While older drivers are usually involved in fewer accidents than teenagers, the statistics don’t tell the entire story.
Drivers between ages 25 and 64 have a fairly constant rate of accidents when measured by crashes per miles driven. This rate begins to rise at age 70, however, and goes up quite dramatically at 80.
The truth is drivers 85 and older are 11 times more likely to be killed in a crash than any other age group. Officials say slower reaction times and poor eyesight contributed to many of these fatalities.
In Tennessee, all drivers are required to renew their licenses every five years. Even so, senior drivers do not have to pass driving tests to renew their driver’s licenses.
That’s a mistake, and the safety of everyone who travels on a street, highway or interstate in Tennessee is being placed in jeopardy. It would seem only fair and prudent for the state to require drivers to regularly prove they are still physically capable of operating a motor vehicle.
A bill was introduced in the state General Assembly in 2006 that would require senior drivers to have their reaction times and vision checked when renewing their licenses in Tennessee.
That legislation failed in the House Transportation Committee, where several lawmakers argued it was unfair to single out elderly drivers.
Nonetheless, state lawmakers have had no such problem in singling out teenage drivers for age-related driving restrictions.
In Tennessee, drivers 18 and younger are under a graduated license system that restricts their driving privileges. Nationally, graduated licensing programs have helped to reduce the accident rates for teenagers.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says the overall number of 16-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes has fallen dramatically in recent years.
A driver’s vision can decrease with age, and an 80-year-old needs three times more light to see as well as a driver 60 years younger. Older drivers often suffer from diminished hand-eye coordination, resulting in slower reaction times.
Driving is a privilege — not a constitutional right. As such, state government has a responsibility to see that individuals who are granted this privilege can function safely on our highways.
