I he head of the motor
vehicle bureau in nil Eastern
state recently received the
following letter:
"My father is 78 years
old. lie has been driving
an automobile for almost
50 years and has always
been a good and careful
driver. Because he has long
been licensed to drive in
this state, he has never been
required to take a driving
examination. In my opin
ion, he is no longer a safe
driver. He reacts slowly
and is overcautious to the
point of being dangerous.
Several times he has almost
caused a serious accident.
"I'm concerned not only
about bis own safety but
that of other motorists. Is
there any way you could
give him a driving test with
out telling him why?"
The man in question was
tested on the pretext that his
insurance company demanded
a re-examination. He
found to be dangerous, and
his license was continued only
on condition that he no longer
drive at night or in heavy,
congested traffic.
It seemed like a severe pen
alty at the tune, hut sober
reflection convinced the old
man that the safety of a great
tnay yeiipie s iiiwdvcd.
Tkuj W09 not an umisu.il
irurtxncts Hundreds of similar
i1ellerkJfe-oived each e.u
o
($0 f'OMillv U'frtlii. JV ?.
o
Ajre You
Too Old to
Since most states don't require periodic
by licensing officials. When
examiners follow them up,
they find that the family wor
ries are justified in an over
whelming number of cases.
This points up two basic
facts pertinent to our con
tinuing campaign for safety
on the highways: (1) few
elderly people or people of
any age, for that matter are
able to appraise their own
abilities and stop driving
when they are no longer safe
behind a wheel; and (2) our
present driver-licensing sys
tem is woefully weak in dis
covering and retesting drivers
who are no longer competent.
It has long been accepted
among most motor-vehicle
authorities that the older a
driver gets the more fre
quently his driving ability
should be tested. Couple this
with the fact that by 1075
nearly half the adult popula
tion of the United States w ill
Iv over t5, and it's evident
we have a problem of con
siderable proportion.
This is not meant as a re
flection on senior drivers, but
simply as a note of warning
for their own safety. As
pointed out by Glen Car
inichael, assistant director of
training for Northwestern
University's famed Trallic In
stitute: "For the senior driver
whose vision deteriorates,
w hose reaction time is slowed,
whose attention is easily dis
by Joseph N
tracted, whose frailty places
him in jeopardy on the high
way, some licensing measures
will have to be taken."
A 1 ost states have what is
known as a "grandfather
clause." This means simply
that once one gets a driver's
license no matter how long
ago he can renew it indefi
nitely without taking any sort
of driving test.
In many stales, no test was
required in the first place. As
a result, there are more than
25 million drivers, most of
them elderly, who have never
been subjected to an unbiased
driving examination!
Some efforts have been
made to legislate mandatory
re-examinations. In 19-11.
New Jersey pioneered by
calling in for examination
every driver over 65 w ho was
involved in a reportable ac
cident, no matter how minor.
The results of this program
were startling: barely a third
of the drivers examined teere
able to pass their test with a
Sdlisdctor; score.
Licenses of these people
were not always revoked; in
some instances, conditions
were put on them such as
staying below a certain speed
or driving only during the
daytime. New Jersey officials
estimate jiiat several thousand
dangerous drivers were re
moved from the highways as
-cU LJ i l 15 V. KVW..' - 3 Mi
tests, it's up to you to
a result of this program,
which became a pattern for
similar action elsewhere.
But the political pressure
to lift the re-examination
requirements in New Jersey
was tremendous. Elderly peo
ple were outraged at this
seeming restriction of free
dom aimed at a special group,
and their complaints were
loud and effective so effec
tive, in fact, that the program
was discontinued in 1951.
The senior citizens argued
that if they were to be sub
jected to special examina
tions, why not, also, the
younger people who careen
about our highways and are
much more frequently guilty
of speeding or recklessness?
Ideally, of course, nil driv
ers should be re-examined
periodically, and the begin
nings of such a program have
appeared notably in the
states of North Carolina, Ari
zona, California, Iowa. Mich
igan, and Washington.
But where resources aren't
available for such a wide
spread program, licensing
officials are almost unanimous
in saying that re-examination
should start with elderly
drivers whose reflexes and
reaction limes have slowed
over the years
The police lieutenant in
charge of Chicago's hit-and-run
accident-investigation
unit told me: "In spite of the
WW
Bell Fj
1 recognize
high incidence of speeding
and reckless driving among
young people, less than one
halj of one percent of the
12.000 hit-and-run accidents
we have every year are
caused by teen-agers. These
kids are sharp drivers and
they love and protect their
cars. They get involved in
relatively few accidents."
I" our states (Delaware, Illi
nois, Maine, and New
Hampshire) now have man
datory re -examination for
elderly citizens. Virginia
dropped out last year, al
though experience showed
that approximately one out of
three elderly drivers applying
for license renewal was un
able to pass the test.
There seems little doubt
that eventually legislation will
be the answer to this problem
a licensing program ade
quate to re-examine nil driv
ers at periodic intervals. But
until that time comes, older
persons in particular can do
much to protect themselves
and others by asking: "Am I
still safe behind the wheel?"
Although there is no sub
stitute for a test given by a
trained examiner, you can
get a clue to your driving
capabilities by asking the fol
lowing questions prepared for
Family Weekly by the
Northwestern University
Traffic Institute: