QOTD: Should there be age restrictions on driving?

PanasonicYouth: 02/28/2008 9:53 AM
Suggested by RockinPonda!

Do you believe that there should be a cut-off age by which drivers should no longer be allowed to get behind the wheel? Or would this be a form of ageism? As for the reverse, how old should someone be when they first learn to drive? Are current statutes fine the way they are?

Replies: 30    1 2 3
 
PanasonicYouth: 02/28/2008 9:54 AM
I just want to say how much I LOVE THAT FUCKING PICTURE. OMG I want to hang out and drink tea with that lady all day.
Buzznet's Official New Age Amazon: 02/28/2008 9:58 AM
I think rather than take licenses away from people still capable of driving based on age, we should take way the license of people who are apparently too stupid to see the girl walking slowly in front of them in the intersection with tons of foot traffic, who probably DID see her crossing the street but decided to hit her with their van ANYWAY because she had an I-pod on or they thought it would be a keen way to score chicks.

I'm also in favor of people over a certain age having to retest for their license...but that's based sheerly on the fact that the human body does break down and things such as eyesight and reaction time can be slowed. This isn't something that can be treated with a flat out age limit, it's a case by case basis.
kasperobscene: 02/28/2008 9:58 AM
I just want to say how much I LOVE THAT FUCKING PICTURE. OMG I want to hang out and drink tea with that lady all day.
dude, me too, holy shit. especially since she would appear to be british.

anyway, no, i don't think there should be an age at which you're not allowed to drive anymore, but i do think drivers should have to re-take their driver's test once they reach a certain age or have had their licence for a certain amount of years. don't ask me how old or how many years that should be, though.
thereaper: 02/28/2008 10:09 AM
that old lady is tight
rockinponda: 02/28/2008 10:13 AM
I'm not sure what I think on this, I just know that a lot of old people drivers make me insane on the road! I don't think it would be right to take their licenses away just because they've hit a certain age, but they should have to go through a lot more tests to make sure that they're still competant drivers. And log in hours with another driver in the car, like teenagers here do.
Stinchey: 02/28/2008 10:14 AM
I think that if you wish to continue driving after you are 60 for example you should have to re take both a theory and practical test as the highway code in the UK is constantly being updated.

As you get older your reaction time gets slower, your eye sight can beign to go and your hearing may also be worse so from a safety point of view these things should also be tested.

There are too many older people on the road in the UK who drive way under the limit, pull out with out looking or as happened to me in August run you off the road.
unsceneunheard: 02/28/2008 10:33 AM
It scares me that you guys in the US can drive from sixteen. I didn't start learning till I was almost nineteen, and even then it was terrifying and I didn't feel anywhere near comfortable with it. (Then again you all drive like crazies. I mean.. c'mon turning on a red light? WTF?)

I definately think when it comes to older people though it needed to be judged on an individual basis. Some people can get to what? Their eighties and still not have really awful eyesight or cataracts or anything. While others are...shall we say 'blind as a bat'

How would one define an age cuff off for these things anyway? My dad could do with being told he should be checking his sight (I swear he can't read the speedometer) - and he's only in his fifties! I think, when it comes to the UK all drivers should have to resit a theory or practical test say..every fifteen years. I'd say more like five-ten but there's too many people. But I swear most of the insane drivers are people who are over confident and have picked up terrible driving habits.

Or perhaps..it should be everyone else who learns to adapt and accept older drivers. In the highway code and in our theory exams it makes clear on multiple occasions their reactions may be slower than other drivers. Please make allowance for this
Harold Bensington: 02/28/2008 10:41 AM
I'm 17, and I can barely get myself to drive a car. I like driving, but there are too many things that may go wrong.

I think that the driving age should at least be 18 because there are still way too many people dying in cars and whilst being underage and inexperienced. As far as too old...I have no opinion on that. My 70 year old grandma seems to like driving so I am in now way going to say anything against her. =]
hungoverandunder: 02/28/2008 10:51 AM
stinchey said:
I think that if you wish to continue driving after you are 60 for example you should have to re take both a theory and practical test as the highway code in the UK is constantly being updated.

As you get older your reaction time gets slower, your eye sight can beign to go and your hearing may also be worse so from a safety point of view these things should also be tested.

There are too many older people on the road in the UK who drive way under the limit, pull out with out looking or as happened to me in August run you off the road.

a lot of the people over 80 driving overhere never took a test, they were suspended over the war. and people who had been driving over the war were given licenses after the war was over. also most of the records had been destroyed during the blitz
xletsdisco: 02/28/2008 11:32 AM
No, there should not be an age restriction because it doesn't matter what age you are. What does matter is if you're healthy and sane enough to be on a road with other drivers. My grandfather is 86 and he drives better than most 20-year-olds on the road today, if people took his privilege to drive away I know his health would deteriorate quickly because he wouldn't be independent anymore.

Not everyone is the same so why should they be put into the same category, they need to be indivually evaluated yearly, then people can decide if they're fit enough to drive.
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