Old People Can

’t Drive Essay, Research Paper

Elderly People Should Retake Tests

People over the age of sixty-five should be required to retake a driving test and have a physical from their doctor saying it is o.k. for them to be driving in any condition. Drivers today are more aggressive and have more road rage. Many accidents occur when an older driver is driving too slow or not watching what he or she is doing. Their time to react decreases over the years. The test should include a listening, eye, and driving exam. The physical is needed in case one has a bad heart, for an example, and passes out at the wheel. Not only is he or she endangering their life but the life of others as well.

Elderly people take longer to react to certain situations while on the road. Last year, I was involved in an accident with an old couple. I was taking my friend home after school one day. It was about three thirty in the afternoon. The roads were a little wet, but it wasn?t raining at the time. I was traveling at about thirty-five miles per hour. Up ahead, I could see a smaller truck sitting at a stop sign. As I approached the truck, the driver decided to inch out from the sign. I didn?t think anything of it, and continued on my way. When I was about one hundred yards from the truck, the driver pulled out again! I slammed on my brakes and slid to a stop. I wrecked the right corner of my Jeep to the left corner of the truck. I was enraged. The driver stepped out of the truck. He appeared to be about sixty-five years old. His wife then stepped out

of the passenger side. She got in my face and started screaming at me. I was screaming back because he was the one who pulled out in front of me when I had the right a-way. The man

driving had a bad distance judgement between my vehicle and his. If he had to take a driving test again, this accident may never have happened.

Aged people should be required to have a physical present with them when taking a driving test. As people get older they start having more health problems. One incident occurred close to my dad?s house. An older woman and her boyfriend were taking a drive through the neighborhood. She was only going around twenty miles per hour. The woman had a history of heart problems. She passed out and struck a brick mailbox. The car some how tipped over onto it?s side. My brother, Joey, was the first person on the scene. The man in the car seemed normal, but the woman was in shock. Joey ran to the closest house and called the police. Minutes later, the police and paramedics arrived. They had to use the jaws-of-life to get the couple out. They were sent to the hospital, and released later that day. In order to avoid these situations, I believe elderly people should be required to have a physical done by their doctor. If there are medical problems that persist, then they should have a restricted license.

Another incident involving medical problems was when my grandfather, Jim, was driving to the store one day. He forgot to take his heart medication. Jim went to the store, about two miles away, to get a newspaper. On his way back from the store, he passed out and ran right into a tree. The car was totaled. He was shook up about the whole deal. My grandfather had minor injuries, but he was lucky because he wasn?t wearing his seatbelt. The only thing that saved his life was the airbag.

Senior Citizens are more careful on the road than most other drivers. Sometimes they are too careful. They sometimes go twenty-five miles per hour in a thirty miles per hour speed zone, slowing down when cars pass going the opposite direction. Other times they slow down before they get to the green light, then slam on their brakes when the light turns yellow. Older folks who take more precautions are likely to be involved in an accident. They start to panic and tend to lose control of the situation. Elderly people should be required to take a driving test when they reach sixty-five years of age, because they lose judgement time and awareness of what is around them. They should also be required to have a physical from their doctor for their safety and the safety of others.