Are cowards in NJ to blame for 92-year-old man's deadly crash?

We don’t know for sure yet. A 92-year-old man had a car accident in Teaneck and died from injuries. It’s still being investigated but from what I’m seeing, my guess is he probably shouldn’t have been driving at such an advanced age.

According to police, he was pulling out of Briarcliff Road, a side street that has a stop sign. He was turning onto Windsor Road, the main road. Police say it was basically a T-bone situation with another car on Windsor colliding with the man’s car as it emerged from that side street. He was taken to Holy Name Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival, police said. The 32-year-old woman in the other car was also taken to a hospital and was in stable condition, authorities report.

Law enforcement says they are investigating the accident including whether a stop was ever even made by the 92-year-old. So we don’t know for sure yet.

But if this was another case of an elderly driver who was just too old to be on the road at 92, I don’t blame him one bit. Nor do I blame his family. Nor do I blame his doctor.

I blame the feckless politicians who are so fearful of losing the support of the demographic most likely to vote, our oldest Americans. The responsibility lies with lawmakers to have a spine and finally pass legislation to be sure, as drivers age, their skill is still present.

New Jersey is a state that does literally nothing. In Illinois, by 75, drivers must renew in person and retake a road test. In Georgia, drivers have to pass a vision test at every renewal beginning at age 65. And in D.C., by 70, renewals must be in person and you have to have a doctor certify that you are both physically and mentally competent.

Again, New Jersey does literally nothing different for elderly drivers. It would be no more discriminatory than it is now when we tell 15-year-olds they’re too young to get a learner’s permit. But this is one area where legislators are failing their elderly constituents just because they don’t want to be the bad guy. If they were truly doing their jobs rather than protecting their jobs they would pass laws on elderly driving to keep those constituents safe.

It’s too bad someone hadn’t done that for this 92-year-old man.

What do you think about the safety of older drivers? Take our poll below.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now.

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

The 10 Most Stolen Vehicles In New Jersey

Changes in NJ county populations since 2020

Census Bureau estimates of the change in county populations since the 2020 Census on April 1, 2020 also provide a glimpse into COVID-era trends, as that's roughly the same time the pandemic began. The list below sorts New Jersey's 21 counties by their total change between the Census and the July 1, 2021 estimate.

New Jersey high school graduation rates

The lists below show 4-year graduation rates for New Jersey public schools for the 2020-21 school year. The statewide graduation rate fell slightly, from 91% in 2019-20 to 90.6%.

The lists, which are sorted by county and include a separate list for charter schools, also include a second graduation rate, which excludes students whose special education IEPs allow them to qualify for diplomas despite not meeting typical coursework and attendance requirements.

Columns with an asterisk or 'N' indicate there was no data or it was suppressed to protect student privacy.