ABINGTON - Good luck to anyone trying to pry the car keys from the hands of soon-to-be 81-year-old Theresa Johnston.
Johnston is incensed over state Senator Brian Joyce's recent refiling of a bill that would require drivers 85 and older to pass a vision and road test every five years in order to renew their driver's license.
Joyce's bill has been bogged down in the state's Joint Committee on Transportation for two years. Governor Deval Patrick is said to be favoring tests for senior drivers. "I'm upset!" said Johnston, a Rockland resident, of Joyce's measure. "I drive just fine. I don't need to be tested because of my age."
In Massachusetts, all drivers are required to pass a vision test to renew their licenses every 10 years.
"We should be watching those kid drivers," said Johnston.
"Seniors are more conscientious on the road. We try harder."
Not all senior motorists share Johnston's view. "In one way a law like [Joyce's] would help take the elderly drivers who shouldn't be driving off the road," said 75-year-old Eileen Maraget of Abington.
ROBERT CARROLL
