Testing Older Drivers Might Prevent Tragedy

* The accident in Laguna Hills on Monday that left a motorcycle officer in critical condition with serious brain trauma is another tragic accident caused by an elderly driver.

The 77-year-old motorist allegedly drove through a red light and broadsided the officer as he rode his motorcycle on the cross street through the intersection with the green light. Now, this father of two very young children, who sailed over 50 feet after being struck, lies on the edge of life.

I am 75 years old. A few days ago I took a written test to renew my license for an additional five years. That test had nothing to do with my actual driving ability. It merely tested my ability to remember facts and statistics that had no relevance to my vision, hearing ability, night vision, reaction time and the many other skills that qualify one as a safe and skilled driver.

As a resident in one of the largest senior developments in the country, where the average age is 77, I am afraid for my life and limb each time I drive my car out of my space. Within the walls of my community I am told that drivers may drive cars without a driver’s license and are not required to carry auto insurance.

Most of our traffic rules and regulations are honored in the breach. The unfortunate officer and his family are only the latest victims of elderly drivers who, if required to pass a reasonable, actual driving test, would no sooner pass than a 10-year-old.

If it is not age discrimination to require a minimum age to apply for a driver’s license and to have more stringent requirements for drivers younger than 18 because persons younger than those age brackets aren’t considered ready to assume the awesome responsibilities of driving, why is it age discrimination to specify a maximum age after which a driver would have to demonstrate fundamental driving skills either on a test course or in a virtual testing booth (similar to Link trainers used to train and test pilots)?

My contemporaries who are loath to give up their driver’s license should be ready at any time to prove their competence behind the wheel of a 3,000- to 5,000-pound missile. Crying age discrimination is nothing more than a wall behind which too many are hiding their fear of being discovered as no longer safe to drive.

How many more tragedies must we experience before we remove incompetents from our roads?

MATT SCHWARTZ

Laguna Woods