 kids could get by with telling mom that // then . my Dad and moms brother were excellent drivers ,. Dad was still driving his little Ranger 5 speed pikup in his last month ,.he was 93 ,,. I rode with him serveral times and declared him safe for rural driving ,.. he Did NOT want to" drive with those stupid fools in Louisville them dum basturds will get ya 'kilt " , my moms older brother Irwin lived to nearly 103 ,. he drove to his winter home in Florida until he was 99 ,. then his 79 yr old nephew would drive them and he got a speeding tiket in Georgia,.lol.irwin laft and said "I told him to watch out on that stretch of road " , back in the depression and prohibition era Irwin and his brother Renus used to occasionally drive "shine" , granpa bought a like-new 1932 Chrysler with a " straight 8 " for about half price in those tuf times ,. Uncle Renus told me "they advertised that car to do a hundred mph,. and one day on this side of St Louis we found out it would do a hundred, that is . if you could hold it on the road "
 
I found AARP's "" 55 & Alive " class to be helpful and a real money saver. Minnesota insurers are required to give a 10 percent car insurance discount to anyone over 54 that completes the class. Over several years that adds up to some big money, especially if you carry collision on several newer vehicles. The classes cost about $20 for the initial 8 hour class and another $20 every 3 years for a 4 hour refresher class. Refreshers are required to maintain your 10 percent discount. Gift certificates are available.
 
I've seen enough bad drivers, both elderly and some that just shouldn't be driving at any age, to write a novel!

I grew up working at my dad's service station/garage. That place was a magnet for the locals. Many were on fixed income, knew we commonly adjusted the repair costs accordingly.

The business was on the edge of an aging neighborhood, not low income, but an older development, under the Carswel AFB flight line, not a desirable place! Many of the residence were elderly, many suffered from alcoholism, lived basic no frills lifestyles.

I can recall several that drove with no, or suspended license. Mostly from repeat DUI's, others couldn't pass the drivers test due to poor eyesight, or just couldn't pass!

Didn't stop them though, they just flew under the radar. In extreme cases, the state would seize the plates off the vehicle. One old drunk used to brag about stealing plates so he could drive! Still don't know how he stayed out of jail, he couldn't get by with that today!
 
Mother voluntarily quit driving for about the last 10 years of her life. But she kept renewing her license, bought plates for the car every year and kept insurance on it. Just sat in her garage. People thought we were crazy for not making her sell such a nice car. I said what's the difference, it's paid for and it's her money. None of your business.
 
We have a good friend in Phoenix who is 98 and renewed her license last year, she can drive till she's 102! But, she doesn't feel real comfortable driving in traffic so she has a smart phone and uses Uber!
 
My dad drove to the DMV and renewed his license at 96,but about 6 months later we stopped him from driving because I was afraid his reactions might be slow.He was good with that,just put him on the tractor,he was fine.
 
I'm in Iowa. About fifteen months ago my dad had to take the driving test when he turned 91. He passed but I don't know how. Last June when my step mom turned 93 she had to renew her license. She walked right up to the counter, passed the eye test and was given a new two year license even though she had dementia. I was dreading the day when I would have to pull their licenses or get a bad phone call but they are now in the nursing home so the problem is taken care of. Whew! Several folks around town have told me they worried when they saw dad and step mom drive by.
 
My dad was rear ended last year when he was at almost a complete stop pulling into our driveway by an elderly man going almost 70 mph because he wasn't paying attention and had dementia. Both were air lifted. Almost killed the older guy and broke both of my dad's legs and gave him a nasty concussion. I say that there should be some sort of test when passing a certain age.
 
Iam a 69yr old driver who had a driver 29yrs run into the rear of my car. He was texting and hit me on the edge of the car which minimized the damage, He told the officer I was just sitting out in the middle while I told the officer my dash camera would show a car making a turn into a parking lot. I could not go around the sitting car because of a solid white line.
 
Doug, my brother-in-law had to stop his dad from driving, as he was a danger to all. The old man and my bil were on bad terms the rest of his life. Bad situation.
 
There you go poking a stick into the hornet's nest.
I don't think it is right to put a number on the age of a driver as much as looking at one's skill level. Regardless of age, a person's skill level and health are more relevant. Folks over 90 can be safer than teenagers playing with their assortment of electronic toys. Fitness to drive should be keyed into a person's driving record more than anything.
Age may be a factor, but there is no "magic number" that determines that a driver is no longer safe or fit to operate a motor vehicle.
Another thing to consider is that many folks live off the public transportation routes. Even in seemingly metropolitan areas, it can be a LONG walk to get a bus or train. So, what is a person to do? Sit in the house and slowly starve to death? You KNOW that they will drive as a necessity. Taking their license is just a formality.
Also, keep in mind that someday sooner than you think, somebody could be lining up the crosshairs on YOUR license. Be careful what you wish for.
 
I almost ran someone over a few weeks ago. Perfectly wrong conditions. Long line of traffic on a 3 mile straight stretch of fairly reflective road- one set of oncoming headlights at the other end can look like 3.

Guy was about a 3/8, maybe half, mile ahead of me going around a bend. Not close enough to tell closing speed yet. I go around the bend and another mile later I see a couple dim red lights between headlight glare on the roadway. It registered I was catching someone, but it takes a little longer to register that they are doing about 42 in a 65 zone!

I missed him by a lot more than it felt like.got home and posted on a local Facebook page that someone might have a talk with him about maybe staying in after dark if that's all the faster he can go. People started saying I need to watch what I'm doing. I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, that's why I did not hit him.

Someone said he's driven like that for 10 years, since he was in a bad accident. It's like, how has he not been hit or caused someone to run off the road in that time?? You cannot negotiate with gravity, how much longer do you want him to continue playing against the odds???
 
not much here, first the "old" people still have most of the money, and money speaks loudly, second if they revoked licenses for bad driving in this state half in the age group from 16 to 30 couldn't drive, they dont know how ,just by watching them, then there's the south of the boarder types, some cant drive because they cant afford a car, a lot of the rest shouldn't be , around here there is no public transportation of any kind, and our county is larger than some eastern states, so that leaves a lot of people unable go to work, and its hard enough to get them to do that to begin with lol. some of the worst are a couple of the school bus drivers, id get a ticket for sure if i drove like they do around here , most people around here just kind of dodge each other and use one of their hands for more than driving, its not a easy problem to solve, and ive known two who lost their license 1 for being a drunk, he then drove to town on a john deer b for the next 20 years,until he passed away, it had a basket wired to the back to carry his whiskey in, as long as the whiskey was in the basket and not his hand he was let alone , the other had it taken from him because he wouldn't quit driving, he found a Ferguson 30 and built a cab on that and drove that for 10 or so years, they really were in the way, but no law said they couldn't drive them
 
In Texas with or without corrective lenses, vision worse than 20/70 with best eye, or both together with no further improvement possible: fail. If you are 79, and older you have to renew your license in person (take a vision test). If you are over age 85 you have to renew your license (with vision test) every 2 years.
 
(quoted from post at 14:42:58 01/15/17)
Don't want to start a war here!! What is your state doing about this issue? It comes up from time to time for mine there is an eye test and a doctor can suggest revoking it, seems to be about it. Children/family have little power to put an unfit elderly drive out of service. Oh there is talk about a road test for say people over 80 and a bunch of other stuff but never seems to get off the ground!!! I would also note that there are few cases where intervention are needed as I see it. Where a DR or family member has already put a stop to it. I do feel its an issue that needs work but the real question seems to be how to go about it. SO LETS HERE FROM YOU AND KEEP THIS CLEAN

In NYS a police officer can submit what is/was called a Driver Improvement Form. It's for the people that shouldn't be driving, young, old or in between. With the elderly a DIF usually results int hem losing their license. The problem is, it seems anytime that happens, the person is dead 6-10 weeks later. I've seen it time after time. Take away their license, their freedom so to speak, and they tend to die unless they've got family to get them around.

Life is cruel sometimes. Can't have the elderly killing someone else, but it doesn't make them dying any easier.
 
I've seen many different responses, from the nephew who was taking care of my wife's aunt who convinced her that when she moved to the retirement community that she didn't want to leave her car outside so they'd sell her car and put her name on a waiting list for a garage and she could by a new car when she got here garage (never happened and she adjusted to life without a car and using the facilities for the home) to the other aunt and uncle on that side of the family who struck a deal with their kids, they could keep the car but they didn't leave Mountain Lake with it, if they needed to go farther they got someone to drive them. We weren't able to manage my Dad's stopping driving very well, he totaled a pick up truck replaced it with a Honda Civic and eventually stopped driving more because it was hard for him to get in and out of the Civic and the manual transmission wasn't comfortable for him, this from a man that drove truck for a living for 50 years. Another family friend turned in his license on his 65th birthday, but then he lived above a grocery store an had an extended family with him so if he needed to go somewhere his son or a store employee would take him. Another friend (in my generation)happened to work for an insurance company, one his dad had been an agent for and his family had used for several generations. He flagged his grandmother's policy and was informed of any claims, when the claims started happening the kids met with their mother, confronted her got her to surrender the license, sell the car and made arrangements for her to have her mobility needs met including regular trips for shopping (which usually involved taking her to lunch or dinner). So yes she lost her wheels but the kids made sure her physical and social needs where going to be met, she lived for almost 10 years after the "grounding".
 
(quoted from post at 14:06:36 01/15/17) Father in law in Iowa went thru several steps with macular degeneration. 1st, no driving at night, then restricted to within 25 miles from home. I've seen an older gentleman deprived of his rights take an 8N ford to town weekly for grocery's in all kinds of weather.
My 90 FIL has macular. He still drives to Florida from Michigan every January 1st for the winter. When I was working with him this Fall on building some stuff, I asked if a line was straight. He said "all lines look curved" to him". :shock: My MIL has to read road signs for him and tell him where to turn. We were all hopeful that the doc would say "no, you can't drive anymore down there". Two docs looked at his eyes and said "you're good to go". What????!!! Well, there was no telling him anything else after that. He was driving.

I think he's ok to drive around the small town they live in here in Michigan, familiar territory that it is. But driving for 2 days on I-75 in lord knows what kind of weather?? No way. Anyway, they went down Jan. 1 and we got a phone call from my MIL the next day that they made it ok. I'd be curious how "ok" of a drive it was.
 
Only two good drivers on the road, you and me. Sometimes I am not so darn sure about you. If you don't believe that ask anyone. I'm 80 now, wife just turned 79. Her drivers license expired the other day and we will not be renewing it. She hasn't driven for last few years and then only on a country road to pick me up at the other end of one of my pheasant hunting walks. We are going to get her a picture identification card one of these first days (one of those things that will really, really be difficult to do for a lot of citizens).
I have to admit that one of the things I notice is that when you age, your awareness of things taking place slows down a little, such as someone walking up or for that matter, driving up behind you. I will no way drive in congested traffic like large cites. Too much taking place all at once. But then, I never liked big cities although I actually drove them many years ago with no problem. My biggest complaint about other drivers is tail gating, coming up to a stop sign like they actually never heard of a brake failure or slippery road and driving half way into the intersection before they actually do stop. My foot presses pretty hard on the floor when driving with a lot of others but my daughter knows from the expression on my face what I am doing
 
(quoted from post at 19:32:10 01/15/17) When I worked for the telephone co. they had a real good school on safe driving that you had to go thru every few years. It was like a mild video game. As the screen showed you moving down a street you had to pick up on all the hazards. You had to watch close or you'd miss something and have to go again. I think that would be a good way to check skills and the computer is the bad guy if you fail. It could be as hi-tech as a flight sym. or not.

When I got a summer job at Michigan Bell Telephone in the '70s, they gave a driving course that was the best. They assumed you could operate a vehicle but they taught defensive driving. Instructor would put his hand over the rear view mirror and you'd better be able to tell him if there was a car behind you, how far and any other details you could tell. They told us it was because they were self-insured and the employees were on the road so much it increased the odds of accidents. I still drive very defensively today at 66.
 

My 91 year old mom in law... we had asked her to quit driving after a minor fender bender on a bad lane change... and she's agreed to let us drive her when she needs to go somewhere for a couple of year now....

HOWEVER... we took her in last week, as her DL was expiring. She decided to go ahead and get just an ID and not renew her DL.. Lady at dmv tells her that she must go home and get a birth cirt to get "JUST" an id,, or could just renew her DL with an eye test. She passed the eye test and got the DL instead....
 
My wife's friends 95 yr old father who lives in florida had an accident while driving. They took him to the doctor who told him that he should give up driving because he was to old and his reflexes were to slow etc etc etc. He conceded and gave it up. Some one ran out in front of him while he was on his way to work. Go figure. I know we all get someplace someday somehow.
 

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