Elderly Drivers
The topic of elderly drivers has become part of common conversation with political standpoints in Florida within the past few years. Its rise of importance has had little effect on settling the arguments. If anything, it has done nothing but complicate matters further by introducing new interest from senior citizen organizations. Organizations such as the AARP have risen to fame defending the freedom of the elderly who demand to continue cruising the highways. As the issue has gained popularity, it seems reasonable that decisions must soon be made to decide the fate of the current system of detecting incapable elderly drivers. It would be in the best interest of drivers of all ages and pedestrians if mandatory testing of elderly drivers over the age of sixty-five be instituted biannually throughout the state of Florida.Many argue that the percentage of the elderly community that is licensed is much lower than that of the younger groups. This means that the elderly as a group have less licensed drivers out of their total population when compared to the percentage of licensed drivers existing in younger groups. The reasoning behind this is that the small percentage of elderly drivers cannot
This proves that elderly with arthritis, or stiffness of joints, are dangerous road hazards. Because the degree of change in the visual stamina of elderly is so gradual, many do not even realize how impaired their vision is. Additionally, Many drivers overlook their ability to hear in their commute. People aged seventy and older have more motor vehicle deaths per 100,000 people than any other group excluding teen drivers. It has been suggested by the founder of HOTROD, Germaine Odenheimer, that standardized cognitive tests should be required for drivers over a specified age (Bianchi 12-13). The astonishing abundance of elderly drivers is an issue in itself. Finally, slowing reflex times and decreased attention spans are of the utmost importance when contemplating the validity of the senior citizens' right to drive. By instituting the mandatory testing strategies explained in this text, the particular drivers who cause the high crash and fatality rate of the elderly would be filtered out by losing their licenses. Drivers over the age of sixty-five are in a "high-risk" age group. Studies show that fatal crash rates rise sharply at the age of 65 (Carney 1). Also, Anita Meyers, of the University of Waterloo, said that her province has had a strict license renewal policy dating back to 1936 which requires drivers over eighty to renew their license every two years and take a ninety minute driver education class. A major factor in favor of mandatory testing of the elderly drivers involves the sheer number of this age group in the state of Florida. 6 million elderly drivers flooding the highways in Florida by the year 2031 (Coburn 24-25). According to Brian O'Neil, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, personal automobile transportation will be absolutely necessary in twenty years in the development of Florida's transit system. Senior Citizens' most common traffic violations are failure to yield the right of way and improper turns, infractions that are commonly linked to slower reaction time.
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