Courses for Older Drivers

The article on elderly drivers was interesting, but I don’t think such courses as 55/Alive can accomplish much (“Older Drivers Are Reconditioning Their Skills” by Patrick Mott, Sept. 22). What can you teach about driving that a person who has been behind the wheel for 60 years doesn’t already know?

Younger drivers either do not know or do not care what constitutes a safe distance between vehicles going 50 to 60 mph. Old drivers are frustrated because on a crowded freeway it is impossible to follow at a safe distance. Also young drivers mostly have little idea of safe driving in fog or rain.

Parallel parking is often used by examiners to flunk older drivers. . . . On a busy thoroughfare only an idiot would attempt this maneuver, and on quiet streets it is easy enough to find a parking space. Shopping malls and parking lots leave this skill virtually obsolete.

ROBERT MILLS

Cypress