Time to retest seniors for driver's license renewals?

For the third time in 10 days, a senior citizen driver crashed.

As Dan Alexander reported, the latest incident involved a 74-year-old driver accidentally accelerating and crashing her car into the front of a Tesla dealership on Tuesday.

I'm always the first to say that context is critical when drawing any conclusion from a news story like this.

Photo via Wander Fleur on Unsplash

Look at the facts carefully

Were there circumstances related to the crash that would lead us to say the drivers' age and reaction time were not a factor?

While all the information is still not available, it's clear that three crashes in a week and a half show us that there is a trend.

While fatalities are high among young drivers, and I have suggested in the past that we need to revisit how we train and prepare our drivers for the road, there is no question that as we age, our reaction time and ability to avoid challenging road situations can be compromised.

Photo by Usman Malik on Unsplash

Is New Jersey ready to debate a change like this?

Would New Jersey accept a change to the driving requirements and have older drivers retest to renew their license at a certain age? What would that age be?

Technically, as I've said for a couple of years, given the "senior" housing rules, you're a senior at 55. The youngest of the drivers involved in the three recent crashes was 69.

Here's my take: We should have driver's education incorporated as a major part of the curriculum for all high school seniors. Then, driver's licenses should be made available after graduation, provided that the driver has gone through 60 hours of driving in various conditions and situations.

Photo via Canva

As far as senior citizens, why not have a five-year vision and reaction test when you turn 65, 70 and 75? After 75, every two years and after 81, every 6 months.

Leave us a note in the New Jersey 101.5 app chat to let me know if you agree.