Tryp
Young Warrior Dragon
Jimmy The Exploder
Stop that! It's silly![ss:American Dragon | Season 1]
Posts: 1,950
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Post by Tryp on Aug 30, 2007 20:42:05 GMT -5
Not that long ago, a bill that would allow seniors to drive only within a 10 kilometre radius of their homes was put under consideration by the Australian government. As far as I know, nothing is official yet, but senior citizens groups were up in arms over it.
Personally I don't think that restrictions should be that severe, perhaps mandatory driving tests every five years once a person is over the age of 65 or 70, depending on their health. I do think that some sort of restrictions should be put in place, I would bet that the elderly are the second most dangerous group of drivers, after teenagers.
For example, last week in Vancouver, members of a wedding party were struck down by a pickup truck driven by a 71 year old man. Six people were killed, and many more injured, including young children. In another incident in Australia, a young girl was hit on two separate occasions by cars driven by seniors.
And today when I was at work, when several of us were sent out to collect shopping carts, we saw a man reverse out of a parking space and hit a van. He stopped, and then floored the accelerator and reversed into the side of a restaurant. No one was hurt, but the cars was badly damaged and the restaurant required repairs to its wall and one of its brick pillars. The man was 91.
These types of accidents are preventable, even more so than accidents caused by drugs or alcohol.
What do you think?
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Post by audra on Aug 31, 2007 6:44:09 GMT -5
I agree about the mandatory testing every five years. As for the bill, I'm so-so. On one hand it would keep seniors off highways, and if they really needed to go farther than that they could take a bus or train. On the other hand, doesn't it kind of violate human rights to tell them they can't go where-ever they want? They're not criminals who have to wear those ankle alert cuffs and tell their parole officer when ever they need to go outside the boundary.
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Post by evildragon on Aug 31, 2007 7:04:08 GMT -5
Argh, don't remind me of seniors and driving. I almost crashed into one because he stopped PAST the white line at his red light (and i was on the right lane with the green light), I had to swurve out of the way for him. And that's not the first time either! They can't even judge their cars hood..
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Post by AAcid on Aug 31, 2007 17:34:49 GMT -5
I disagree completely with the ban because every senior has a different level of ability. I do believe that all licensed drivers should be reevaluated every 3-5 years, even if just by a test and check of driving record. Seniors should have a slightly more frequent retesting, but I think there needs to be more study on what would actually work.
Three other things: First, seniors are actually statistically less likely to be involved in at-fault auto accidents because many are able to judge their limitations and drive accordingly.
Second, 99% of accidents are preventable, through driver choices or through the choice of a third party which is at fault. Only a vast minority of accidents are truly accidental in the fact that no one caused them.
Finally, almost no one knows how to drive properly. Teens butcher the speed limit, drive their cars to the limit, and often past the limit, and are often guilty of some form of distraction. Adults (27+) also drive distracted and may not be completely focused and be lax in their area scans. Seniors also make bad judgement decisions, may have physiological or neurological issues, and other factors. Black Dragon, I've seen people do some darn strange things driving, including one particular peeve of mine, ignoring approaching Emergency Vehicles running hot.
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