What is your biggest fear when it comes to driving? Is it getting into an accident, or maybe just witnessing one? Some people are even afraid of simpler things like driving in the snow, rain, or even being on the highway. My biggest fear is driving behind an elderly person on a one-lane road. Though it is not a common fear, it is a realistic one.
According to the National Library of Medicine, you may begin losing motor functions as early as the ages of 19-25, which continues through ages 66-80. Being behind someone on the road who is at the age of 60 or higher is, to me, very scary. Knowing that they have been losing motor functions and possibly even memory makes me feel unsafe to drive on the same road as them.
Researchers at ChainLaw.com state that at the age of 60 and higher, people should retake the driving test every ten years to ensure that they can still drive safely and know everything they need to. I believe they should have to retake the road test and a rather advanced version of the written test. Hopefully, with this, the percentage of accidents caused by elderly people will go down. From 2001 to 2021 the rate of accidents in the United States went up from 11% to 19%. Elderly people are one of the two age groups that cause the most accidents alongside teenagers.
Teenagers cause as many accidents as they do because they are young and do not know how to drive truthfully. Teens are more likely to not wear seat belts, are inexperienced, speed, drive at night, and drive while drunk. Teens do not make very smart choices and it shows when it comes to driving, but they are young and will have time from when they are only 16 to grow and experience more things. They will become better drivers and will be more safe.
Elderly people have already grown and gained experience, so when they drive unsafely there isn’t anything to blame other than the person themself. As stated before, the elderly are one of the two age groups that cause the most accidents and I believe this is due to the loss of motor functions. Retaking the written test should help them remember the little things about driving that are easily forgotten, but are still very important. Retaking the road test will ensure that they are a good enough driver to continue driving at whatever age they may be.
Overall, elderly drivers are unsafe, so to test their ability to continue driving, they should have to retake both the road and written tests for driving every ten years after turning 60. This should help to bring down the amount of accidents caused by these drivers.
