A little girl was struck and killed by an elderly driver yesterday. The young girl was in a crosswalk with her father and was hit by a woman in her 80s who couldn’t see the young girl. Finally now, lawmakers in the state are considering measures to require retests of drivers. The bill however would only require new road tests for drivers over 85 and only every five years. Not good enough. Things can deteriorate far faster than that…vision (already tested…though apparently not well enough), mental acuity, reaction time. Each of these things can make an elderly driver a ticking time bomb and its time that we had some lawmakers who were willing to stand up for what is right in the face of the political backlash from offending older voters.
I think that rhode island gets a bit closer with an age cut-off of 75 and eye tests every two years (rather than 10 yrs. in Mass.).
Of course there are the standard cries of discrimination to which there is only one answer. You bet. In regards to handing out licenses we should discriminate against people not fit to drive. So yes…I’m in favor of discrimination, not against the elderly but amongst anyone not fit to drive. If you’ve been diagnosed with macular degeneration at 40…guess what, you should come in every two years too. Have a history of LSD or huffing glue (brain damage)…road tests for you too. DUIs…just take the license away and don’t bother coming back. Patrick OUT!!!
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