Senior Citezens
Senior citizens have been criticized on their driving abilities for many years, and them having driving privileges has been debated for just as long. It is fact that some of the abilities required for driving lessen with age. Some of these risks factors would be eye sight, hearing loss, drowsiness, and even diseases related to age. Inevitability, senior citizens should be required to retake a drivers test often. When driver rates are calculated, the highest rates are found to be among both the youngest and the oldest drivers. Because of these statistics, J.O.L laws, or Junior Operating Laws, have been created to suspend licenses of young drivers who make any sort of mistakes while driving. These laws can take away a drivers license for 3-6 months if they: speed, get into an accident, receive a traffic violation, or even drive with a friend in the car! However, there are no laws prohibiting elders of such things. Is this fair? You’ve probably heard the story about the 86-year-old man who unknowingly drove his car into a farmer’s market and killed 10 people. In his case, his license had only been SUSPENDED! Would you say that involuntary manslaughter of 10 people is equivalent to a teenager driving to the mall with some friends? I think not. While I feel that it would be unconstitutional to take away the driving privileges of all senior citizens, I do fell that a few extra precautions should be taken when issuing a driver's license to a senior citizen. The eye sight, hearing, and reflexes of most senior citizens are not able to keep up with the high speed of driving. Thus showing that these factors should be tested at least once a year. If they fail any of the tests, their license should be revoked. This will help to get the people who are bad drivers off of the road while letting those who are still able to drive keep their license. There are many senior citizens who can still be considered decent drivers and they should not be penalized by those who are not.