Should elderly people over 85 not be allowed to drive?

Should elderly people over 85 not be allowed to drive?

Noori Chun

The world is becoming an aging society at an alarming rate. As the average life expectancy is longer than ever before, the problems of senior road users have been significantly increasing in recent years. As a result, there are those who say that people over 85 should not be permitted to drive. In my view it is vital to legislate against elderly people driving. This essay will discuss how dangerous and harmful seniors driving is, and argue that it should be banned by law.

It is natural that people have physical and mental problems when they get older such as presbyopia, which is normal loss of near focusing ability that occurs with age, late reaction or lack in judgement. These issues have profound implications for senior people when they drive. The more serious thing is that being faced with horrendous situations by elderly driving is inevitable if there is no law to control the problems. 

For example, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 6,165 people 65 and older were killed in traffic crashes in the USA in 2015. This represents 18 percent of all Americans killed on the road. This is a huge percentage of the whole number of traffic accident. This is not just a problem of the USA. It is a worldwide problem. We need a solution for this urgently.

Moreover, other drivers are also exposed to a dangerous threat on the road when elderly people make car accidents. Last November in South Korea, there was a nasty traffic accident in a tunnel which made several victims including young babies. Unfortunately, it was revealed that the driver of the heavy oil tanker, which brought about the terrible consequence, was an 80-year-old elderly man. According to a police investigation, he had a previous conviction for a traffic accident. There have to be no more innocent victims as in this situation.

On the other hand, some people argue that these are just the examples of those few careless drivers. They claim that there are far more cautious senior drivers so that they prevent those terrible results. They insist that there have to be systems to help senior people who cannot drive, such as expanding public transport systems, providing free transport services and regular driving tests for old people before the banning on driving in any circumstances.

In conclusion, I think elderly people over 85 must not drive for not only themselves but also for all people’s safety. However the ban on seniors driving must take effect long as there are alterative solutions for them. If the government makes laws to prevent their driving, seniors should have the right to move anywhere they want to go by free public transport. This might give more job opportunities for young people and create a better and safer society.