Elderly drivers should be retested

Should elderly drivers be retested? Many seniors will see retesting as age discrimination; however, if the tests are thorough and the decisions are fair, retesting could improve road safety, provide peace of mind to some families, and allow older drivers to reshape their driving habits while continuing to drive. At what age is a person old? Elderly drivers occasionally get into accidents due to their degraded physical and mental abilities from age, renewing the call for retesting with renewal of licences, and far more frequently than the general population. Yet, the elderly are the safest age demographic of all drivers (Boston Globe, July 26 ).Estimated Reading Time: 7 mins. Should elderly drivers be retested? Many seniors will regard such retesting as age discrimination. But if the tests are thorough, and the decisions fair, retesting could help road safety, bring some families peace of mind and give older drivers a chance to reshape their driving habits yet keep on driving.

At the moment, drivers over age 70 in the UK must fill in a self-assessment form every three years to renew their licences. The form doesn't include a medical or driving test. Mandatory Retesting of Older Drivers As drivers reach 70 years of age, they are involved in more accidents than teenagers. Drivers 85 years and older have the highest rate of fatal accidents per miles driven, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Everyone ages differently, however, the older we are, the risks behind the wheel increase — with the possibility of declining cognitive, vision and physical abilities. Older drivers in general are safe — drivers age 65 and older made up 20 percent of all licensed drivers in , but were involved in only 16 percent of all crashes. From , only 11 percent of elderly drivers killed were known to be drinking.

Yes. Everyone, regardless of age, needs to take driving more seriously. Forced retests would help with that. Driver's licenses should require annual written re. Current law does not require people to re-take drivers' tests after their initial one – meaning a senior citizen driver has not taken a test. Nevertheless, it should be noted that compared relative collision rates of older drivers to those of other age groups are complicated; the comparatively.