Older drivers

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How much risk do older drivers pose?

Briefly last week, the legislature contemplated a bill that would have required drivers 65 and older to renew their licenses more frequently than younger drivers, and would have required those older than 85 to take a road test.

Facing an outcry orchestrated by the elder lobby AARP, the lawmakers made a hasty retreat, mindful no doubt that older people tend to be conscientious voters.

But the issue won't go away. Some older drivers are a danger to themselves and others. How should they be identified and separated from their car keys? And how dangerous are older drivers, really? Jane Stutts, who recently retired from UNC-Chapel Hill's Highway Safety Research Center and is an expert on issues involving older high-risk drivers, says it's a little complicated.

Bill would require tougher standards for older drivers

North Carolina tells teenagers they can't drive until they're 16 years old, so seniors should face limitations based on age, too, state Rep. Ric Killian says.

Killian, a Charlotte Republican, is sponsoring legislation that would require more frequent driver license renewals for people 65 and older, and mandate road tests for people older than 85.

That doesn't sit well with Nellie Lee Philips, 93, of Raleigh. She recently renewed her license for another five years without taking a road test.

Child's death revives driving debate

The death of a Raleigh child who police say was struck by an 83-year-old driver could mean a renewed push for stricter regulation of older drivers, said a legislator who helped kill such an effort this spring.

Rep. William McGee, a Forsyth County Republican, said Thursday that the life of Green Elementary School student Ashley E. Ramos-Hernandez, 6, would likely not have been saved by the proposed legislation to road-test drivers over 85 and shorten license terms for those over 75.

Ramos-Hernandez died after stepping off a school bus and getting hit by a sport utility vehicle driven by Geraldine Baron Deitz, 83, police said. Deitz faces misdemeanor charges of death by motor vehicle and passing a stopped bus.

Texting ban, but what about the rest?

This year the General Assembly outlawed a few of the dumb, distracting things drivers do when they really should keep two thumbs on the wheel and two eyes on the road.

One law that takes effect Dec. 1 will forbid motorists from using mobile phones for text messages and e-mail behind the wheel.

North Carolina already had a quaint law against watching a TV broadcast while motoring. But how would we even do that? With a rabbit-ears antenna mounted on the hood?

Sensible restrictions

At age 83 and no longer driving, I disagree with your opposition (editorial, April 11) to the recent legislative proposal for sensible regulation of licensing of older drivers. You point out that the elderly do not talk on cell phones or do text messaging, etc., as many younger drivers do. But all old folks have slower reflexes, and many of them have glaucoma, or macular degeneration, or heart conditions, or confusion, or balance problems, or maybe all of the above.

Opponents correctly point out that driver's license examiners are empowered to deny a license to any applicant they consider unqualified. But examiners see renewal applicants only once every five years. A lot of deterioration can take place in an elderly mind/body in that amount of time. More frequent renewal requirements do not deny capable older drivers the right to drive. They merely give examiners a more timely opportunity to evaluate renewal applicants.

Our state properly places restrictions on the licensing of adolescent drivers for the