Are States Getting Stricter About Senior Drivers?
By admin on Jan 10, 2010 in Social
Some state may be getting stricter about senior drivers.
Tennessee is one state that seems to be cracking down on elderly drivers who have had accidents. The senior driver may find himself in a maze as he attempts to get his license back. That involves re-taking the eye test and driving test. The written test is not required.
Red tape is part of the process and that is probably not accidental. The senior must have an eye doctor sign that he thinks the elderly person can drive with the current eye condition, even after cataract surgery. Everything must be in perfect order. If the senior has to take the test with prescription glasses, he has to come back after he receives the new glasses, and etc.
It can get very frustrating for the children of seniors, especially if you’ve been to the drivers’ testing center five times already. There is nothing to compare with the frustrating bureaucratic process where no one tells you you actually need an appointment. Didn’t you notice that online?
But is all of this totally a bad thing?
The answer is probably obvious. No. Why?
The states are beginning to take the pressure off of family members on driving decisions. Now children don’t have to worry as much about how and when they will take the car keys away, especially if the elderly parent has caused an accident.
And what the state allows through, the insurance companies probably won’t. Insurance for a senior who has had an accident is difficult.
But the most important thing is to get the senior off the road if he or she is unsafe. You don’t want anyone to get hurt. Also- find out in whose name the car is in. Is it yours? Make sure you know in whose name the car title is in.
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2 Comment(s)
By Matt Gurwell on Jan 11, 2010 | Reply
Keeping Us Safe has developed the “Enhanced Self-Assessment Program” for senior drivers.
This individualized program has been designed to serve as a valuable tool in helping older drivers (and their families) make appropriate decisions regarding the future of ones safe driving career.
If the individual is a safe driver, we provide him or her with strategies on how to remain a safe driver as they progress through the aging process.
If driving retirement is the appropriate decision, then we provide the individual (and their family) with acceptable alternatives, resources and a very specific plan to ensure a smooth and successful transition from the drivers seat to the passenger seat.
To learn more, visit our website at http://www.keepingussafe.org.
By Steven Aldrich on Jan 11, 2010 | Reply
This blog post highlights the tension between our dual goals of keeping older drivers on the road while reducing the number of accidents. Why? Because the implications of taking away transportation for anyone – not being able to get to jobs, visit family and friends, participate in volunteer activities, or reach basic necessities like the grocery store or the doctor’s office – are profound. And so are the consequences of accidents caused by unsafe drivers of any age.
To accomplish that dual goal, we do need to understand root causes of safe driving so we can assess and improve them. Vision and physical limitations are inhibitors to safe driving and this post points out the way Tennessee assesses vision. Brain performance – the ability to react quickly to what we see – is an important predictor of crash risk that has not been widely adopted. Yet a recent NHTSA study of older driver screening programs concluded that testing brain performance was the most predictive in understanding crash risk.
I am CEO of Posit Science and we recently introduced DriveSharp, a software program recommended by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. It contains proven technology to help people be safer behind the wheel by training the brain to think quicker and react faster. Find out more at http://www.drivesharp.com