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Should old people drive cars?

GameOver

GameOver

Member
Jan 26, 2021
1,689
So I was just on a parking lot about to enter a store and a see a SUV acting very strange around my car so I went back to see what was going on and it was an old lady trying to park, I offered to park the SUV for her since she was having a very hard time(was about to hit my car) and she was very confused with the right foot touching the gas and left foot on the brake and she almost got out of the car with the transmission in drive.

After I parked she thanked me and went inside the store but then got me thinking that she is going to drive the SUV back home and she is clearly in not condition to do so.

What do you guys think?
 
Dest

Dest

Has seen more 10s than EA ever will
Coward
Jun 4, 2018
14,340
Work
No

I'd be ok with the compromise of having old people perform regular driving tests to ensure they're actually fit for the road.
 
Brazil

Brazil

Actual Brazilian
Member
Oct 24, 2017
18,587
São Paulo, Brazil
There should be an age limit for driving in public streets, definitely. An 80-year old has no business conducting a 1.000kg steel machine around.
 
Faceless_Caesar

Faceless_Caesar

Member
Jul 1, 2020
7,177
We don't give them any other option. Public transit doesn't really exist in a useful manner in a lot of suburbs where older people tend to live and suburban sprawl doesn't really allow for businesses like shops or supermarkets to be built within any kind of walkable distance. They have no choice but to drive everywhere.
 

Radd Redd

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,187
Old folks at a certain age should have to retake the road test every few years. Imo of course
 
NinjaScooter

NinjaScooter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
55,072
More frequent testing for license renewal at a certain age maybe. Some people have no choice but to drive even at an advanced age. As long as they can prove they are capable I don't have a problem with it.
 
Sai

Sai

Prophet of Truth
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
5,801
Chicago
No, but until we give them other useful and accessible options, we can't just keep people homebound. Very unfortunate rock and hard place.
 
darkside

darkside

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,477
People don't have a choice but to drive in a lot of places.

There should definitely be more tests for people when they reach a certain age though
 
OrangeNova

OrangeNova

Member
Oct 30, 2017
12,879
Canada
Everyone who has a license should be forced to retest every 5 years for road rules and 10 for driving... Increasing in frequency with age.
 
Lotus

Lotus

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
108,063
If they can prove they're still fit to do so, sure, but yea I've seen some elderly folk that have absolutely no business being behind the wheel, honestly terrifying tbh
 
Strike

Strike

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,727
No, unless they would take tests every couple of years.

It's another reason I wouldn't live in a place like Florida.
 
Hollywood Duo

Hollywood Duo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
43,287
There is no hard line you can take on age, its about skill. I think the better answer is make people re-obtain a driving license more frequently.
 
Jaguar King

Jaguar King

Member
Oct 25, 2017
119
No. But then again why do you think an elderly person is driving in the first place?

They don't have any other choice.
 
pswii60

pswii60

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,897
The Milky Way
Yes and no. It depends on the specific person, rather than generalising through ageism. There are 85 year olds that are far safer drivers than 21 years olds and vice versa. Indeed insurance is much cheaper for "old" people for statistical reasons.
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
61,815
Problem lack of public transit infrastructure and our dumb zoning really.
 
Eidan

Eidan

AVALANCHE
Avenger
Oct 30, 2017
8,688
At least in the US, considering that large swaths of the country have little to no public transportation options, I think it would a complete disaster to try to bar the elderly from driving.
 
Ojli

Ojli

Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,652
Sweden
All driver's should be required to be re-tested once every couple of years. A physician can then make assessment if you are fit to drive at older ages or if the frequency for retesting to increase
 
TheMadTitan

TheMadTitan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
27,617
Yes because even though they may be more susceptible to cognitive decline leading to them being impaired drivers, I've known and met enough old people fully still capable of driving around in their 70s and 80s.

The problem with that lady could very well come from the fact the vehicle is big as shit, which, thanks to her age, is throwing off her ability to gauge the distances correctly. Or maybe not because of her age since I find it hard to do the same when I'm forced to drive a bigass vehicle, which is why I don't drive bigass vehicles.
 
Addie

Addie

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,954
What kind of ridiculously ageist question is this?

Cognitive and driving tests after a certain age are fine, though. Same with restrictions to certain roadways (like "no highways") if they don't meet discrete criteria.
 
NickatNite

NickatNite

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,407
California
The solution is to have someone older retake driving re-evaluation tests more frequently.

Everyone should have to take re-evaluation tests more frequently as well.
 
Lump

Lump

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,443
The question isn't whether old people should drive cars, it's making sure that everyone proves a certain amount of reaction time response and cognitive awareness every set amount of years. Multiple factors need to be tested every few years for everyone to keep the license. Make these factors a part of standard medical physicals and require sign off of these factors from said physicals every set amount of years or so to keep the license.

Age correlates with these issues for sure, but it shouldn't strictly be presented as an age issue. It should be thought of as a health issue.
 
Shadybiz

Shadybiz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,176
machine

machine

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,875
They should be re-tested more frequently but they should still be allowed to drive if they pass the tests. My dad was still a better driver in his late 80s and early 90s than most people half his age.
 
Gentlemen

Gentlemen

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,768
Faceless_Caesar said:
We don't give them any other option. Public transit doesn't really exist in a useful manner in a lot of suburbs where older people tend to live and suburban sprawl doesn't really allow for businesses like shops or supermarkets to be built within any kind of walkable distance. They have no choice but to drive everywhere.
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Fucking this. Stop blaming people for the circumstances the rest of us accept as normal.
 
The Albatross

The Albatross

Member
Oct 25, 2017
39,562
I think older drivers should probably have to retake a drivers exam, but also that there's a lot of discrimination wrapped up in this. There's also absolutely no support systems for a lot of older people, and their license to drive is very much their license to live. You ever wonder why old people will talk with anyone about the weirdest shit at the Super Market, or they take for ever holding up other people in a hurry at checkout talking about bull shit? And overwhelming reason for this is that the secretary at the doctor's office, the clerk at the supermarket checkout, etc, is *the only human conversation they have all week*. It's fucking sad. Taking away someone's ability to leave their house, especially when the risk is usually pretty low (most complaints about old drivers is either a random thing that is pretty rare -- "OLD MAN DRIVES INTO CONVENIENCE STORE" -- or it's more about inconvenience than actual risk.... the old lady to takes for ever to get out of the parking space, who sits at the traffic light not realizing it turned green until they finally go and you miss the light, etc), can be near enough to a social death sentence.

The most dangerous, deadliest drivers are overwhelmingly the demographic that makes up this forum: Younger men. We all pass out drivers exam and then go and be the deadliest drivers on the road the same day.

(although as this forum ages, this truism applies less and less)
 
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Gentlemen

Gentlemen

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,768
Should young people drive cars? This one time I saw one texting and driving with an open laptop in the passenger seat while eating a breakfast sandwich. I think we should install police cameras inside every car registered to someone under the age of 40 I don't feel safe, guys.
 
Shadow of the Void

Shadow of the Void

Member
Feb 9, 2018
2,755
Honestly, there are tens of millions of people that shouldn't be driving an automobile regardless of age, but once somebody turns, say, 65, they should have to take regular tests to ensure that they are safe behind the wheel. It's sad, but it's a simple fact that physical and mental decline in old age does negatively affect one's ability to drive.

The real tragedy of this situation is that we've designed a society where nearly everybody, including the elderly, needs an automobile in order to function in society. Even though some people really shouldn't be behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, and others still simply can't drive even if they wanted to, it's nearly impossible to get places one needs to be without an automobile in most cities in the U.S. & Canada.

Car dependency is a scourge. So many issues are, in part or in whole, direct consequences of our decades-long insistence of building cities solely around the automobile. It's not sustainable. We can and should do better.

In the meantime, if an elderly person is disqualified from driving due to age-related decline, then we need something in place to help them out. Perhaps a municipal ride-share service for those unable to drive due to age or disability, or requiring for-profit ride-share services to give steep discounts for those people.
 

Radd Redd

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,187
The Albatross said:
I think older drivers should probably have to retake a drivers exam, but also that there's a lot of discrimination wrapped up in this.

The most dangerous, deadliest drivers are overwhelmingly the demographic that makes up this forum: Younger men

(although as this forum ages, this truism applies less and less)
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My car insurance in my teens and 20s reflected that. Nearly over $200 a month just because my age bracket causes wrecks. I had to take it for over 20 years of driving.
 
Wackamole

Wackamole

Member
Oct 27, 2017
17,025
Lots of people aren't fit to drive a car. Lots of people should be tested on a regular basis. Maybe once ever ten years. Maybe once in every 5 years when you're over 70.

The way people here talk about people above a certain age should surprise me. But it doesn't.
 
Mesoian

Mesoian

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 28, 2017
27,242
You should be able to drive a car for as long as you are able.

You should also be required to retake the license test every 5 years.
 
The Albatross

The Albatross

Member
Oct 25, 2017
39,562
Radd Redd said:
My car insurance in my teens and 20s reflected that. Nearly over $200 a month just because my age bracket causes wrecks. I had to take it for over 20 years of driving.
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yeah, and old people tend to pay the lowest in car insurance because they're usually the least dangerous, least risky drivers on the road. It's a thread about making generalizations about old people. The reasons insurance companies make generalizations about younger people (like you and me for a long time) is because as a class of drivers, we're the worst ones. We might have the keenest senses, passed the drivers exam most recently, have good motor skills, and yet despite those things (or perhaps partly because of them), we're overwhelmingly the most dangerous drivers on the road.

The things that people freak out about old drivers tends usually to be the things that aren't even dangerous. Going 29 in a 30mph zone, and there's a line of people behind the pissed and mad that they're driving *better* than the person going 44 in a 30mph. I do this too, I'm not immune to it. I see an old dude pulling out of a parking lot taking ... 15 seconds... and I'm thinking like "Jesus christ gramps get off the road" assuming that's bad driving, when in reality, my kid is simultaneously taking my attention away freaking out about spilling her juice and *THAT'S* the risky driving behavior, my situation, not the old dude.

I don't think the answer is easy. I used to think it was. "Old people should have to retake a drivers test at 65!" or whatever. In reality, if one of them fails that test, we may as well tell them to go die.

It might get better. I think app-based car services help this. Automated driving, if it ever exists, might be a real lifeline here. I'd like to say public transportation but for a tremendous amount of elderly people in the US, it's just not a realistic option and won't be for quite a while.
 
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thewienke

thewienke

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,303
Not being able to drive anymore is a devastating loss of freedom for the elderly so I don't think making decisions about that is something people should do callously or lightly.

That said, I'm fine with more comprehensive testing at a point.

And I'm guessing the statistics about who causes more accidents - people under 20 and people over 80 - would be enlightening for people saying that it's super clear that old people shouldn't drive. Could just as easily make the argument about young people.
 
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