Eight years ago my siblings and I noticed that our Dad no longer seemed fully alert in all situations - including driving. He was 80. The day he abruptly reversed into a garbage can in a friends driveway was telling. We did a little research, consulted with his doctor, and signed him up for an Easter Seals program that assesses the ability of aging folks to safely drive a vehicle. He willingly agreed to this, certain in his abilities. Sadly, he failed the driving test terribly and we took action to remove his license and pull him from behind the wheel - permanently. This wasn't an easy thing to do since he considered driving a God-given right. He resented us for years, his mental condition continued to deteriorate, and he's since been diagnosed with dementia. Difficult as it was, we feel strongly that we did the right thing.
My point in all this is that I wonder if, just as we must be licensed when learning to drive, shouldn't there be a point where mandatory testing is required at a certain advanced age? Maybe this is an automatic requirement when you hit that age. Or maybe every five years after age 80, a doctor needs to certify one's ability to drive. I'm not sure what the answer is and I suspect there isn't any good one. Perhaps it just comes down to everyone accepting that if you choose to be on the road then you are accepting the risk of being there. Yet I can't help but believe that lives could be saved and injuries avoided if there was some requirement in place. Now, I can imagine 90% of forum readers will instinctively rebuke any such suggestion. But do you really want to be seriously injured by an elderly individual that can no longer drive safely? For that matter, do you want to one day be the elderly individual that seriously injures or kills someone else?
I'm sure accident rates are far higher in the elderly population, just as they are with young people that are just learning to drive. If there are requirements on the front end, why not on the back end? Fact is, good judgment is sometimes a victim of the aging process and I don't believe you can rely on some individuals, especially the elderly, to always make the right independent decision on whether they should or shouldn't be behind the wheel.
Regarding the guy/gal in the Plymouth senior center, I wonder if he even realized he hit someone or if he remembered he was supposed to stop. Will someone ask him to be tested as we did with our Dad? Or will someone just pat him on the back, hand over the key and wish him a safe drive home. Isn't that a little like saying, Live Free AND Die?
Perhaps none of this will matter in a few years when self-driving cars are common.
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