Seniors and Driving

* Re “Boy, 1, Killed in Bizarre Crash at Bank,” Aug. 30.

Let me begin by saying that I have always been an ardent supporter of the rights of the elderly. We owe so much to the older generation, many veterans of world wars. Many have dedicated their lives to helping bring us all into a new millennium.

However, I must express my anger after reading the story about the 91-year-old man who drove his car into the Bank of America in Sylmar, taking the life of a child and injuring three other people.

This is a perfect example of why a mandatory yearly driving test should be implemented for those citizens over age 70.

As much as I may agree with Pat Luby of the AARP and her statement that there are 75-year-old drivers who are much safer drivers than many 40-year-olds, it remains a fact of life that after a certain age our sensory motor skills and hand and eye coordination are not what they used to be.

It is hard for many of our older citizens to accept the fact that they are getting older; many are set in their ways and refuse to face the fact that they cannot perform simple tasks as they once could.

This young child who died at the incompetence of this elderly man will now never experience the joy of his first driving license or first automobile. How many more deaths will it take until something is done?

DANIEL HOBBIT

Canoga Park