Decisions should not be age-based. Have seen 30-somethings go ballistic while driving, parking, stuck in traffic…
You can be a bad driver at any age.
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While it’s true that you can be a bad driver at any age, it’s likelier to happen when you’re older and your reflexes and senses start to fail, or when you’re young and are lacking in experience and judgement.
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Dementia is more likely for older folks, and anyone experiencing more than a very mild case should not drive. My MIL let my FIL drive too long. When he finally sideswiped a guardrail, the MIL and my wife took his keys away. One day he got lost going to the barbershop, only a couple miles from home. He ended up about 30 miles away on the side of the road. A state policeman found him and called home to ask for an escort home. My wife went and got him. She was astonished that the statie did not take his license away. He clearly had no idea where he was.
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Does a state trooper have the authority to revoke a drivers license? I would expect that to be up to a judge.
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Depends on the state. In some states, you lose your license (temporarily) at the moment you’re accused of DWI (or other serious vehicular crimes) and you don’t get it back unless and until you’re found not-guilty.
Of course not. The officer can take it just as he could take a drunk’s license and make the driver appear in court and show why the license should be returned.
In the states that I have lived in if a driver refuses a sobriety test they must surrender their drivers license but the police do not break your door down to search for the license, it is up to the the driver to turn over the license to the DMV or face penalties. A driver doesn’t lose their license for being charged with DUI.
For a policeman to collect drivers licenses based on discretion would be a problem, the accused may lose their job if they don’t posses a drivers license, it could be a year or more before the case is heard. If the license is not recorded as suspended or revoked the driver could go to the DMV and get a replacement so what is the point other than creating an inconvenience?
I’m pro law enforcement but I like the idea of innocent until proven guilty. I really don’t know the DUI laws in Minnesota but I think if you refuse they can take you in for a blood test. I think that has been proven to be more reliable. I know there are enough bad eggs in the system that I’d prefer to have more than one level involved. Then there is the whole confiscation issue that is way out of whack, not to start something else.
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Can we all agree that guy shouldn’t have a driver’s license . . . ?!
Can you agree on that, @bing . . . ?!
There’s the law
And then there’s common sense . . .
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Sure sounds a little off but I’d like to see someone do an evaluation other than the city officer.
A few years ago a lady ran into the Chinese restaurant here trying to park in front of it. Actually quite a bit of damage to the bricks and took close to a year to repair. She was a middle aged woman from another country and not used to cars I guess. I’m sure her insurance rates went up but likely still driving.
Not long after that another one ran into the paint store downtown. Jumped the curb, across the sidewalk and into the wall. Not as much damage and no one injured. Um same national origin.
The thing is there are folks out there driving with various skill levels, experience, mental capacities, and you just can’t arrest them all and prevent them from driving. After all, it has to be recognized that roads and cars are dangerous. You always have to be watchful whether driving, walking, or in a parking lot. Just life. Dangerous. Keep the ear buds out of your ears.
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[quote=“bing, post:50, topic:171580”]
A few years ago a lady ran into the Chinese restaurant here trying to park in front of it. Actually quite a bit of damage to the bricks and took close to a year to repair. She was a middle aged woman from another country and not used to cars I guess. I’m sure her insurance rates went up but likely still driving.
[/quote
Not a valid comparison, in my opinion
You’re comparing an 89-year old guy to a middle-aged woman?
The old guy probably only has a few years left, and . . . no offense to anybody reading this . . . his senses, meaning eyesight, hearing, depth perception, and so forth, were probably much worse than that middle aged woman
The middle aged woman was probably also more capable of learning from her mistakes
Only YOU would even bring that up
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It’s relevant because where they came from they had little experience with the automobiles so are learning and more likely to be confused with brake, clutch, accelerator, etc.
You’re only making YOURSELF look bad by making those statements in the first place
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I understand you drank the Kool aide out there but there are relevant issues are related to nationality whether you like to admit it or not. A 40 year old lady who has never driven before is somewhat less proficient than a 40 year old lady that has spent 40 years in Minnesota and driven tractors and other mechanical implements all her life. Geeze. La la la
You’re just trying to rationalize your “narrow-mindedness”
I could have used a much stronger adjective . . .
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Awww never mind. Back to tires anyway. As they say at Disney, have yourself a marvelous day.
Cars have got too expensive and too flimsy to let them touch anything. And they might be too risky to take out on public roads. I keep mine in my garage and only take them out when nobody else is around. I use my pickup to run around.
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There is a sound basis for age related evaluation. I am an 80+year old long term diabetic and I do not drive anywhere as well as I used to, my vision id 20/40 pm my better eye so I had to syop driving School Bus about 6 yeas ago. Just renewed my drivers license and NY says I am good for 8 more years. I have adjusted accordingly, I no longer drive at night, or pass o to help if I am in unfamiliar territory n 2 lane roads. drive a little slower. and use a GPS if I am in unfamiliar territory. I only use the voice prompts, I don’t want to be looking at a screen while driving.
On the other hand, my wife has a 101 year old friend who lives in a regular apartment and has friend over tp cook lunch for, She drives the 40 mile round trio to her daughters house every weekend to visit her and cook meals for her. She can read a fine print bible and drive without glasses. When she goes places with her daughter, people assume she is the daughter. She is the more upright and has the faster stride. We don’t all age at the same rate.
remembering my grandmother, crunched over like a leaf in autumn, watching the road from the space below the steering wheel and above the dash. Yes we had to take her keys away, she was in assisted living and did not mind much.
The thing is, we don’t have to make it discriminatory. We should be testing all drivers at set intervals, because I guarantee that 10 years after driver’s ed, most people have developed bad habits that impact driving safety.
Yes, I absolutely think we should be testing people who are 80. But we should also be testing people who are 30. I see a lot of serious safety issues just about every time I drive and honestly, the most dangerous trend younger. It isn’t the 80 year old who’s weaving in and out of traffic at near triple-digit speeds.
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