Friday, March 12, 2010

Get your old ass off the road!!!

I don't have anything against old people; hell I plan on being old one day myself. I just think that there comes a time in a person's life when they need to give up both their car keys and their driver's license and become acquainted with their local bus schedule.
Yeah I know what you're thinking.........that Reggie is one mean dude and he's as wrong as two left shoes. Why shouldn't grandma and grandpa be able to drive? After all, they're just old; they're not blind, crippled and crazy yet. But I'm not mean, I'm just sick and tired of sitting in traffic and waiting to pass someone driving 25 miles an hour in a 65 miles per hour zone. At some point in time, everyone should have to give it up. I'm thinking that once you reach the age of 80, everyone should lose their driving privileges.
Do you think I'm wrong?!? Do you think that they should be able to drive as long as they live?!?

39 comments:

  1. I disagree with your viewpoint as it is not a black/white issue but shades of gray. A person over 80 should be allowed to drive with the following qualification:

    A person over 80 should have to take yearly exams to test vision, motor reflexes and whether there is any mental impairment.

    If the person passes each year then they are allowed to drive.

    I see the risks as being no higher than those abusing prescription drugs, illegal drugs, alcohol or being too exhausted and still getting in the car to drive.

    The reality is that public transportation is not available everywhere and mobility is still a necessity that should be enabled if the person meets the requirements to drive.

    Anon_veritas

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  2. There should be a test you have to take once you hit a certain age, and then again every year after that. If you don't pass, you get the keys taken away. I remember driving around with my grandpa and he actually ran the car against a wall and didn't notice. I loved him dearly, but seriously, someone take the keys.

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  3. Screw that Anon_Veritas, I actually thought about the yearly exam myself; but then I thought....Alzheimer's is a motherfucker. I also thought about the fact that some oldsters live in the boondocks, but that didn't draw any sympathy my way either. As a matter of fact, if old people are looking for sympathy, they can look in the dictionary between shit and syphilis. I can clearly remember a time back in the 80s when we didn't let my grandfather hold the remote control to the television; and yet Reagan had access to "the button" and an accidental nuclear launch 24/7 (they were the same age).

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  4. Eva I can remember riding around in my grandfather's pickup truck with him and he'd be carrying on a lively conversation about some shit that occured in 1942 and the whole time he'd be drifting back and forth in the lane. Big ass trucks and vehicles filled with families would be shooting by and he'd be oblivious to the near catastrophes.

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  5. "Happy Friday Reggie" ...........or maybe not!

    My dad is 78 years old. He has been and still is a great driver. (He taught me how to drive a stick-shift).

    I think that anyone over the age of 65 should have to take an exam to make sure they can not only still drive, but "actually can see the road."

    Now if we start singling out the elderly, then you know we will have to single out those with diabetes (I have an Uncle that passes out every once in a while as he's driving), or perhaps those that have come from another country where driving on one side of the road over there, is totally different in the states (Mr Toad's wild ride)....... And let's not forget the lovely tourists that drive through town slow as a molasses because they are trying to find their next tourist destination.


    In the last few months the people around me that have died due to being in a car, were 25 and under, and they were not driving slow....

    Right to an opinion.......Definitely... Just have to remember when that arrow points one way, the next time it points, may be at you or me for the next person to single out....

    PJ

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  6. In her last years,
    my grandmother would average between two and three accidents a year.
    But everytime she'd hit another driver she'd just whip out her check book and have them follow her to the bank.
    So yeah...
    At some age - they just gotta' give up the keys.

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  7. I agree with Eva, people of a certain age ought to be tested at least once a year. If they pass great, they can keep driving.

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  8. HI Reggie... thank you so much for visiting my blog.. I appreciate your comments. I hope that my answer to your question doesn't stop you from visiting again.

    I can absolutely understand where you are coming from Reggie & would agree that regular testing, either annually or bi-annually, should be given to people of a more mature age. I don't believe it would be fair though to strip away a persons license if they have all their cognitive functions, reflexes & sight in tact.

    I would also agree with you that Alzheimer's is an insidious & horrid disease for the sufferer & their families and I have had plenty of experience working in this field. I would like to add though that this disease is not selective of age & does not only strike those of a more mature vintage. I have known people as young as 46 who have been struck down with this disease and that is not old by any means.

    I would also like to share with you that here in Australia our youth, substance abusers & fatigued driver share a large majority of the responsibility for the carnage on our roads.

    So I don't disagree with you totally but I do think that we should respect the rights of everyone, including our ageing population.

    Cheers Kath

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  9. @Reggie,

    You said, "Screw that Anon_Veritas, I actually thought about the yearly exam myself; but then I thought....Alzheimer's is a motherfucker."

    @Reggie,

    Did you not read my post? I stated the following:

    A person over 80 should have to take yearly exams to test vision, motor reflexes and whether there is any mental impairment.

    I think Alzheimer's qualifies as mental impairment which would disqualify them from driving.

    As a reminder, not all old people are impaired and if you are lucky enough, one day you will be old too. Would you want your right to drive (assuming that you still are qualified to drive) to be automatically revoked once you reached a certain age? Something to consider...

    Anon_veritas

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  10. Reggie,
    You ain't shit for this one. lol.
    I agree with you and I disagree. My Grandmoms is going on 80 and she can still outdrive me. When ever I am back home I have to tell her old ass to slow down. But I have been stuck behind some old ass people that think that the world moves as slow as they do.

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  11. Why not single them out 'Cilla, I've been profiled by the police in New Jersey, South Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama; and I didn't do anything other than DWB.

    I don't like the young people driving either. My son totalled out his car New Years Eve and wreaked his new car 6 weeks later. He's jacking up my insurance rates up higher than Marion Barry on the weekend.

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  12. John at least your grandmother recognized. Most of those oldsters out there would swear that they were in the right.

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  13. Val there is a particular "reasonableness" (if that's a word) to that thought process; but the truth is, I've never been particularly reasonable.

    These codgers need to be playing backgammon and checkers and eating at Shoney's and watching The Price is Right and hanging out at the mall, they don't need to be driving.

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  14. Katherine its nice to have the perspective of someone from "down under". Thanks for visiting my blog and please do come again.

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  15. Anon_veritas I won't be 80 for another 35 years; but when I am 80 I hope someone has the good sense to snatch my driver's license away from me and sell my car too......if I've still got one.

    And yes, I read your post. I always read your posts, they're well thought out always, you're the adult I can always count on for an intelligent response....which is why I like fucking with you from time to time.

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  16. Dirty Red my grandmother will be 90 next month and she doesn't even ride in a car too often, much less drive one. 95% of the time when she gets in a car she's going to church.

    As adults sometimes we don't recognize our limitations. That's why you see them fools falling off mountains and getting eaten by polar bears and sharks and whatnot. Right now I have my faculties......most of them anyway and I think that 80 is a fairly reasonable time to give it up and get the hell off the road.

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  17. My mother still drives and she is 76 years old. She also self-regulates her travel time and knows what her limitations are at this point in her life. I ride with her periodically to make sure she is still handling the responsibility in a safe manner. So far-she's still good.

    This is going to become a highly charged issue as my generation of boomers continue to age. When is going to be appropriate to take the keys? I am not sure how that would work if my mom ever gave me a need to stop her from driving.

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  18. MsLadyDeborah you may indeed end up having to make that decision for her. My mother is 66 and she isn't hardly going to listen to me, that's why I plan on having my sister help me to doubleteam her.

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  19. At the DMV I saw a tiny old guy take an eye test with one hand over one eye sort of job, the woman was patient and coached him as he took off and put on his glasses and after quite a few tries got through the chart, yeah for him! I just hope he remembers his left from his right. Never mind the oldies, they shouldn't let ghey married couples drive.

    Why have tests for driving etc if some dozy bint at the DMV is reminded of her grandad and lets him sail through cos he isn't the loud abusive arsehole type they always get?

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  20. People in Jags,Asians, texters and anyone with a jesus fish sign should be kept off the roads.

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  21. The driving of both my parents began to nose dive when they hit 80. The reflexes really slow down, and some of the old folks get lost easily.

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  22. Hey Old Knudsen, why shouldn't let ghey married couples drive?!? Are they doing something that might cause car accidents?!? I don't care how much personality these dozy old dudes have, they need to get off the road Old Knudsen.

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  23. Old Knudsen I can't say that I've never texted while driving. But after seeing so many accidents due to some idiot texting while driving, I've decided to never do it again. It's a fairly dangerous habit.

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  24. KIT not only that, sometimes we refuse to acknowledge our limitations. Who knows, maybe I won't want to acknowledge my own limitations one day soon.

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  25. once you reach a certain age here... you have to go thru the yearly tests... and im all for it.

    ... the way some old folks drive is fine, and others should be fined for the way they drive.

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  26. These rules apply to all drivers.... some people are just crap drivers regardless of age!

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  27. I agree. Come a certain age - license REVOKED! A couple of years ago, I was almost run over by a confused, old fart!

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  28. Michelle I don't want to be the LUCKY one when some codger's Alzheimer's kicks in for the very first time. There's no consolation for me being right when I'm wrapped around an oak tree because someone's grandmother zoned out for a moment or two.

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  29. Sure you're right Katherince, some of us suck more than others. There are people out there younger than you or I that don't need to be driving.

    Yesterday morning I woke up in New Jersey and prepared to drive home to South Carolina after being there for a week. It was a long long drive, it took all day. After driving from New Jersey to South Carolina I had to drop my daughter off at her college dorm, before driving another 100 miles to my house. At around 8am yesterday I stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few items before making my drive. An older woman in a huge gas guzzling monstrosity plowed into a parked car next to me in the parking lot. There weren't many cars out there since it was so early, that car probably belonged to one of the grocery stores employees. She got out and made eye contact with me and then walked to the front of her vehicle and looked down and then she looked at me and waved and said everything was alright. I just looked at granny and didn't say a word. When I was leaving, I pulled forward and saw that the woman had smashed the license plate in on the front of that parked car and there was something leaking from under the vehicle. She was probably only in her 60s, but she didn't need to be driving either. She was oblivious......or was she?!?

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  30. no they should NOT be able to drive as long as they live ... some of them have glasses with lenses as thick as the bottom of a coca cola bottle time two and the still can't see $#!+ in front of them. some of them are colour blind ... others don't hear well ...

    i believe that at a certain age they need to be driven or car pooled or something and it's not about being mean ... it's about knowing when your time to do something has passed ... it's about knowing that you need to be taken care of now dammit!

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  31. You're preaching the word Trinitee Sees!!!

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  32. After 80 a bi-annual test so long as a doctor's reference/clearance form is sent to the registry every year. I don't know why people don't need that when they go to renew their lisence no matter what the age. All types of illnesses, from diabetes (uncontrolled) to depression should be considered when one renews the lisence. Old an young need to prove their fitness for the road.
    You mean the local crackhead can drive but Nana can't? Don't seem fair to me, Reg. I want everyone to be fit to drive. My father was one of the worst drivers ever! He was a heroin sniffer and and a pot smoker. My grandmother was a safer driver than he and she drove until we "took the keys" at 82.

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  33. Yeah but you loved her enough to take the keys Saint James. Everyone else out there ought to love their aging family just as much.

    I'm with you brother, everyone doesn't need to drive.

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  34. AARP has a driving test they give to seniors, as long as you can pass that, I say it's okay to drive. If you start forgetting things or lose your reflexes on the road, then it's a wrap.

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  35. What if you first forget while you're driving and you're 83 Jem? Do we all just chalk it up to the last time that person will make that particular mistake or do we focus on those that were killed in that one final mistake?

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  36. reading the post and think about the commercial where the guy say "You are going too fast!" to his wife when she is going 10 on a 55 mph highway, I have to say after 83 too. Some cats at 80 still be burning rubber.

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  37. Smoking Ace interestingly enough, when I was writing this I actually thought of that particular commercial.

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