Who's more dangerous behind the wheel -- drivers 70 and older, or 30 and younger?

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

So when a reader complained that since Jan. 1, California drivers 70 and older have had to take a written test and an eye exam at a Department of Motor Vehicles office to get their licenses renewed, it got my attention.


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The California Highway Patrol reports that in 2019, drivers 70 and older made up 10.4% of all licensed California drivers. But they were involved in only 7.2% of fatal crashes and 5.5% of injury crashes.

Two age groups stood out for being overrepresented in crashes.

Drivers 20-24 made up 8.1% of licensed drivers in California but were involved in 11.9% of fatal crashes and 12.5% of injury crashes. And folks 25-29 made up 10% of all drivers but were involved in 13.4% of fatal crashes and 12.8% of injury crashes.

A DMV spokesman said those numbers are misleading because younger drivers put in more miles than older drivers.

“Seniors are among the safest drivers on the road in terms of both collisions and convictions,” said the spokesman. “However, when taking account of miles driven, collision rates (but not convictions) start to rise at age 70.”

OK, but if drivers 70 and older drive less and are more inclined to take short trips to the post office and the supermarket, is the extra burden of testing justified?

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I thought about my dad again when I read that actor Dick Van Dyke, 97, recently crashed into a gate in Malibu during a rainstorm and suffered what were described as moderate injuries. I think it’s fair to have a conversation about whether 97 is too old to be driving. And for anyone 70 and older who’s dented a fender or kissed a fire hydrant, I don’t have a problem with eye exams and driving tests.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-25/who-is-more-dangerous-behind-the-wheel-drivers-70-and-older-or-30-and-under

[LakeArenal]

1. My dad needed to lose his license at 88

He drove until he was 93. He had one bad accident that the judge said was not his fault.

But his driving was SCAREY!!!!

His brain function was great to pass any driving test or eye test.

[leftieNanner]

8. We reported Dad at 90 to the DMV

Boy was he mad at my sister and me!

They required him to take a driving test.

So he hired a driving instructor for a lesson.

Passed the test. We ultimately convinced him to give me his keys when he was 92. At that point I had ratted him out to the staff at his senior living home.

Luckily no accidents.

[LakeArenal]

17. My Dad was very up front. "Over my dead body" would we get his keys.

Luckily that didn’t happen.

[Tetrachloride]

2. Eye exams and driving exams. both groups

I’ve seen way more trouble with young drivers than older.

Regarding elder: a relative’s dementia set in quickly. His accident was in a farm field.

[RainCaster]

3. I'm most nervous when riding with my 24yo son

My retired friends are far more patient.

[treestar]

4. Any age could have done what DVD did

It's his age that causes the questioning. a 30-year-old could have done the same thing and even be more likely to do it. It does not raise an eyebrow. It's just an accident.

So the statistics make more sense to pay attention to.
So they should do them based on miles driven.

Accidents are caused by inattention. Younger drivers can do that. And they can cause accidents by intentional stupidity on top of that.

[cloudbase]

5. It would seem that younger drivers would be more likely

to be distracted by their electronic devices.

[Act_of_Reparation]

18. Cool story, bro.

But I got some bad news for you: old people can't peel their faces away from the screens, either.

[moonscape]

6. I'm 72 and the thing that scares me about older

drivers is when they drive too slowly and don’t keep up with traffic. I don’t mean speeding, but driving way below the speed limit. I have a friend like that so … I always driven when we’re together. Of course, if she was on this thread she’d tell you I drive way too fast

[Hortensis]

15. My husband spent years grousing about slow drivers and assuming

they were elderly and most often female ("bless her heart" ). I'd say over well half the time when I was able to check them out they were youngish to middle aged men. No doubt a lot more of them on the road, but still, not kids, almost never notably elderly, just notably slow.

As it happens, one of our teen grandsons put some miles on his learner's permit today by driving up to have lunch with us. Got his wings for both driving freeways and driving with his tight-wound dad in the car for the very first time. Did great.

[Chainfire]

7. Assigning a particular age to the problem is ridiculous.

Some 85 year olds are fine to drive, some 40 year olds should never be behind the wheel. College aged kids in the nearby city drive like madmen on meth; they wouldn't be half as bad if they would look up from their phones every once in a while. I think that they drive by sense of smell.

For those of us who live in rural areas, with no public transportation, when we are no longer able to drive you may as well turn us into Soylent Green. Of course that problem is often avoided because of the ambulance travel time when we have our first stroke or heart attack.

[a kennedy]

10. Yup, those gall damn cell phones ARE THE BIGGEST PROBLEM. UGH......biggest mistake letting

people use cell phones while driving.

[a kennedy]

9. I wouldn't say 30 and younger, but would definitely say 20 and younger.......

They are the worst.......only thing about the older folk (i’m 72), is they drive a tad slower then they should, at like you know, when the speed limit says 70, they DRIVE 65 or 70, not 80.

[zipplewrath]

11. 20 and younger

Had a relative that sold auto insurance. He claimed that 95% of drivers 20 and younger were an at fault accident waiting to happen.

[a kennedy]

14. Yup.....they think they're indestructible.

[Javaman]

12. I'm 60 and if I could never have to drive again

I would be perfectly okay with that.

I’ve been driving for over 40 years and I’ve always disliked it.

If there was real public transportation in this country, I’d dump my car in a hot minute.

[bucolic_frolic]

13. The whole licensing thing is a racket for state profits

Here in PA ... insurance discounts. Some lobbying assoc got it passed, so those behind it got state contracts to make you take exams every 3 years and pay them a nice fat fee. No one needs this at 65, or 75. They would catch more problems with a 30 second eye exam on license renewal, but there it is written in scripture. If you want money, lobby the state legislature.

[Lancero]

16. All drivers should routinely retake their driving tests.

A knowledge test to make sure the driver is keeping up with the current laws and regulations, and a skills test to make sure drivers haven't picked up any dangerous driving habits.