Elderly People

Nowadays parents are concerned about their teenager's driving on the road, but they never think about their parents driving still at the age of 70 and consider if it's still safe for them to drive. Even through the elderly have been driving longer then anyone else there comes a time when the keys to the 1983 Impala should be passed down to their grandkids. Yes, giving up their license may make them feel more dependent on others, but they must understand that it is for the best. My goal in this paper is to let you know that elderly people should be banned from driving and it's only because we care about them.

Our age can affect our driving, something simple as turning our head to look back or steering and braking the car may become hard to do (To Drive or Not to Drive). Vision as well is important for when we drive and when we get older some of us may come across cataracts which is when the lens becomes cloudy, causing problems with the ability to see (To Drive or Not to Drive). Having the elderly banned from driving is good because they are more likely to "cause great damage, or even death, not out of malice or negligence, but rather because they have simply lost the ability to drive" (Outliving Driving Years). Studies have shown that the elderly are involved in more fatal accidents then any other age group, and only because they are losing the ability of driving successfully unlike how they were able to drive in their teen years through their 40's. According to a study done in 1995 for the Fatal Accident Report System Data it reports that the elderly accounted for:

* 5% of all people injured in traffic crashes

* 13% of all traffic fatalities

* 13% of all vehicle occupant fatalities

* 18% of all pedestrian fatalities (Older Drivers, Elderly driving, seniors at the Wheel)

These are some astonishing facts to know that the elderly are accounted for some of these accidents. For that reason they should understand why people believe that they should be banned from driving. A judge has said that relatives of elderly drivers should think "very, very carefully" about letting them get on the road and drive. Through I can acknowledge that there are many safe elderly drivers on our roads. There are some who are not, and families are sometimes too afraid to confront their elderly relatives.

For the elderly drivers, who do believe that they shouldn't be banned from driving I think that states should implement some rules on senior's rights to drive in order to protect them and other people on the road. The rules that should be implemented is that all the states should let it be a requirement for the elderly to renew their driver licenses and to take a few tests to see if they are still capable of driving. Furthermore the states