Holy crap, when you put it that way, it really is terrifying that they are still on the road. |
+1 This - which is exactly the problem. How many innocent people have to be run over? |
It has nothing to do with that. No one thinks they will be run over and killed while eating lunch, but that is exactly what happened here. I can't fathom being okay with allowing that to continue. |
| I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think that their elderly parents driving (NOT a right, but a privilege, at that) takes any sort of precedent over innocent people living; and avoiding the wrath of a car driven by someone who shouldn't even be driving jumping a curb and ending it right there. |
PP you quoted here. It really is! And actually, I did the math wrong--for most of them it's 60 years (assuming they got their license at 16.) I am 46--I haven't had to take any type of test or evaluation since I was 16--30 years ago! I moved from the state I got my license (CA) to VA almost 16 years ago. To get my VA license, I just had to submit some paper work, pay a fee, and have my photo taken. I didn't have to take a test or have my driving evaluated--even though some traffic laws are different in CA compared to VA. That's actually not a good thing. |
I don't see anyone here thinking that. But adult "kids" don't have the legal authority to "take away the keys" as some here suggest. Like it or not--theft is a crime! If I literally strong arm my parent and STEAL his keys, I can go to prison for many years! Same with tampering with a car to disable it--also a crime! Then all we have is a normally law abiding adult in prison, minor children in the foster care system (because their parent is now locked up) and the elderly person still out and about driving. |
If your theory is correct, males under 25 should be the safest on the road having been most recently tested. I doubt that's true. |
OK, who should be allowed to drive, given that any driver could kill innocent people in an accident? |
Without legal authority we cannot make them stop driving if they are legally allowed to and refuse to listen to reason. We need law changes. |
Oh stop. No one is going to jail for taking their demented parents keys away. Seriously. Most people don't go to jail for taking a car nefariously. It's just not that high a priority crime. If your parent shouldn't be driving, then do whatever you need to do to keep them from doing it, even if it means hiding the keys or disabling the battery. |
x10000 Selfish breeds selfish.... |
We took the keys after our dear father shared his funny stories (to him only) that he drives up the wrong side of the ramp too often these days. My older sister and her DH arrived at my parent's house that evening, drove the car away and took all the keys. We then as a family rallied around and created a schedule where our parents had access to one of us at all times and since we lived relatively close, we could grant their little wishes on a whim until they got past that phase. Eventually it sorted itself out to two days a week shared by six siblings and grandchildren as they got older. We took care of them as they took care of us, as it should be. |
Well technically 65 IS elderly, it is the age that begins the clinical descriptor ‘elderly’. There is early elderly and there is late elderly, but definitely 65 is elderly. |
| my brother and I insisted my mom stop driving after an accident two years ago --her third in 3 years. Frankly, she's always been a terrible driver, but it was clear that she was not capable of driving any more. She's having cognitive issues as well as physical/spatial issues. That being said, she was reissued her license at 82 without any problems (she uses it for ID). She complains that we took away her freedom, etc (although she has people to drive her) and is in denial about the decline of her abilities, but my fear of her getting in a bad accident and hurting or killing herself or other people made it a non negotiable. |
For me 65 fallen into a senior category but is too early for the elderly label. I don’t think of 65 year olds as elderly. I think of that as prime years for enjoying retirement. Unless you have major health problems or had chronic substance abuse issues when younger, most of us are able bodied at 65 and able to do a lot. We plan on traveling and volunteering around then after youngest in college. People on both sides of our family live into their 90s. However, I do think folks should stop driving by early 80s or so. I plan on walking and using public or private transit by then. One less thing to worry about |