The Perils of Overage Driving

by Pa Rock

Senior Citizen

(Acknowledgement:  I am close enough to being seventy-five that I could, at this point, probably stay awake until my birthday arrives!) 

I've mentioned age in this space numerous times, and often not in a flattering light.  We live in a society that has been encouraged to respect its elders and assume that with great age comes great wisdom, and yes, I have soaked up quite a bit of useful knowledge during my many years of riding around the sun.  But with all of that hard-earned seniority among the world's. population, I have forgotten where I stored some of that knowledge and now find that I can't access it as easily as I once did.  I also feel like the process of aging has left me less accepting of new knowledge, things that might make contemporary life easier if only I was more open-minded.  

I have also used this space repeatedly to bark on the subject of old politicians who refuse to get out of the way in order to allow the upcoming generations take their rightful place in leading us into the future - and each time I mention creaky and creepy old politicians, I catch hell from friend and foe alike who rage on about the value of experience and institutional knowledge, never mind that old people - like me -  may present today as Jeopardy champions and wake up tomorrow as denizens of Dementia Alley, a prospect that increases markedly with age.

Today I will leave the politicians out of it.  We all know who they are and we will all have to examine our own consciences as we step into the voting booths.

This time I want to talk about people who continue to drive when they are clearly too old - and what the hell is "too old" anyway? 

I got cranked up on this subject when I read an article on the internet this morning which said that actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke was treated by emergency personnel after lost control of his Lexus and drove it into the gate of a private property in Malibu, California, earlier this week.  The article also told of an earlier incident in which Mr. Van Dyke had been rescued from a Los Angeles freeway when his Jaguar had caught fire while he was driving.  After evaluating the situation and making an accident report, the police who responded to this latest incident also requested that the state "retest" the 97-year-old celebrity for the renewal of his driver's license.  Van Dyke received minor injuries in the incident, and fortunately no one else was hurt - this time.

In the United States were are quick to establish minimum ages, the time when young people my engage in certain activities - like smoking, driving, owning a gun, getting married, voting, and running for office - but many of those state-sanctioned permissions come without an end date.   As a general rule we seldom seem to create maximum age limits.  Some of those activities do require occasional renewals, points at which the state can intercede and run some cursory checks on abilities to perform certain functions - such as driving - but without hard and fast dates as to when a privilege granted by the state will end.

I still maintain and use - most days - the driving license that the state of Missouri granted to me when I was sixteen.  I have my eyes checked twice a year, and I visit my primary physician for general health check-ups at least twice a year to insure, among other things, that trained professionals see me as still alert and cognizant of the world around me, and able to perform specialized skills - like driving.   I compensate for aging by driving less than I used to - and by driving slower than I used to.  I am beginning to focus on finding a living arrangement convenient to services and where public transportation is readily available - because I realize that my days of being able to drive safely steadily decrease with age.

My father was still driving - though he was finally talking about giving it up - when he passed away at the age of eighty-five.    He should not have been driving that long - and he knew it - and his kids knew it.  I do not want to be trying to get myself to the grocery store and all of my medical appointments when I am eighty-five, so I must work diligently not to become my father.   I can do that by reorganizing my life now  - and by keeping issues like senior services - especially transportation and housing - in the forefront of political discourse.   Change is never easy, and often not even welcome, but as America ages, so too must its ability  to deal with the needs of the elderly - and getting them off of the roads will require planning and accommodation by every level of government.

I am sure that public buses run through places like Beverly Hills and Malibu, and I am reasonably certain that Dick Van Dyke can afford an Uber, but many of us live in places and situations where options for seniors are limited.   Old people do not need to be driving - but they do need reasonable ways to get around and to survive.    And as long as we are saddled with fossilized politicians, they ought to be trying to provide their contemporaries with accommodations to make our lives less stressful and more manageable.

Just sayin' . . .