Mandatory Driving Tests for the Elderly 65+

Do you have a loved one that insists on driving their car although they are blind as a bat? Do you rely on your faith to ease your mind until they arrive at their destination? I have and it is very stressful, to say the least, and according to National Safety Counsel, I have a legitimate reason for this concern. “Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of accidental death among the elders aged 65-74” (Ferrini and Ferrini 181).

As you age your hearing, vision and cognitive abilities diminish. These are all required to safely drive a motor vehicle. Physicians are responsible at recognizing the loss of these required abilities with guidelines set by the American Medical Association (Ferrini and Ferrini 183). However, due to limited time with the patients, doctors often overlook these and the patients with diminished abilities are free {and legal} to drive their car at their leisure.

In 2004 Florida mandated vision screening for drivers over age 80, this resulted in a decline in death rates among the elderly by 17% (McGwin, Sarrels and Griffin). However, as a concerned loved one, I feel that this age should be taken down even further to the age of 65, as this is the age at which the diminished vision starts. Additionally, I feel that mandating annual driving tests that test the cognitive and hearing abilities, for all elderly {ages 65 and older} by the respective states, will help reduce the unnecessary accidental deaths and ultimately make our roads safer.

Works Cited

Ferrini, Armeda and Rebecca Ferrini. Health in the Later Years. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.

McGwin, Gerald, et al. "The impact of a vision screening law on older driver fatality rates." Archives of Ophthalmology 126.11 (2008): 1544-1547.