Say Anything Blog

I have been saying this for years.  Nothing will ever happen though.

I know that the elderly (not sure of the cutoff age) have to get the eye test every so often.  I know this because my friend’s father-in-law had to have his redone and my friend watched as he failed and was subsequently photographed for his new license.  The problem is that the motor vehicle division is too scared to ruffle any feathers and they just let them through.

There’s a specific property tax credit that you have to be blind to qualify for.  I’ve heard countless stories of the person stopping by their county office to apply and driving away after.  Of course the counties are required to report them and gladly do it, but that’s not a guarantee that anything will be done.

A few years ago, a 94-year-old man broadsided me in a parking lot while I was at the stop sign waiting to exit.  The officer said he would have to retake his test.  Two months later, he hit a friend of mine.  A few months after that, I spotted his vehicle again (he hadn’t repaired most of the damage) and when I caught a glimpse of the back of his car, it was clear that he had backed into one of those cement poles they have at the gas station so you don’t drive into the pump.  Last I heard, he’s still out there playing bumper cars and no one’s doing a thing about it.

The geriatric lobby is very powerful in this state.

I’m not kidding at all, but I actually think I was behind this woman at lunch time.  I was trying to pull out onto Highway 2 and turn left, and she was halfway across in the approach between the lanes and just...sitting there.  If it was the same woman, that is.

I waited so long that finally I just turned right, went down a mile and turned around.

If it wasn’t this elderly lady, it was another.

I’ll be honest with you: Past a certain age elderly drivers need to be tested every single year.  They’re more dangerous on the road than a drunk driver.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

I’ll be honest with you: Past a certain age elderly drivers need to be tested every single year.  They’re more dangerous on the road than a drunk driver

I represent that remark....

You don’t have to be a moron to be a liberal Democrat but it sure helps.

Living in Florida, you deal with old people and their reckless driving daily. They should have to take a driving test after 65 and every couple of years after that.

I live in an area with many elderly drivers. As annoying as these rolling roadblocks are to be behind, they probably cause fewer accidents and waste less of my time than the A-holes driving while talking on their cellphones.

As someone who chooses a commute home that is about 2 miles, simply to avoid a sprawling retirement community, I agree with some of your points, but am conflicted.

A lot of these folks have a full lifetime of accomplishment behind them. Some of these folks held back Hitler, Mao, or spent years in the Hanoi Hilton. Many of these individuals contributed in bringing the country out of the Great Depression, and raised our parents generation and were role models for all of us.

In short, they are our elders and do deserve more of the benefit of the doubt than I think most entitled twenty-somethings are probably willing to give.

That said, it took me three harrowing close encounters with old Buicks and Oldsmobiles driven by blue-haired little ladies before I altered my path home. It may take me five minutes longer, but my chance of survival is much, much higher.

And yes, driving is a privledge and not a right, but it is, unfortunately, the only viable means of mobility throughout most of the country. Some folks would be extremely reluctant to relinquish their freedom and independance, and that is understandable.

Hopefully, the current energy crisis will allow for a thoughtful consideration on how most of our communities get people from point A to point B. Mass transit could be a good option for folks that are physically incapable of driving, but are not yet ready to resign themselves to complete isolation and immobility.

I feel particularly bad for Ms. Azure. 19 is way too young to have an incident like this occur.

My 80-something-year-old mother lives in a retirement community and voluntarily chose to take her driving test over, which she passed. Additionally, she has chosen not to drive at night anymore.. I am really glad she decided on her own it was important enough to do this.

I realize that it’s not an easy thing to do to take away someone’s independence.  But it has to be done at some point.  When are the politicians going to get some guts?  Unfortunately the answer to that question is never.

Aren’t you guys always bitchig about government intruding in our lives and telling us what we can & cannot do. Now you want to limit an elderly person’s independence. I don’t think this has anything to do with the AARP. It is about politicians unwilling to step on tender toes and pass legislation limiting the driving priviledges of the elderly. I notice that state and local officials had no problem placing restrictions on teenagers driving. I guess
the life of our young trumps the life of an old geezer anytime.

Where is the insistence that government take away rights under the guise of safety that the collectivists always trumpet?

They should just make the driving test harder, and more frequent, for everyone.  That would help the problem in a non-discriminatory way, and improve the overall level of driving.