When my father-in-law was 81, he was still driving his car amid the opposition of his family. But since my father-in-law was still healthy at that age, he ignored the warnings. Fortunately, there was no untoward incident that happened with his driving. In the market last week, I chanced upon a old man of about 80 driving a big SUV. He was having a hard time in parking the vehicle. And when he alighted from the car, he smiled at me and said that he's already old hence his driving skill is not that good anymore.
While driving is a really good way to get around for us, older folks, I think that I will give it up in a few years. Let's be fair, at that man's age, many of use will be sleepy and will have a lot of problems. Problems which might cause us to take our mind off of the road, even for a split-second, which is enough to cause an accident.
My sweet neighbor lady was still driving at the age of 92; Her nephew didn't have the heart to take away her keys. One day she was backing out of her driveway, and managed to run over a low retaining wall that separated our houses. When she saw that she had mowed down her pansies, she was so upset, she decided to stop driving. LOL She didn't even care about the damage to her car. She was a real treasure!
My great-aunt, who lived across the road from me, had a stroke when she was in her late sixties, I think. She was placed in a nursing home, where everyone thought she would spend the remainder of her days. Her son, who was a realtor, sold her house, as her husband had died several years previously. She recovered completely, and ended up having to sue her son to court to get the proceeds of her house that he had sold. I think something was arranged prior to an actual court hearing, and she ended up with a smaller house nearby and quite a lot of money, since the house that had been sold was very large and included quite a bit of property. People would worry that she shouldn't be driving, when she would drive herself to the store or to the next town to go shopping. I was still living in Michigan at that time. Then she decided that, rather than sitting home, she would visit relatives who had moved to various places around the country, and spent the next twenty years driving across country. Meanwhile, after twelve years in California, I was living in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and I had an aunt who was operating a children's home in Tamaulipas, Mexico; her children were living in McAllen, which is also in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Plus, I had a cousin in Longview, in northeastern Texas. She came to visit all of us, driving from the UP of Michigan. I don't think she drove into Mexico, but my aunt met her at her daughter's house in McAllen. She also visited relatives in Southern California and Florida, and who knows where else. I don't believe she ever got a ticket, let alone being involved in an accident.
This is an impressive story that teach us what I said once. There is no age for retiring, but one retires believing is time to do it at a time when life is seems to starting over for us again. This is the time when those worries of our young days were left behind, and the wisdom acquired through experience help us to flow with life in accordance. Even though when a cerebral vascular accident occurs, some of the brain cells die, but with the grace of God the person may recover from a stroke or any other health issue derived from a CVA, proving that where there's a will, there's a way. Your aunt had not only the will to overcome her condition, but to keep being alive and enjoy life, probably even doing she never done before now that is not too late for her, nor for any senior person wanting to live in plenitude
Sometimes I wonder when it would be time for me to quit driving. Take note, I have been driving for only 2 years, hahahaaa. Quite a late bloomer because our former car was a stick shift. In 2013, we bought a new car that is automatic. And when I learned the basics of driving, we bought a small car for me... also automatic. Now I drive by myself and I'm a good driver according to my colleagues who rides with me sometimes. Unfortunately, when my husband is with me, he would always be the one driving. He said he had no guts to see me drive. Maybe I should be rich when I retire so I can hire a driver. I don't see myself driving past the age of 70.
I don't think driving skills are so much age related as ability. I've known people in their nineties who drove well. Health issues that affect driving can come at any age.
I agree there are good and bad drivers of all ages, but regarding when it's time to stop driving, means having awareness of when that time has arrived, which may not always be easy.
My daughter was T boned by an elderly woman who ran a stop sign. She was 17 and we had just gotten that car...brand new. She was running out to the store for me early one morning. My doorbell rings And 2 policemen are standing there ...I almost fainted. They told me of the accident and said they would take me to the scene, it was nearby. As we are almost there I see my car being towed ..a total wreck! The police didn't know the condition of my daughter so when I saw the car I expected the worst. Thankfully she only peed her pants! The driver of the other car had a record of similar accidents...think she was 85...I still remember her name after more than 30 yrs...Millicent.
[QUOTE="Chrissy Page, post: 26017, member: 146"]My daughter was T boned by an elderly woman who ran a stop sign. She was 17 and we had just gotten that car...brand new. She was running out to the store for me early one morning. My doorbell rings And 2 policemen are standing there ...I almost fainted. They told me of the accident and said they would take me to the scene, it was nearby. As we are almost there I see my car being towed ..a total wreck! The police didn't know the condition of my daughter so when I saw the car I expected the worst. Thankfully she only peed her pants! The driver of the other car had a record of similar accidents...think she was 85...I still remember her name after more than 30 yrs...Millicent.[/QUOTE] That is a case that highlights the problem, there is no real mechanism in law to stop someone driving if they feel they can and have no definite medical condition that would stop them. There are also no driving ability tests for the elderly to retake either, at least that is the position in the UK.
I think after a certain age here in the states, you have to take the test every year plus your dr has to report if you shouldn't drive. But obviously Millicent got by.... Also, this happened a long time ago, laws might have changed. Also, laws differ in states so I'm not sure about other states.
There is nothing in the UK except you have to renew your driving licence every 3 years after 70, but you simply say on the form that you are ok to drive, the doctor is not involved.
I just looked it up and as usual Im wrong unless there is an over 80 restriction... In California, there are more than 5.5 million drivers over the age of 55—and more than 2.5 million of them are 70 or older. While the myriad rules and regulations enforced by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) apply to drivers of all ages and stages, the state imposes some special requirements and restrictions on older drivers. California state rules are explained in more detail below, but a number of them focus on identifying and handling older drivers who may have become unsafe. Specifically, California: requires drivers age 70 and older to renew their licenses in person and to take both a vision test and written test when doing so accepts requests from family members and others for the DMV to conduct unsafe driver investigations, and requires doctors who diagnose patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other conditions that may make them unsafe drivers to report the diagnosis. License Renewal Rules for Older Drivers Special rules apply to drivers who are 70 and older who seek to renew their licenses. Time limits: Drivers age 70 and older must renew in person every five years. Vision test: Required at in-person renewal. DMV personnel will conduct a test free, or drivers can have an exam performed by an outside ophthalmologist or optometrist, who must complete a Report of Vision Examination and conduct the exam within six months of the renewal request. Written test: Required at in-person renewal. Road test: Required only if there are indications of driver impairment, based on a report by a law enforcement officer, a physician, or a family member. Possible License Restrictions The DMV can place restrictions or conditions on a person’s driver license after administering a driving test and discussing possible restrictions with him or her. The most common restriction for older drivers is to require glasses or corrective contact lenses. In California, other common requirements the DMV may impose on older drivers include: no freeway driving an additional right side mirror on a vehicle no nighttime driving time of day restrictions—for example, no driving during rush hour traffic supports to ensure a proper driving position geographic area restrictions, and wearing bioptic telescopic lens when driving. How to Request an Unsafe Driver Investigation in California The California DMV will accept information from the driver him or herself, courts, police, other DMVs, family members, and virtually any other source. While anonymous reports of unsafe driving will not be accepted, anyone can ask that his or her name be kept confidential, and the DMV vows to honor that confidentiality “to the fullest extent possible.”
I am not so bothered now as I spend so much time travelling and don't have a car in Russia, where I spend nearly half my life, so I actually drive very little really, then only to the shops, I even get lifts to the local airport by my daughters.