At what age should seniors give up driving?
by Gareth E on 16/03/2023
This simple-sounding question is actually quite complicated. There's no answer that's both easy and accurate. That's for two reasons. One is that people's capabilities at any given age varies widely. The other is that people's relative states of health as they age are improving markedly.
In 1970 people in their sixties were mostly unfit and unhealthy. Certainly, compared to those of today. Many of them were a bit dodgy behind the wheel of their cars. Earlier physical and mental decline was due to a combination of far poorer medical solutions than are available today and less positive perceptions about ageing.
In the 1960s the popular view of people in their forties was that they were 'over the hill' and on their way down. That was replaced with 'life begins at forty'. Following that came 'sixty is the new forty'. Now eighty is the new sixty - at least for some. These people have rejected getting old in favour of staying fit, healthy and active. Doing so has preserved both their cognitive skills and their dexterity. Also their mental health and attitudes remain strong. It does help if you're free from illness and injury, but that is so often a function of fitness and keeping active to begin with.
Any arbitrary line in the sand drawn today over what age seniors should hand in their driver's license is guesswork. The result can be very unfair on a lot of older drivers who are still very capable. It needs to be remembered that seniors may not have family readily available to drive them around and insufficient wealth to go everywhere in taxis and rideshare. Being limited to public transport additionally limits someone's range of activities, which can accelerate decline. That in turn will increase the burden on medical services.
Rather than base such a decision on age alone, the decision about which age we should no longer be driving needs to be based on personal skills and general state of health. In that regard, a yearly or bi-annually cognition and dexterity test could be required to be undertaken beyond a certain age. This could be done not on the road but inside a facility built for the purpose. A computer-based examination could simply test each person's physical and metal capabilities, such as reaction time, concentration ability and decision-making skills. The idea would not be to catch people out but simply make sure they aren't so doddery that they are a menace behind the wheel.
I'd rather trust my own life to an oldie who is not quite as sharp as they used to be than to a younger driver who is flying high on booze, weed or meth. Not to mention texting at the same time.
Photo by Josh Feiber on Unsplash