When was the last time you were on the road and you felt you weren’t driving like you used to? I am an Auto Insurance Commissioner. I’m here to support your independence to drive as you age, as well as the safety for yourself and others. As you age normally your senses don’t work as well, such as loss of hearing, and decreased vision. (Slow)Those are all things that make it a bit harder to drive safely. Studies have proven that fatal crash rates rise sharply after a driver has reached 70 years of age. Elder drivers should have more restricted driving because of medical reasons, safety hazards,  and the effects of dementia.

There are several excellent reasons why people might not agree with this viewpoint. Drivers that are just starting out and elders are both accident prone. About 90% of elders 65 or older are still licensed to drive. Only six states have mandatory laws to report drivers with disorders that could make driving dangerous. While these are good points, there are excellent reasons why there should be a change.

(Slide)Elder drivers should have restricted driving due to medical reasons. As people get older their hearing and sight doesn't work as well as when they were younger, and it may cause trouble on the road(Look up).  Elder’s have problems with high blood pressure which causes them to have more heart problems which could lead to medical trauma on the road. Some medications can not be driven on, although not everybody follows that rule take for instance George Weller (Look up on screen for example) In my opinion, elder’s should be tested by a medical professional before they are able to obtain a license.

(Slow, slide))Elder’s have a chance of having getting dementia. Dementia can cause a person to get lost in common areas. This would affect a person’s driving ability. Dementia can also cause a person to mix up road signals. A person with dementia can forget little things such as when they are supposed to stop. They can also become more easily distracted from trying to concentrate on the road. Dementia can affect people and be a safety hazard when a eleder is driving.

(Slide) Elder’s should not be on the road after a certain age because of safety hazards. An elder that is past a certain age will start to respond slower than a person of a younger age. There are studies that show people that are 65 years and older have 16% more probability of causing a fatal accident, although that might not sound like much it can mean a big difference on the road.(Slow) Drivers that are over a certain age have shown that they will drive at a slower rate which can cause more accidents. Elder’s are causing safety hazards due to their lack of reaction time.

People have shown to have more medical problems after a certain age. Medical problems can be in the form of medicine that they are taking or having disorders such as dementia. Dementia can affect a person by making it so they are forgetful which could lead to safety hazards. A elder should be tested at a certain age to see if they are going to be a safety problem on the road. Thank you for listening, please consider my request to elder’s being restricted from having a license at a certain age.