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DMV should require older drivers to test more frequently
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Published: May 13, 2009
N.C. Rep. Ric Killian (R-Mecklenburg) opened a huge can of worms in the General Assembly this session by proposing a new law that would require drivers older than 65 renew their licenses every three years and drivers older than 85 to road test to renew. Of course, with lobbying by the AARP and also a good number of state senators and representatives in their own twilight years, the bill never made it out of committee without being gutted.
I understand older drivers fear that they will lose their independence, particularly if they don't have support for doctors appointments and grocery store shopping.
My own father was probably unsafe after about 78. Time and again, I tried to have "the discussion" with him. I'd get an earful about the 18 months back in 1963-64 when he was the lead "Drivers Education" instructor at East Duplin High School. It wasn't like there was no one to get him around; my wife and I had moved in with him after mom died.
I had a chance to ride with him a few times, and it was quite the experience. I would grip the safety handles as he'd move his foot back and forth from the accelerator to the brake pedal and held my breath every time we'd come upon a stop sign or car trying to merge. Just a few years earlier, we depended on him and mom to pick Patrick up from preschool. He would also frequently take my son along with him on errands or to the park and he enjoyed this immensely. He was nowhere near as bad then. He now refused to acknowledge the fact that he'd bump a car or pole in a parking lot about every six to eight months, and was constantly "touching up" scratches on his car with paint.
It all came to a head the day my wife and I had a discussion and decided that our son could no longer ride with dad. We tried to keep it a "secret" at first, making up excuses but Pop pulled me aside one night and told me he knew exactly what we were doing and he was upset by it. All in all, it was one of the worst experiences of my adult life, but I just had to gulp and let him know how we felt. Our relationship was never the same after that.
I always thought Pop would die in a traffic accident, but in fact he died from a hip fracture and complications from Myasthenia Gravis along with a stroke. He drove right up until his admission to the hospital.
Making older drivers test more often is the right thing to do. Everyone goes through a life cycle. No 75 year old will claim they can do as much as when they were 20. It's a scientific fact that as one gets older, reaction time, vision and hearing all get progressively worse. Just like we require our newest drivers to stair step and gain privileges as they gain more experience, we should require our older drivers to test more frequently to assure safety for all. It has nothing to do with disrespect, and I will grant you there are plenty of unsafe 20-, 30-, 40-, 50- and 60-somethings out there.
This takes the burden off families who know their parents are unsafe, but are helpless to do anything. It puts that burden where it belongs — on the state and DMV to test frequently enough to catch unsafe drivers before someone gets killed.
There's a big difference in testing at 75 and not being tested again for five years.
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