License
Maintaining Independence
As people age, many senior citizens become worried about maintaining their independence. In addition to being able to live on their own and manage their own finances, they have probably taken the ability to drive for granted all of their lives. However, if their driver’s license was suddenly taken away, they would be at a loss. Instead of being able to drive to the store or do other errands, they would be reduced to asking for rides or using a taxi service.
Many states have either passed or are considering laws that would put age limits on driver’s licenses. While they aren’t suggesting that licenses are automatically revoked at a certain age, they are planning on requiring testing before renewing a senior citizen’s driver’s license. For some states, this would require a simple driving test, but other states could decide to make an elderly person take a full battery of written tests as well.
While poor eyesight and reduced reaction times do come with age, each person begins to show these signs at varying ages. No one would ever suggest that someone who isn’t capable of driving should continue to do so, but it’s equally ridiculous to force people who have had no traffic violations to be tested. Common sense would indicate that there should be a compromise between the two extremes, but the media attention given to accidents by elderly drivers may overrule logical thought.
Many senior citizen advocacy groups, like the AARP, have been lobbying to prevent age discrimination in the areas of car insurance and driver’s licensing regulations. Each concerned person should make sure that they are aware of any pending legislation about these issues and contact their representative. The growing senior citizen population is a block of voters that most politicians would like to have on their side on Election Day.
