Unsafe
When an 84-year-old Harrisburg man with Alzheimers disease drove off to parts unknown recently, it pointed out the challenge families can face when it’s time for a senior citizen to give up driving.
Pennsylvania law offers some help on that score. Doctors are required to report patients who have conditions that compromise their ability to drive safely.
So when mom or dad is suffering from dementia or any other condition that makes driving dangerous, family members should arrange a medical exam.
If mom or dad resists going to the doctor, the family can file a report through the same channels. (The number is 717-787-9662. Providing the driver’s license number or birthdate and hometown is helpful.)
Other states have more rigorous requirements.
When PennDOT gets a report, there’s no guarantee it will yank the license, but it will do further checking. The agency may cancel the license or impose restrictions, such as no night driving. As Mr. Young’s case suggests, anyone with a confirmed case of Alzheimers or dementia should not be driving.
Pennsylvanians might wonder why there isn’t mandatory re-testing of older drivers’ skills, starting, say at age 75 or 80.
The answer: It’s generally considered an unnecessary burden on capable older drivers, as well as being expensive for whatever safety benefit it produces. Oh, and politicians are reluctant to upset senior citizens, because they vote.
Instead, Pennsylvania conducts random checks on a sample of drivers older than 45. Each of the 1,900 drivers flagged each month has to undergo a vision exam and physical exam. Those with risky conditions may have to take a driver’s test.
Other states have more rigorous requirements. Some require elderly drivers to renew in-person, not by mail. Others require vision checks upon renewal, since failing vision is the most common risk factor for elderly drivers. Nevada and Maryland require older drivers to supply medical information for renewing licenses. Illinois and New Hampshire require renewing drivers older than 75 to take a road test.
Here in Pennsylvania, with such a high percentage of senior citizens, a consultant’s report in 2010 shied away from recommending any stronger rules for older drivers.
It made a series of minor suggestions, including a pilot program asking some older drivers to complete a medical checklist like that used in Maryland.
There were no reports that the wandering Mr. Young, who was found safe in West Virginia, had injured or damaged any bystanders. That certainly was a happy outcome. In 2012, Pennsylvania saw more than 18,000 crashes involving a driver over age 65, including 276 fatalities.
In general, the crash rate for elderly drivers is not disproportionately high when considering population, but their rate is probably higher if considered by miles driven, since older residents tend to drive less.
With such a high proportion of senior citizens in Pennsylvania, the legislature is not very likely to tighten renewal rules for elderly drivers. So it will remain harder for a non-driving senior citizen to get a voter ID than it is for a potentially incompetent older driver to get a license renewed.
That is perplexing, because no elderly voter ever killed anyone by casting a ballot.
Harrisburg Patriot-News