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Elderly Driver's License.
Topic Started: Dec 9 2012, 10:47 AM (151 Views)
Darcie
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Skeptic
My neighbor was working in his yard when he was startled by a late model car that came crashing through his hedge and ended up in his front lawn.

He rushed to help an elderly lady driver out of the car and sat her down on a lawn chair.


"My goodness," he said with excitement, "you appear quite elderly to be driving."

"Well, yes, I am," she replied proudly. "I'll be 97 next month, and I am now old enough that I don't even need a driver's license anymore.

"The last time I went to my doctor, he examined me and asked if I had a driver's license. I told him yes and handed it to him. He took scissors out of the drawer, cut the license into pieces, and threw them in the wastebasket, saying, 'You won't need this anymore,' so I thanked him and left!"
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Delphi51
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Good one! All the better because it has quite a bit of truth in it. My dad certainly felt that he didn't really need a driver's license to drive in his 90's and took a couple of jaunts after he lost his license and before he "lost" his keys. His mind slipped further and further into the past, maybe to when he was a young man when driver's weren't licensed.
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Deleted User
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That was amusing. But sad, if true. I am sure there are many elderly people out there driving competently and responsibly. But there are others who should not be driving. I know one minor accident in which my husband and i were involved, the policeman absolutely could not believe the gentleman who has caromed into our truck was 87. if anyone had asked me anything about the accident, i could only have contributed "I don't know how fast he was going, really he was not so much driving fast, as flying low". No, no one was actually hurt.

nainai
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wildie
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Ontario requires those who are 80 and over to be tested annually. There is a written test and a driving test given by an examiner.
I'd be interested to know if there are any statistics that indicate that this regulation is effective?
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Delphi51
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The system worked well for my dad - with me providing the enforcement.

It is traumatic for a man to give up driving. Maybe there should be a little celebration held when a man gives up his keys. It would make it easier for the next guy.
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wildie
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Delphi51
Dec 10 2012, 05:08 PM
The system worked well for my dad - with me providing the enforcement.

It is traumatic for a man to give up driving. Maybe there should be a little celebration held when a man gives up his keys. It would make it easier for the next guy.
How about an award for the number of years that the individual had driven safely! $100 bucks a year? That would be over $5000 for me!
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Delphi51
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My dad might have gone for that!
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Trotsky
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Several years ago, there was a aged doofus down in Florida I believe, or maybe California, who drove for miles through town blithely hitting people waiting in bus stops...he got to 18 people before he was stopped by police.

Alas, no punch line.
Edited by Trotsky, Dec 11 2012, 01:29 AM.
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friendshipgal
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Guess everyone wants their own Trudashians
wildie
Dec 10 2012, 07:09 AM
Ontario requires those who are 80 and over to be tested annually. There is a written test and a driving test given by an examiner.
I'd be interested to know if there are any statistics that indicate that this regulation is effective?
Do they have a driving test as well, I thought that was only if they failed the written.

A 90 year old gal we know (in the U.S.) is still driving even after having a stroke this past summer. She can barely walk, cannot turn her head and definitely lacks quick reflexes. I asked her daughter about it but she is quite proud that her mother can still drive, it's only to Walmart and back... sure. I'm appalled that the only people who can do anything think it's okay.
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Bitsy
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friendshipgal
Dec 11 2012, 02:57 AM
She can barely walk, cannot turn her head and definitely lacks quick reflexes. I asked her daughter about it but she is quite proud that her mother can still drive, it's only to Walmart and back... sure. I'm appalled that the only people who can do anything think it's okay.
Surely,the woman's doctor before releasing release her to drive again would have performed some testing to determine if it was safe for her to drive.

A friend who suffered an aneurism and then a stroke during surgery to repair the aneurism lost the ability to speak and some muscle weakness but otherwise is functional. Before the doctor released him to drive, he was given a screening test in the doctor’s office that he passed but then he was required to take an on-the –road driving assessment test administered by a health care professional. It was expensive but well worth the price and he was able to keep his driver’s license and his car insurance. Those who doubted his ability to drive safely were satisfied as was the state of Texas.
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margrace
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We have an older gentleman in our area who has been in several accidents and had his liscence revoked but always got it back. His Doctor does this. His wife says he has alzheimers but the doctor refuses to listen. By the by it really is time this doctor retired.
This if the doctor who refuses to see people some time but prescribes meds for them over the phone through his secretary. These are not renewals but new meds.
Edited by margrace, Dec 11 2012, 03:33 AM.
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wildie
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margrace
Dec 11 2012, 03:32 AM
We have an older gentleman in our area who has been in several accidents and had his liscence revoked but always got it back. His Doctor does this. His wife says he has alzheimers but the doctor refuses to listen. By the by it really is time this doctor retired.
This if the doctor who refuses to see people some time but prescribes meds for them over the phone through his secretary. These are not renewals but new meds.
This doctor is putting his own financial health on the line by following this practice.

If his patient injures someone and its established that the doctor should have reported the patients condition to the MOT, his insurance will be void and he would have to pay any damages out of his own pocket.
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