Many drivers tend to be very overconfident in their driving abilities. However, just because they were able to complete a driving test at a young age doesn’t mean they should be able to get off the hook with bad driving habits for the rest of their driving careers. When drivers are first entering the streets, they are required to get a permit. This permit limits their driving abilities to very few things. Once a driver turns 16, they are allowed to take a test to get to their license. Once they pass this test, they’re given an intermediate license and much more freedom to drive. But once they pass this test, drivers are rarely required to ever take a driving test again, not improving or retouching on driving abilities. Even though including a driving test in order to renew a license would increase state spending, drivers should have to retake the driving test every time they renew their license because educating drivers would help eliminate distracted driving and increasing driving awareness would make the road a much safer place. …show more content…
As people age, they begin to suffer from diseases like Alzheimer’s, which plays a huge part in a person’s ability to drive. A driver with Alzheimer’s is at a higher risk of getting lost or forgetting the rules of the road. With the coming of age comes the losing of reflexes, which are necessary for driving. As you age, signals from your brain take longer to travel through your body. Having the elderly re-take the driver’s test would make the roads a safer place. Senior citizens not able to abide by the laws and react to sudden movements would be revoked of their license. Retesting the elderly would make the roads safer, but not nearly as safe as they could
Problems on the road may occur as a result of an elderly individual still having his driver’s license. There comes a time when he has to give up his keys to do what is best for him and the drivers around. When is the best time to give up the keys? A few examples include: struggling to switch feet from the gas pedal to the brake, becoming easily distracted by insignificant things, and loss of ability to turn body towards the blind spot of the car. These instances would help to identify if the elderly individual has the adequate
In the state of Arizona, teenagers that are 15 years and six months can apply for their learner’s permit. A written driving test of basic driving laws and rules is then taken. Upon passing the new driver is given six months to drive a minimum of 30 daytime hours and 10 nighttime hours, with a licensed driver present. This allows teens to become comfortable driving alongside a licensed driver before taking on the task of driving alone. After the six month period of practicing, the teenager can take the driving part of the exam to attain their driver’s license. “Crash risk is particularly high during the first months of licensure.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 1) The need for more driving practice and defensive driving is relevant.
Most if not all teens look forward to several events in their life. One of those events are getting a driver's license. This small piece of plastic is their ticket to freedom. This ticket is more than just freedom to be able to drive their friends around but also freedom from the ritual of their parents having to drive them everywhere and embarrass them in public. Also this is a freedom to the parents as well they may save more on gas from not having to drive their children around. However, some teens are not as safe as they possibly could be if they were to take a few steps to promote good driving habits. This is evident in the article “Teen Driving”, as the author gives the reader teen driving statistics, as well as explanations of programs and steps that can improve teen driving.
Drunk driving, sleeping at the wheel, and loss of control of a vehicle could be a thing of the past when it comes to new innovations being made towards self-driving cars. When one thinks of a “self-driving” car, it means not having to pay attention to the actual driving and going about putting make-up on or playing on your phone while the car takes you where you want to go, sounds completely sci-fi, but it is likely to happen in the near future. With advances in technology, the car is able to use satellites, cameras, and sensors to take the driver where he or she needs to go. Many companies are researching, manufacturing, and testing different
“John died in his sleep. He was warm, comfortable, and doing 70 miles per hour on the motorway”(Fatigue:THINK!:Roadsafety. (N.d.). Retrieved from http://think.direct.gov.uk/fatigue.html). Should drowsy driving be mandated as a criminal offense in the state of California? Few people realize the explicit dangers of drowsy driving. Consider the following scenario: Darkness surrounds your car on the drive home after a late night at the office. There is no light on the two-lane highway except for occasional flashes from the headlights of oncoming traffic. Your eyelids are heavy. You yawn. Your head begins to bob. As you shake your head from side to side trying
There are various types of behaviors that slow with age. Behaviors such as reaction time and constant bodily movements which are consequently the most vital things for a driver to contain. Bodily movements change naturally the older one gets, therefore it becomes more of a struggle for an older person to do the compulsory movements required as a driver (For example; steering, manually driving a car, braking quickly, etc.) The older the driver is, the more attention
"On the Road—Older Adult Drivers." Growing Old in America. Barbara Wexler. 2008 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Information plus Reference Series. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 April 2014.
It’s normal that as we age, our driving abilities tend to change. Adjusting to life changes such as retirement, different schedules, and new activities also affect where and when they drive. Most older adults drive safely because they have a lot of experience behind the wheel. They are often hurt more seriously than younger drivers when they are involved in crashes (Older Drivers , 2012). There are many factors that affect older adults when driving such as arthritis, memory loss, and spine problems, which make drivers lose height and become shorter behind the wheel, diminishing visual range (Older Drivers , 2012). Driving skills can be affected by age-related declines in vision, hearing, cognitive functioning, ability to reason and remember, and other abilities, as well as certain health conditions and medications. It’s important to note , adults tend to take more medications as they age, and even if they’re not developing dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, the medications can cause cognitive changes and confusion, which in turn can affect they’re driving abilities (Older Drivers , 2012).
Again, it makes the headlines; an older driver causes a dangerous automobile crash. As the amount of elderly driving has increased in the past decade, the risk for others to be out on the road has increased. In 2012, there were 36 million licensed older drivers in the United States. (Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US)) As a 34% increase from 1999, it has been noted that seniors are driving past their ability by an average of 10 years. (Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US)). Elderly continue to drive despite the prominent physiological changes that worsen as they age. The amount of automobile collisions suggests that prevention must occur in order to make the roads safer. By examining older drivers’ medical complications, older drivers must be retested to be able to drive a vehicle.
And in some cases they can have Arthritis which is common among the elderly, which could impact their ability to drive Arthritis is joint inflammation that causes joint stiffness and pain. These conditions can make it hard for the driver make turn use the brake pedal, and look behind themselves. If they can’t do any of these things they should get a car with or should be driving a car with automatic transmission, bigger windows, power steering, power brakes. And so they will be able to turn the wheel and push the gas pedal the should do some exercising to give them more
A mandatory test will help ensure that the test taker is still mentally sound and physically capable of operating a car safely. Many elderly citizens experience some form of dementia which can make it difficult to remember where they are going or the current laws of the roads. As people age, they often experience delayed reaction times that can cause more car accidents. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has found that the risk of fatal crashes begins to increase when a driver turns 74 and are highest among drivers ages
Like failing to yield the right of way, failing to stay in lane, misjudging distance and time needed to turn in front of traffic, speeding or driving slowly. When I see those problems I realized that I underestimated the risk of the old drivers. Factors of the senior driver accident are far more than what I thought. I should
Some elderly drivers are reckless because they don't know the rules of the road, but some merely have slow reaction time or bad eyes. Requiring drivers to retake their driving test would be beneficial in both teaching the elderly new rules, but it would also pick out the drivers that are physically unfit for driving. People over the age of 60 are known to have difficulty making quick decisions in a short period of time; something that occurs often when driving. After conducting tests on reaction times throughout people of all ages, Livestrong.com reports that “ As people reach their late sixties and seventies, reaction times increase markedly” (Jessica Ramer). From the time of birth to the age of twenty, reaction time decreases,
...eir brains are underdeveloped which can cause problems to make good decisions on the road, and some may be easily distracted while using technology like cells phones. Some legislators would suggest that they should extend the driver permit and make the written test harder for teens to pass.
In addition to teenagers gaining independence and freedom with a license, parents also gain more freedom as well. Teenagers who cannot drive rely heavily on parents, siblings, and other people to chauffeur them around. Not only does this cost more for the driver, but schedule arrangements must constantly be made and even cancelled in order to drive teenagers to where needed.... ... middle of paper ... ... Deciding to raise the age does not seem like a prime choice, because not only does the argument include age as a factor, but it greatly affects the lives of everyday people.