Do you think it is fine for people in their nineties to be driving?

There are provisions in place in many states. That isn’t a perfect system because individuals vary in their abilities (some should never have been licensed to begin with). I think it really takes courage on the part of family and friends to step in and tell the older person he/she shouldn’t be driving any more. Even in the places with restrictions, a lot can change within 4 years.

Some people are capible some are not, it really depends on the person. We were lucky that my grandmother in her 70’s just decdied to stop driving because she no longer felt like she could. Like anything else it all depends on the individual.

Depends on the 90 year old. My grandmother, for instance, is 95 years old and I’ll put her up against darned near any 40 something when it comes to intellect or driving skills.

If she’s up and walking around well enough that she can go grocery shopping on her own without assistance, I don’t see why not.

Some are capable, and some aren’t. Unfortunately, incapable ones are driving as well.

As long as they are capable of driving, I’m fine with it. My great-grandfather was driving up until he was 94. He stopped after having a stroke that left him unable to do so anymore.

Just make sure they understand that “morning drives” are not slow and enjoyable for everyone…

I think it’s fine for competent people to be driving and not fine for those who aren’t competent, whether they’re thirty or a hundred.

I think it’s great when elderly people in their 90’s are independent. However, honestly, when I see a person who is really old behind the wheel, I think it’s literally an accident waiting to happen. Their reaction times are not anywhere near as good as someone decades younger. Very few of them are not at least a little confused. If they can’t walk with the physical ease that younger people can, how can they react quickly when they have to step on the brake suddenly?

One time about 15 years ago, an elderly woman ran me off the road. She had no idea. I drove up to her car and started yelling at her, and she was totally clueless. When I seen an accident where one of the drivers is hunched over, confused, can barely walk, I think to myself “why is this person driving?”

My grandfather stopped driving when he was in his late 70’s. He was going the wrong way down one way streets, and going up to intersections, looking up and saying “Where am I?” It was really scary and luckily for us he voluntarily gave up driving.

Honestly, the independence is great.
But seriously, we come into this world helpless and need diapers.
We leave this world in the same way.
Both too young drivers and too old drivers are a danger to everyone!

My brother was in line at the DMV getting his license renewed and the man in front of him was 80. He was asked to read the eye chart. He couldn’t figure out what the clerk wanted him to read. She tried four times to get him to read the chart and he couldn’t. She was polite and told him to bring in a note from his doctor saying he had passed an eye exam. The old man just said “Okay” and shuffled out to his car and drove away. Older people want the independence, but I’m not sure they all can be trusted to drive. My mom stopped driving at 80, but wanted her car out in the garage. Just knowing it was out there made her feel independant, yet she never tried to drive it after a certain point.

It depends on the driver’s ability. My father went in to get his license renewed on his birthday. He was prepared to have it denied because he wouldn’t be able to pass the eye test. He took the eye test, failed it, and the guy behind the counter said, “Oh, it’s your birthday, I’ll let you have it anyhow. (!) My father couldn’t see if a traffic light changed color. He would go when the traffic went and stop when the traffic stopped. He was very careful and never had an accident. I was appalled.

If they’re in their right mind. My grandma(on my mom’s side)‘s a hundred and hasn’t been entirely in her right mind in my life time, and hasn’t been in her right mind much at all in the past eight or so years. But my grandpa(on my dad’s side) lived into his mid-nineties and had no signs at all of ever not being in his right mind. He was completely competent until he died. His wife, though, started going fuzzy around ninety-ish, I think.

I probably mangled my opinion in that, so basically, they should be more heavily monitored and subject to “driving competence” tests to reinstate their license. Usually, I’m against such things, but delirium frightens me enough as is, so let’s keep them off the road..

My granddad grew up in the country and, at age 95, had some 80 years of driving experience in a wide variety of circumstances (backing a double tongue trailer, driving four-in-hand with horses, driving a large RV, etc). He quickly figured out what he could and could not do and made a point to plan his excursions to the bank and barber using only right turns because it was safer. He read about UPS and how their drivers’ routes were set up. He always found a parking place where he could pull through (so he was aimed to drive out forward rather than back up). He was so conscientious about it, that we never worried.

In Ontario (I’m not sure about other provinces) people have to take an annual driving test after they hit 80. I fully support this process, though I do think the testers should be more strict in some cases. You still sometimes see people driving 20km/hr or unable to back their car out of a parking spot.