Driving at any age....
...is a privilege, not a right. But it seems, as with many things nowadays, everything is a right. And many privileges seemingly are being turned into rights, whether the item deserves to be or not. And this local item of discussion, seems to be heading right into that arena.
Gail Morrison, D-Sanbornton, has introduced HB878 that will elevate the frequency of testing for seniors that still retain their licenses and cars. And already the howls have started! Recriminations of discrimination abound. The main clause that is causing such a kerfuffle is "Because age frequently brings on medical changes or illnesses such as diabetes, strok or other debilitating conditions, this bill includes accelerated testing, once every two years beginning at age 70 and once a year beginning at age 75."
Oh my, let's just discriminate natural outcomes! Ours is a rural area, no doubt about it. And without a car, without a costly mass transit system in the area, it is hard to get around, no doubt about it.
I've read the Letters in the papers, and the opponents of this law seem to stress two things:
- What about MY independence?
- What about the "other" groups that are at risk?
For the latter argument, my question is "why are you trying to debate like my kids did when they were little?" Almost always, when caught in unproductive behavior, the words hitting my ears were "well, what about <insert name here>, s/he was doing <insert bad activity name here>" as if that was all that was necessary to absolve them of what they had done (or wanted to do).
In this style of argument, consider:
- What about others with debilitating diseases like the elderly?
- Those taking prescribed medications that can degrade driving skills?
- Drunken drivers
- Out of control teens
- Speeders
- Any discrimination is wrong
Brenda Baer mentions getting more physically fit to improve 'driving flexibility'. That's fine as far as it goes, but that isn't the main reason for seniors being bad drivers. Cognitive and perceptual degradation are the problems that make elderly drivers problematic. If an elderly person cannot correctly judge speed and distance differentials (current thinking is that the brain cannot process motion quickly enough, so the brain "sees" motion as a series of stop motion slides rather than smooth transitions, and the spacing between the slides increases - yielding more danger for others).
And while her statement that "most senior citizens are well aware of their shortcomings and their impairments and adjust accordingly." seems fine on the surface, there are a few problems with it. Frankly, if only "most" do so, what about the rest? As the number of elderly continues to rise as the Boomers retire, even 10% becomes a large number when you start talking those older drivers that value their independence over anything else.
And don't forget the threats if this goes forward:
- Bill Whalen (I suggest you withdraw your support of this proposed house bill which discriminates against all seniors if you hope to get the senior vote at election time)
- Brenda Baer (Remember seniors, we are the biggest voting bloc in the State and we do go to the polls in larger numbers than any other.
Isn't this discriminating against the rest of us who expect safe roads by depending on legally sanctioned drivers to share those roads with?
Let's go back to the first argument - my question to those that have written into the local papers, is independence a right? In order to get a license, minimum requirements have to be met. A seeing test and a driving test. Loss of independence is not part of the equation.
Every action, or decision, has consequences. Knowing that the time may come soon to give up a license and living in a rural area where comprehensive mass transit would be cost prohibitive (and thus, not available) is a conscious decision. As opposed to giving up a license when living in an urban environment where there is mass transit, doing so here and not taking constructive steps to mitigate the loss of self-transportation will result in the loss of independence.
Look, driving is a privilege. Most seniors (but not all) experience degradation to their cognitive skills, and often rapidly as aging sets in. No, I'm not talking about dementia - this is about reaction times and the ability to correctly perceive differential high speed motion scenarios. Sure, experience helps, but only so far. The problem at hand is that many seniors will wait too long to give up what should have been done already.
Want an anecdote? For a few years before my Mom went to live out West near my brother, I had decided not to allow my family to ride with her anymore when she drove. In fact, part of the reason why she moved is that she would not admit that she could no longer adequately perceive apparent speed differences when pulling onto the highway (or even Gilford Ave). Even when I told her that it was "time", she would not give up her license. And she knew that if it came to it and I requested testing, the State was not going to allow her to drive.
Thankfully, once out West and not knowing the area, she relented and finally gave up her license.
But not until.
