Senior driving ...

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The answer to that is a variable..  For eample, at 70 years of age my wife lost control of a JEEP we had just purchased and hit a tree at 50 MPH in a 55 zone (per witnesses she was only going 50,,, I believe them, So do the SC state police).

She was showing early signs of a problem that may or may not have contributed (I do not think it did) but would have stopped her from driving in oh, perhaps another 4-5 years, (Based upon her mother's progression of same condition). Many seniors have this problem.

On the other hand it does not run in my family.  But other medical issued do and some day that may affect my ability to drive (not yet)

At some point on of two things happens.
1: You die of old age, accident (not your fault) Injury, disease or malicious action (Murder). (Hopefully not the last option).

Or 2: You develop mental or physical infirmities or deficiencies  (Senile Dementia for example) that cause you to become a danger, OR.

your doctor puts you on a combiation of meds that prevents you from operating safely.

Alsa, there is no set age for these things.. I know of kids (think like 20 give or take a few years) who are unable to operate a vehicle safely and I know folks 80, or 90 or more who are safely to operate a vehicle.  It all varies depending on so many things I can not list them all.
 
It depends. There's a older gentleman staying next to us in the campground. He can barely walk. When I see him getting into his car to drive, I cringe. His reflexes are no way near what they should be. He's about 75 years old. My brother and I had to take the license away from our mother because she was the same way. I hope that any of you older type people know when it's time to give up your license and leave the driving to someone else. It's for your safety and everyone else on the road. Happy motoring to all.  ;)
 
Macular Degeneration of the eye will cause you to stop driving early.
 
I was at a rally in Vermont this summer, where a 90-something woman drove her Class B from Louisiana to attend. She absolutely refused any assistance in setting up. Her only request was to be parked near the showers!
 
HappyWanderer said:
I was at a rally in Vermont this summer, where a 90-something woman drove her Class B from Louisiana to attend. She absolutely refused any assistance in setting up. Her only request was to be parked near the showers!
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She is amongst the minority. I would venture to guess that 99% of the 90 year olds should not be driving.  :)  That's only my opinion.  Boy am I going to get some flak on this!!! :(
 
Doesn't it depend on the individual's physical and mental health? We could cite lots of potential medical factors that commonly arise with advancing age, but nothing that is a universal dis-qualifier. And the the statistics show that older drivers have a much better overall safety record than younger one.
 
A more serious note than my 1st post on this subject...as we age, our reflexes, sight and mental capacity decline.  It's a normal part of aging.  Obviously, some are affected sooner than others.  But, most of us learn to adjust to our growing disabilities, like an amputee learning to use a prosthetic limb or a blind person learning to get around with a white cane and/or a seeing-eye dog.  In both those examples, people around them usually are careful or helpful or, at least, recognize the disabled person has limitations.  When driving, however, the limitations of the driver are not apparent and, worst yet, many drivers seem to lose what respect they may have for other people and drive like everyone else is in competition with them.  This means many (most?) drivers ignore the possible driving limitations of others and assume all other drivers are either Mario Andretti or shouldn't be on the road.  How dare that vehicle in front of me go less than the speed limit!  How dare that vehicle in front of me slow down so far back from their turn.  How dare that vehicle...  It's not necessarily the older driver that is the problem.
 
mariekie4 said:
At least us older drivers keep our eyes on the road and not on our smart phones, texting while driving!
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Some, not all.  Yes, I've seen some senior folks looking down repeatedly in their lap while driving.  That usually means one thing.....
 
Frizlefrak said:
Some, not all.  Yes, I've seen some senior folks looking down repeatedly in their lap while driving.  That usually means one thing.....
Click to expand...
What? They wet their pants? ;D
 
We encountered a gentleman in a state park who had driven his 35 foot MH to the park.  He was 93 and hale and hearty. Much of his family was there, too, staying in their own RVs.  They all were proud of him and comfortable with his driving the MH.  They felt he was still perfectly capable. So, to answer your question, somewhere north of 93! :)
 
For us, one of the more frightening moments of the year occurred when the 85 year old owner of a motorhome we were trying to buy took us for a test ride. 
 
Because every person is different, having different
physical abilities and limitations, there can be no
arbitrary and capricious age number that can be
set to stop driving.

I believe the same goes for starting to drive, taking into
consideration the home state licensing requirements.
 
I would think that at the age of 80, there should be a mandatory road test in whatever they typically drive. If it's a 40 foot motorhome so be it!
 
Oh, please!  My husband is 81 and drives just as well as he always has driven.  Let's not get carried away with this age thing.  In my experience, people know when it's time to not drive and restrict themselves.  My husband's father drove until he was 88 and did just fine.  It's all about genetics and varies with each individual.
 
Age? How can you place an age limit on driving, My friend is 93 and drives everyday. His reflexes are still good, he in fair to good health, his eyesight is as good if not better than mine and he still gets out in his yard and does thing, he goes out in wood shop and still makes things. Are you going to tell him to stop driving?
 
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