Officials say it's about the ability, not the age of drivers
ISHPEMING -- According to the AAA foundation, today's elderly are living longer and more commonly traveling regularly by car. The foundation also says elderly drivers also have one of the highest accident rates.
In the next 20 years, the number of drivers aged 70 and older is expected to triple in the nation. However, many say "ability" to drive is the real issue, and those skills don't come and go with a set age number.
Eighty-year-old Anthony Raymond Moore says he's clocked over 1,100,000 miles in his life, and he doesn't expect to stop anytime soon.
"More accidents are caused by young drivers, young show-off punks than older people," says Moore.
Moore is not alone in that observation. Facebook viewer David Heard wrote: "I would rather share the road with the elderly than a teenager texting while driving on the wrong side of the road."
For that reason, some say creating a cut-off age or requiring more frequent testing for older drivers, just isn't fair.
Facebook viewer Thomas Fuller writes: "Unfortunately we as a public society can't pick and choose what group of drivers we make test more often because of age. That would be discrimination!"
"If you're able to operate that vehicle safely, you should be able to operate as long as you'd like to," says Sgt. Kevin Dowling of the Negaunee Michigan State Police post.
Instead, it's up to the driver and their families to make the decision whether they are capable, but that's not always an easy decision.
Dowling recommends families try to make the decision before an accident happens. Some drivers don't want to part with their privileges.
Facebook viewer Lynn Gusler Glinn writes: "My mother in law is 88-years-old and is starting to be confused most of the time ... are there ways to request that someone be retested?"
A family member can't make a person be retested. In some cases, law enforcement or medical professionals can step in and require individuals be retested by the Secretary of State, but there has to be a reason.
"Both of them have to be, circumstances that are articulate, you just can't say, well we'd like to ask for an examination of the driver because we think they're too old to operate,'" Dowling says.
Some of the things law enforcement and medical professionals look for to ensure drivers are still capable are vision, physical ability to operate a vehicle, and the ability to make clear decisions. If they are in doubt and send in a request, that individual will be called in to the Secretary of State's office to receive testing.
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