Driving & old age

We need more public transportation, not just within towns but between them. Investment in alternatives to driving will make all of us, not just the elederly, less dependent upon cars. How to pay for this? Charge for parking, for starters. When you drive to the Bangor Mall, the price of your parking space is folded into the prices at the stores. If you walk, or take a bus, you're still paying for others to park. We can't seem to get socialized medicine in this country, but we've already got socialized parking. Make drivers pay the REAL costs of driving, and use the money for public transportation, some of which can serve the elderly. I gave up car ownership at the age of 49. We don't all need to drive all the time.

public transportation in bangor is a myth...all busses shut down at about 5/6pm. they should have the ability to run all night long

Many of the younger drivers scare me more than most of the older drivers!

I give the writer of this article a big A+ for writing a well balanced piece. Good job...seriously.

At the same time, it is abundantly clear to me that the intent of this topic is to create controversy.

An older driver may not have the lightening reflexes, and exquisite timing of our present youth; but what we do have is experience. Instead of being convinced of our own invincibility and infallibility; we older drivers are aware of our diminishing physical abilities and we COMPENSATE by driving slower. Lightening reflexes and exquisite timing may help you emerge from an accident unscathed. However, experience and SENSE will help you avoid most accidents in the first place.

We older drivers tend to compensate for our diminished physical attributes by using our BRAIN instead of our FOOT. We take the curves a bit slower. We stop at intersections and look both ways...sometimes twice. We tend not to be in such a hurry. This, dear readers, is what makes us statistically up to 20 times safer than drivers half our age.

If there is any intent to increase road safety by imposing age restrictions I have a suggestion. Instead of lowering the maximum age for driving let's, instead...RAISE the minimum age for driving.

I do believe that some seniors should be taken off the road. I once heard of an elderly couple who "shared" the driving. She sat close to him and worked the foot peddles while he steered the car. Now if that wasn't an accident waiting for a place to happen I will eat my hat. And I personally knew of a man in the advanced stages of parkinsons disease who went to renew his license (and got it) to everyones surprise. I can tell of many more horror stories but I'm sure you have all heard your own. But on the other hand there are some very good responsible elderly drivers out there and it would be a shame to take them off the road just because they have turned a certain age. It would be kind of like saying young people can't drive until they are 25-30 because a few teenagers were irresponsible drivers. My personal feeling is that the DMV listen to the doctors and police and even family members and take their recommendation for those who do need to "get off the road".

Yes, the buses should run later. So raise fees on drivers to pay for it, and listen to the howls of protest. Over-dependence on the private automobile for every basic transportation need is the underlying problem here. I say get unsafe teenagers AND elderly drivers off the road. But there have to be alternatives.

These people need to GET OFF THE ROAD!They are more dangerous than any drunk.I have driven commercially in 40+ states and it is the same everywhere.Politicians are too spineless to fix the problem and as far as a voluntary retest-you cannot think that anyone will do that.That is simply a red flag.

What needs to happen is EVERY medically impaired driver and those over 65 need to be 100% road tested EVERY year.Yes it would cost a little but it is worth every penny to get these menaces off the road.And the stupid claptrap about how older equals smarter is completely false.They are slow, thoughtless and dangerous but are well protected by AARP-the strongest lobby in the country.Yet who protects younger people from these threats? NOBODY!

And the statement from JeffEmler above the elderly being 20 times safer is simply a lie.Look up DOT stats.Drivers 75 and up are in the third highest category to cause an accident(after teenage boys and teenage girls)

I feel that testing the older people more frequently (example every two years or once a year) might make a difference but this is really a hard call to make. As with teenagers getting their license, there are good & bad drivers young or old. The sad part is that we all will be in their shoes one day. How will we feel when we think we are a safe driver if we're not --or really are one of the safe ones out there? It's not just a problem in Maine but all across the United States. Angela W. of Wisconsin. (Grew up in Maine tho........)

p.s. I also agree that public transportation isn't an option in almost all the areas in rural Maine. I myself had that problem when I was living there, when the car broke down. No car? No go anywheres!! It's hard!! It also wears out your welcome relying on others to take you daily--even once a week to do the needed things in life.

I personally disagree that older means smarter. You can be young, in your 20's or 30's, still have 10+ years of experience on the road, which is something at least, and at the same time have your lightning reflexes. Granted the young do get in accidents, accidents happen, and we have to find a way to get the numbers down. With the older generation, i've had a friend who got in a car accident, she was in an unfamiliar place, accidently didn't yield, and she knew the accident was her fault, however the person who t-boned her was an 80-year old gentleman. When she came into his area, there were three lanes, he made no attempt to move out of the way, and not only that, but he gunned it, not hit his brakes. This is an example of his diminshed senses. He should have been able to hit the brakes, and if not stopped, at least slowed down, and he could have veered to another lane and avoided the accident, so no, with experience, but disminished senses, you cannot avoid accidents, you can sometimes only make some that may not be your fault, worse. I also have grandmother who has alzheimers, and we pulled her licenses from her, which was VERY difficult to do. This however, was only after she hit a parked police car. We did not live near her, we lived 50 miles north of her, and once we found out had to get it taken care of. There was a great fight because, she, like every other elderly person that i've seen thought that with age she was a better driver, not worse and was completely capable! The public transportation system does have to be improved in Maine, but in the meantime, the elderly that can't drive, maybe can find a young person to befriend that can help them out, take them places, volunteer of sorts to help when needed. I volunteered when I was younger, of the age to have a license, and maybe that "common sense and experience" will rub off on the young while they are driving them to their appointments or bingo or to the grocery store.

How many older drivers have you seen that need a GPS to get across town, are triying to text message somebody as they are driving, or are either on the phone or flossing while at the wheel? They damn well know better.

actually, it's generalized that "the young" are the most deadly with car accidents, however its the middle aged that i have seen more flossing, doing their makeup, READING A NEWSPAPER, or on their laptop while driving. Having a GPS doesn't necessarily mean they need it to get across town. I own one, but i know my way very well throughout bangor, I use it when i go somewhere that i don't know.

I have been at DMV before when the DMV agent did all but give the elderly woman the answers to the eye test. The elderly woman could not see anything in the machine so the agent kept helping her. She finally passed. This should not happen. If you can't see it, you can't have your license. There needs to be a law passed that at a certain age you need to have a yearly road and vision test. It needs to be as strict as the one for first time drivers. You can take it as many times as you like until you pass.

I also believe that young drivers should not be allowed to have passengers younger than 25 unless they are family until they are 19. That way you remove the "cool" factor and friend distractions from inside the vehicle.

I also believe that people need to start getting ticketed for going too slow. If the posted speed limit is 30 go 30, not 20, not 15, 30! If people are too scared to go the posted speed limit, they should not be driving.

If 30 is too fast for you, pull over to the side of the road and let the people who can handle going 30 go by. We all have places to go. Most of us leave for our appointments according to how long it will take us to get to our destination going the posted speed limit. You are making us late! If you want to leave an hour earlier to get across town, fine, but pull over and have respect for the people who want to drive the speed limit.

Back in the late 1970's someone tried to provide transportation for the elderly at no charge, doantions only if they could afford it. It was called Cen-Cit. The whole idea was to provide transportation for the elderly around the Bangor area and suburbs of Bangor. When they wanted to shop, go to the doctor, visit a friend all they had to do was call. Since this was a government backed operation, they felt they knew more than the owner and made rules such as people had to pay, the drivers over 65 because of lower auto insurance, many of them should have been passengers as they had more accidents. Limit on hours and places they could go to like no grocery shopping and visiting.

Some of you may remember the 8-door Checker Cabs that were green (with one yellow). It was basically ruined by political b.s. So shut up already you politicians you ruined a good thing. Why are you trying to cause some much hate towards the elderly, maybe by the time you get there the younger generations will have you put in prision for being old or "put to sleep" permanently.

I don't believe that there should be an elderly age limit on driving but there should be some better way at testing people when they get older. We live in a State that does not have good public transpotation and taxi's charge an arm and a leg to go somewhere. people need to be able to get to the stores and feel the freedom that being able to drive has. The State should also force any age person to turn in there lisc plate when thier drivers lisc is suspened or taken away.

How about doing it the way we have always done it......Be a point of light....Offer to drive an old person once a week. If we all did it, this would be a non issue...

I have had to make the decision twice in my life to releive an elder relative of their keys. One at the age of 75 had been given a license renewal although he was legally blind at that point in his life. Thankfully his mind was still pretty sharp and he was easy to convince that it was in his and everyone else's best interest to stop driving. There was also a relative nearby who was willing to take him to appointments and shopping. Ok, I thought, that wasn't too bad. Then I moved to TX to help care for some older relatives, (well I was actually on my way to the beach, but that is another story). When I arrived I found two people with moderate dementia who lived in a rural farm community forty miles away from stores and doctors. They drove, taking turns, an eighty to ninety mile round trip several times a month. We tried very hard to make sure someone was always available to drive them, but they would sneak away on their own. They thought they were excellent drivers. I cannot even begin to tell you how falacious that thinking was. One day I finally confronted them and the war was on. They called the Sheriff on me. Now, here comes the ridiculous part. I was told that until they had an accident or a medical professional intervened, I could be arrested for taking the keys. The problem was eventually solved when the wife had a stroke and the husband simply could not drive because he couldn't remember where he was going, although there was still a fight everytime, we did succeed in keeping his keys away. By that time, we had finally gotten a Dr. to step in and the husband lost his license.

Now here is where I know that I can speak with intellegence and experience. I am only 53 and I know because of certain medical conditions I have, there are days when I am not up to driving safely. So what is to be done? I ask friends and family for help when I can, or I postpone my trip until a better day. Here in rural TX, just like in rural ME, there is no public transportation. Nada, zilch, zero. This has to be changed. We can waste tax dollars on the most useless of things, but where it really matters, nothing gets done. So... do what I do. Write your lawmakers, email, telephone. Make noise. The squeaky wheel...remember? Well, if you don't, it may be time to stop driving.

That's a nice thought, RussHermon, but it's also incumbent upon each of us to examine our car-centric lives. I'm 51 and don't own a car by choice. Car rentals are available on an as-needed basis, and if you're not commuting to a job, it's far cheaper over the course of a year to rent a car when you need one than pay for insurance, upkeep, and all that. You can plan your life in a way that it doesn't depend on 24/7 access to an automobile. I sure as heck won't be driving when I'm 75. I can barely see at night now.

i think i would rather be discussing the PRESENT ECONOMY SITUATION HERE IN MAINE.....rather than somebodies idea of priorities is to attack the old people, for any reason! How many jobs lost HERE, how many FORECLOSURES here, and why are people still waiting for their oil vouchers to be corrected from errors made by Dept of Housing???????? Does anybody know how long it takes Augusta to cut a check to the correct company??? they are forcing people to pay out of pocket for oil because it takes them a month to correct paperwork..... the state is messing up these peoples own home budgets....

Testing just the elderly drivers would not work. The State should pass a law that a "lottery system" would be set up. It would not matter how old you are. If your name gets drawn you have to take a written, eye and road exam. It's not just the elderly or the very young, there are many drivers on the road who should not be driving.

If a doctor has a patient that is very bad, then they need to just have enough integrity to tell them that they are a danger to themself and others. Don't shove it off onto the State Examiner to do your job for you. If you don't feel it is safe to get into a car with that patient and you are not willing to put one of your family members in the car with them , don't put my family member in there either

My father in-drove till his late 80's. The last time he drove back from Florida I knew it was time that the family got serious about pulling his license. He made the comment of.... accidents around him.... :( He passed all requirements to renew his license. We told the police he should not be on the road. They told us people needed to call in with complaints.

It's easier in small communities because you know who they are. You just clear the road when you see them coming :( Usually when you see a big Cadiallac coming down the road you get out of the way. In high traffic areas, it can be extremely dangerous. Many accidents I have heard of is when they hit the gas instead of the breaks.

As for my father-in-law, we are all safe. He is in a home. He was an extremely independant man. Stubborn is not even the word to describe him. There is a point when the family members know that it is time to pull them off the roads for the safety of others and themselves. We did a family "intervention". We had to set down the rules and told him no more driving. The car is gone. He was angry but we did it for the safety of others and himself. There mental and physical status can change very quickly causing them to be unsafe drivers for the road. We have to stay in touch with family members and ask what they are seeing in driving patterns. We can't wait for car accidents before we take them off the roads.

The families need to find ways of getting them to appointments and shopping. We made it very clear to him that we believed he had become a dangerous driver and we weren't going to allow him to drive anymore. But , you have to be there for them.