RECENT CRASHES involving older drivers are starting to embolden state legislators, whose political instincts usually tell them to steer clear of anything that antagonizes this important voting bloc. But the possibility of hurting the feelings of elderly voters pales in comparison with the pain and damage they and their victims can suffer when driving skills decline to dangerous levels.
In 2006, deadly crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers motivated lawmakers to require increases in the driver training needed to secure a junior operator's license in Massachusetts. Yet the elderly continue to drive under Beacon Hill's radar. The problem is most acute for drivers over the age of 75 - the only group with higher driver fatality rates than 16-year-olds, according to the US Department of Transportation.
There are sensible ways to approach the problem. Some states, like New Hampshire and Illinois, require drivers over age 75 to take road tests for license renewal. Others, like Connecticut, require that all license renewals be applied for in person. And it is common for states to require shorter license renewal cycles for elderly drivers. But Massachusetts swerves from the mainstream, even allowing the elderly to avoid a vision test during license renewal by exercising a loophole allowing mail-in renewals.
Massachusetts should lead the way by requiring drivers over age 65 to take a road test every five years. That's the age when crash rates per mile begin to increase, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Vision problems, cognitive disorders, and foot abnormalities increase with age, often leading to slower reaction times and lack of concentration. By age 85, elderly drivers can be hell on wheels as their crash rates climb nine times as high as the rate for drivers 25 to 69.
Legislators are starting to take note. Senator Brian Joyce of Milton has filed a bill that would require drivers age 85 and above to pass a road and vision test every five years. But Joyce's plan would be too late for many problem drivers. Representative Kay Khan of Newton takes an approach that might avoid charges of age discrimination. She would require physicians to inform the Registry of Motor Vehicles about any patient age 16 and above whose medical condition presents a serious danger on the roads. Pennsylvania uses a similar approach to take dangerous drivers off the road; often they are elderly.
Many of the elderly are safe drivers. But regular road tests are needed to detect if they slip into dangerous patterns common to their age group, such as failing to yield the right of way, making too-wide left turns, and colliding with cars when backing up.
Lawmakers do no dishonor to the elderly by showing them when it's time to ease off the gas.
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