ok....people over a certain age need to be tested more often for a drivers license

[IndianaJones]

It is downright dangerous. Just heard on the news about a guy running a red light in Chicago and killing a mother and two of her kids.

[cboy4]

1. These are probably the same people who

write checks ahead of me at the grocery store.

Checking writing and bad driving seem to go hand in hand.

[IndianaJones]

2. I told you before...I write checks...but you are probably right. nt.

[LSK]

24. what grocery store do you go to and when will you be there

I can write checks one dollar at a time and my writing is slow!

:D

:hi:

[cboy4]

25. LOL. You joke, but I've been behind people who I

swear must have been doing just that.

:hi:

[SoCalDem]

3. I have to have a behind-the-wheel test every 2 years..but I don't mind

I only have vision in one eye, and have no depth perception, so I don;t WANT to drive if it's dangerous.. It's rather daunting to have to go for the test though at my age :)

[jeff30997]

4. A couple of years ago...

My grand mother killed a guy on a bike.So I would say yes,absolutely.

[WillParkinson]

5. Sorry...

I think that everyone should be tested. I've seen accidents caused by people on cellphones, people applying makeup, etc. People making right hand turns from left hand lanes, left hand turns from right hand lanes. No turn indicators. My favorite, pulling out in front of me when there is no one behind me and then slowing down.

Bad driving habits are not just for those older folks. Everyone should be reminded what it means to be a safe driver.

[KG]

6. living in florida,i say OH HELL YEAH.

locally, a guy recently ran over a homless guy, keeps on going for miles up the wrong way to a toll booth, with the body still stuck in the windshield. the driver was hopelessly lost in the thrall of alziehmers.

[Bennyboy]

7. Both my parents are 80 and still drive....

And let me tell ya, my Dad is a menace behind the wheel. Last year he got his license renewed by mail, if you can believe that.

We have thought about having his license pulled by DMV, but he will drive anyway and then it will really cause trouble if he gets in the big one.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. that would be fine but as a society we would have to arrange alternative methods of transportation

for the elderly.

[MiniMandaRuth]

9. Agee. Loss of any mobility is one of the leading cause for depression in

seniors.

[spinbaby]

10. Bingo!

Seniors would give up driving much sooner if they had some other way to get around.

[IndianaJones]

11. I would be all for that.nt.

[Hondadriver]

13. We have that now

its called FAMILY!!!!!

Sad part is many of today's younger generation simply does not want to be "bothered" by taking care of those that took care of us. Pretty damn pathetic if you ask me. I remember not that long ago there was an older German lady who lived across the street from us, she was a teenager during WW11 and we took her everywhere, helped her pay her bills, etc... Man some of the stories she told me about living under Hitler, STILL sends chills down my spine. She told me her family would hide allied pilots shot down and help them get back, how German troops would go door to door looking for these pilots and often shot those they found hiding them. She showed me scars on her legs from the bombings and told me how the first time she seen a black man she was scared to death because of the propeganda the the nazi's had spread.

[TrogL]

15. Sounds like an employment opportunity to me

We've got a taxi service in town the specializes in the elderly. It's called Driving Miss Daisy Taxi service.

[cuke]

23. Look into it

I have a friend, about age 60, who moved into one of those retiree villages in Fla. He's making a decent living driving his neighbors around

[madinmaryland]

12. Anyone over the age of 16 who drives should be tested!`

[Silver Swan]

14. I knew when to quit!

My last driver's license expired when I was age 25. I never enjoyed driving, so when I moved to the big city with no car, I never drove again.

Now, nearly forty years later, I am finally old enough to ascribe my not driving to old age rather than fear and horror!

[Rising Phoenix]

16. same here

My panic disorder made me dangerous....driving while having a panic attack is like driving drunk...right now I know that driving would not be safe for me...maybe someday that will change...but until then...no driving for me

[DarkTirade]

17. I think driving tests need to be more strenuous and focus more on real-world driving...

not to mention that I think EVERYONE should have to retake the test every few years. No matter how old they are.

We also need to make sure there's better ways of getting around for those who don't/can't drive. Both for reasons of helping us get off our dependance on oil, and just general common sense. The economy can't sustain itself if people can't go out and shop. :)

[SteppingRazor]

18. Absolutely. Here in South Florida...

that story about an old person driving through a home or accidentally running over someone hits the papers practically monthly.

[kwassa]

19. This is the worst example of this that I've heard of ....

I used to go to this farmer's market, too.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/07/17/farmers.market.crash/index.html

SANTA MONICA, California (CNN) -- A 7-month-old boy died Thursday of injuries suffered Wednesday when an 86-year-old man drove his car through a crowded farmers' market in Santa Monica, California.

The boy was the 10th fatality. More than 50 people were injured when Russell Weller drove his car through the pedestrians-only, three-block stretch crowded with shoppers, police said. Weller may face manslaughter charges, police said Thursday.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office identified the latest victim as Brendon Esfahani.


and the result?


LOS ANGELES — An 89-year-old man whose car hurtled through a farmers market, killing 10 people, was let off on probation Monday by a judge who said he believed the defendant deserved to go prison but was too ill.

George Russell Weller was convicted Oct. 20 of 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in a case that renewed debate over whether elderly people should lose their driver's licenses.

Weller, confined to a sickbed, was not in court for his sentencing.

Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson said he agreed completely with the jury and called Weller's actions callous and showing "an enormous indifference to human life."

Weller was 86 when his 1992 Buick Le Sabre plowed at freeway speed into the crowded farmers market on July 16, 2003. In addition to the 10 killed, more than 70 people were injured.

Weller could have received up to 18 years in prison, but the judge said Weller's health problems, including severe heart disease, would make him a burden on prison authorities and taxpayers, and that imprisonment would most likely kill Weller.

[Blue-Jay]

20. best thing we ever did was to talk F-I-L into a voluntary driving test.

He failed and had his license suspended. Pissed him off royally, but he was a serious danger to other people (& himself) on the road. I'll take him anyplace he wants to go without hesitation.

[NC_Nurse]

21. Yep. For everyone's safety, including their own.

Sad story. :-(

[MichiganVote]

22. To say nothing of the teens on the road or the muscle minded 20 year olds