My thoughts on elderly drivers would be based on nothing more then the importance of safety on the roads. It would be quite difficult for me to strongly point my opinion, since my voice on the restrictions of senior citizen driving could easily be turned back on me in the long run. Sooner or later as long as we’re living, we will all eventually become older; so each and every one of us will have to face the scrutinizing pressures of society on whether or not elderly citizens should be allowed to drive. Not all people are alike; a 75-year-old man could be in top-fit shape driving without the slightest problem, while a 65-year-old woman could be suffering from poor health conditions that impairs her driving abilities. I feel that elderly people should not be allowed to drive under certain circumstances.
Senior Citizens and Driving In America, the ability to drive without depending on others has become synonymous with independence, autonomy, dignity and self-esteem. According to William Mann, since 90% of people of all ages depend on cars to get from place to place, driving is of major importance at all stages of life ( 2). As we age, however, physical and mental limitations may impair the ability of senior citizens to drive safely. Although most people believe that teenagers are unsafe drivers, they should consider the risks that the elderly take by getting behind the wheel because they have much slower reaction times, are often taking numerous medications, and may have poor eyesight. In order to drive safely, a person must be able to see, think and move well.
Many parents do not have the time to escort their children everywhere they need to go. They have jobs and activities of their own to attend. At the age of sixteen, students get involved in more after school activities and with a license, they can drive themselves back and forth places without being an inconvenience to their parents. There is no reason to raise the minimum driving age, but there are plenty of reasons not to. No matter how old the kids getting licenses are, there will be car accidents ending in death.
when things go wrong with your car it could make you have wreck. Second, make sure everyone in the car is buckled in the right way. People do not realize that proper seatbeltings is important even if your riding a short distance. People die every day from not putting on their seatbelts. Seat belts and car seats for kids save thousands of lives every year.
The more practice and advice you can give a teenager before they are allowed out on the road ways can increase the chances of saving a few lives from driver’s without the same amount of practice. Also, we need to get rid of all the distractions in the car for these teenage driver’s. Along with requiring that you have a permit for a full year before getting a personal license, no one would be allowed to ride in the vehicle under the age of 21 and can only have one other
Safer Driving for Senior Citizen Amy Allen Bryant and Stratton PHIL250: Practices in Analytical Thinking J.R. Kuntz October 24, 2012 Senior citizen drivers are putting themselves and others in danger when driving. Studies show that drivers at the age of 80 and older are involved in more fatal car crashes, as much as 5.5 times, as middle aged drivers (Risky Drivers, 2012). This is not because they are dangerous and reckless drivers. In fact, senior citizen drivers are more likely to follow the rules of the road, but it is due to declines in their motor skills, vision, perceptual and cognitive abilities that cause accidents to occur (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], 2005). Because of their declining health, I feel that educational services need to be offered, more friendly vehicles for senior citizens need to be made, and easier to read traffic signs should be made and more efficiently placed.
In Road Rage, Ferguson points out that in a recent survey that the Coalition for Consumer Health and Safety did, 64% of the people mentioned that they are driving less mannerly and more recklessly than they did about five years ago (553). We all know that road rage can be cause due to many reasons like stress at work and problems at home. Ferguson also points out that road rage could be solve if we had more police and tougher punishments (556), but we all know that won’t really help. I don’t even think that therapy for those road rage individuals would help. We all just have to pray every time we get into a car and just have patience.
Next, over the years people are starting to want to become greener which means them taking out factors in there that harm the environment. Many studies have shown that cars is one of the bigger contributors in the pollution that is happening to today. I believe that it’s from people wanting cars that are faster and louder and just over all suck more gas. But over the last three years people that are becoming greener and put the gas hog away. We all have noticed how car makers are always trying to keep up on what is the newest and the
Everyday vehicles create so much pollution that car emissions kill 30,000 people each year in the U.S. (Bluejay, 1). That is a lot of people dying from cars pollution. Car companies have tried to make more efficient cars which are called hybrids; these hybrids get more efficient gas mileage which creates less emissions because it
Approximately 1.4 million accidents occur during phone conversations and two hundred thousand from texting.3 Texting drivers may be as impaired as a driver who is legally drunk. Laws should be changed or enacted to prevent senseless accidents, and unnecessary deaths. About five thousand people die annually texting while driving.3 Three-hundred thousand people are hospitalized for injuries obtained from accidents cause by phone use in the vehicle.4 Again no state in the U.S. completely bans all cellular phone use in the vehicle for all age groups.1 Without firm, enforced laws or probations regarding phone use in vehicles this issue will continue to grow worse. 1. 2012, Texting And Distracted Driving Infograaphic, retrieved on 2014, January 27, from: