Test Elderly Drivers but Don’t Profile Them
Regarding elderly drivers: It’s a cruel world. You enter it helpless and, if you’re lucky and live long, you leave it helpless. There are many rewards in living a long life, but it is a fact that the elderly have diminished physical capabilities and, often, diminished mental facilities. The driving laws of this country need to reflect this to protect our senior citizens and those around them. The elderly must have behind-the-wheel driving tests often after a certain age. Cars can become dangerous weapons.
The day before an 86-year-old killed 10 pedestrians at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, my 89-year-old mother was killed in a single-car accident. I should have taken away the keys.
Richard Greenbaum Karliss
Malibu
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I am a physician who was born in 1935 and I am writing from that perspective. Age alone is not a determinant of driving ability, but vision, hearing, cognition and motor function are essential to safe driving. The DMV screening is not adequate to evaluate real-life driving situations and stresses. A simple example is the vision test. A chart is easy to read, even with impaired vision due to cataracts. A glare test should be part of the routine driving vision test. The driver must be able to see even with a bright light shining in his or her eyes.
Confusion due to early dementia is a common cause of accidents by the elderly. One-third of people over 80 will develop dementia. A driving test should include the ability to find a location following written directions or reading a street map. If the driver becomes flustered or attempts to read the directions or map without parking, there is a definite problem. These additional tests could apply to all applicants, not just the elderly.
Victor L. Kovner MD
Studio City
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I am 85 years old and would be glad to submit to a driving test every year, even though my daughter says my reflexes are very fast. The physical limitations of many older drivers make them a serious danger on the road. Let’s get legislative action on this now.
Herb Herr
Pasadena
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I understand the sorrow and anger felt by the families and friends of those involved in the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market tragedy. However, I feel the burden of the blame is being unfairly borne by the elderly. Where are the articles questioning the sensibility of conducting farmers markets on popular and heavily trafficked streets? The tragedy that occurred on Arizona at 2nd could happen on Canon at Wilshire in Beverly Hills.
Perhaps we should consider moving these markets to areas less open, such as parks or parking lots, or at the very least, secure existing markets with portable concrete blockades.
Marisol Gold
Long Beach
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I hope the frenzy that will undoubtedly follow the farmers market tragedy will not rob millions of elderly citizens of a crucial component of their independence and self-respect: their ability to drive themselves to the grocery store or the pharmacy. The answer is not to create millions of shut-ins. The tenet that should inform the creation of new regulations is that all 80-year-olds are not the same. I am 80; through divine blessing or good fortune, I play tennis three days a week and enjoy good health and excellent reflexes.
And isn’t that the issue? Reflexes? Regardless of age, in addition to existing tests, all drivers should be tested in front of a computer simulation of two or three situations that require the application of the brake pedal within a specified period of time. Let’s not add to our woes by age-profiling.
Joseph C. Cavella
Malibu
