Elder Drivers

I think it would be prudent for not only Florida but the United States as a whole to adopt mandatory testing of drivers over the age of 65. It is unsafe for not only the elderly but the rest of the population. There are many different factors affecting the skill of the elderly in their driving. The elderly are less likely to drink and drive, speed, or drive without a license. They also wear their seat belts more than the rest of the population. This is not sufficient though. They may try the hardest to be safe but many have physical factors that prevent them from driving safe. This is why skills tests should be administered to elders, some are fully capable of driving while others are not.

Elders have vision problems. They range from cataracts to presbyopia to glaucoma. They also suffer from more chronic illnesses and uses of medications. They have medications for strokes, dementia and other illnesses that can cause impaired judgment and diminished reaction time. They also have problems with mobility from skeletal degeneration like osteoporosis which make it hard for them to turn their head. They also have a high tendency to be on sedatives or painkillers which can impair reflexes and cause drowsiness and confusion.

One of the reasons this initiative is not more widely supported is because someone is going to have to transport these elders around if we are taking their license away from them. There will be a huge burden to make sure that our elders are not trapped in their homes when they are no longer allowed to drive. Many places have very minimal forms of public transpiration. Many elders live alone and still need to go shopping and to doctors, how will they do this without a car? I think this is the real reason no one is taking their licenses from them. We would have to create a way to fix this problem before we can think of removing licenses from the elderly. 16-year-olds are not good drivers either, and it is not even necessary that they are able to drive because they are living with family at this age but we still allow it. I think people need to just understand that if they are out on the roads they should be driving defensively and that there is a risk factor just for being out there.

I hope we can come up with a solution to this problem so we are able to save lives without severely diminishing the quality of life our elders live.

Aging Stereotypes

The elderly have so many attributes that are associated with them. A few are good, like they are wise, but most are bad. They range from not being good with technology to physical appearance to emotional happiness. Most of these stereotypes will work for the majority of the elderly but definitely not for all of them.

When only looking at physical attributes we see a huge rang of body deterioration depending on the person. My Dad is 58, still looks good, and is in great health. My best friends Grandma is only 59 but she looks like she is in her eighties due to a life time of smoking. Humans cannot stop aging but we can slow it down if we treat ourselves with care. It is easy to find stereotypes in the elderly but it in no way means that is what being old will be like. Growing up in West Palm Beach I thought all old people were cheap, grumpy and bad drivers. This may be true for some of them, but my grandparents are not this way. People are more of a product of their surroundings then defined by an age. When I travel up north I see a whole new kind of people who are totally different. I do not think anyone should ever be judged by appearance or stereotype. My great uncle is better than me with technology and worked at GE for years. The theory that old people are sad probably stems from the idea of loneliness, and this is possible. It depends on whether the person has a living spouse or at least family close by or friends.

I just hope I can learn to embrace my golden years and not worry about losing some of my youthful vigor. I will always have God, and that is all anyone really needs.