[JudyB1938]

I am so sick and tired of old people. I have felt that way all of my life. They are absolutely ridiculous in how they think they are the same people they were when they were young. We were behind some old geezer on the highway yesterday. He was driving so erratic, it was if he were drunk. He wasn't. He was just OLD!

BTW, I will be 66 in a couple of months - so I DO have room to talk. Plus, I took my own advice and quite driving two years ago when it became apparent my eyesight and reflexes just were not GOOD ENOUGH. My ego or inconvenience pales in the light of killing some young person who has an entire life ahead.

I'm against "they oughta pass a law" usually - but they'd BETTER tighten up the reigns on old people driving. There's more and more of them every year, so there's going to be many more fatalities if they aren't FORCED to stay off the roads.

[BunnySlippers]

We were behind some old geezer on the highway yesterday. He was driving so erratic, it was if he were drunk. He wasn't. He was just OLD!

I totally agree with you. But everytime a law is proposed to rein in old drivers or to have them tested more frequently AARP steps in to cry age discrimination.

Out here in (Los Angeles) California, we have not been able to get the laws on the book.

[tahiti]

"...but they'd BETTER tighten up the reigns on old people driving. There's more and more of them every year, so there's going to be many more fatalities if they aren't FORCED to stay off the roads."

Wow, Judy, I am a bit flabbergasted after your reading your remarks. Especially the one I have copied and pasted above.

I will say one thing, you are definitely a female. I guess we now know why women were not allowed to vote when this country was founded.

Who is "they'd?" Government, I presume.

Doesn't government get it's limited power from the people in this country?

Isn't it possible that traveling on the public roads paid for by gasoline taxes that all driver's of automobiles pay, have a "right" versus a "privilege" to drive their automobile at any age?

I can a least cite a constitutional basis for my contention (at the federal level, Amendment IX, in the state of Missouri where I live, Article I, Section 2) that all citizens have a "right" to operate their private automobile on the roadways they pay for.

You on the otherhand, use that old, worn out, tyrannically based "for the public good" argument to deny and disparage constitutionally protected rights.

Where is the constitutional basis for your contention that "old" people be "... FORCED to stay off the roads?"

Also, remember what goes around comes around. You will be old some day as well and this arbitrary denial of rights that you advocate, will apply to you.

[Imal]

For my part, I support competence testing for all drivers whenever a license is issued or renewed, regardless of age.

Yep, a professionally supervised driving test every time.

While it would cost more, it would also be a lot safer to have every driver professionally evaluated by a human being every four years, instead of rubber-stamped as is currently the fashion.

Older drivers aren't the only drivers who pose a threat to public safety.

[paul51]

I'd like to see some stats but I suspect the 20 and under crowd is a lot more dangerous...at least they worry me more and not all older drivers have the problems you did.

[ApplegateRanch]

Where I used to live, it was 8 miles of twisting, hilly 55MPH 2-lane road to town, with one straight-away about 1/2 mile long.

Everyone referred to 'the most dangerous problem' on that road as "the case of the 35/70s".

It meant 35 YO's trying to do 70mph, while the 70 YO's were determined to do 35.