Some people don't know when they need to stop driving
The RGJ reports, "Wrong-way driver down I-80 this morning." (Or was it up?) The driver was 73 years old, so commenters are calling for more regulation of senior drivers.
It's a very sore subject. For me, it's also very personal.
I have an elderly relative we started worrying about a few years ago. He kept getting lost—on his way back from trips, on his way to church and in my neighborhood when he came to visit me. He complained of other drivers tailgating and honking at him. He was involved in a couple of fender benders—never his fault, he assured us.
Those of us in the younger generation started talking to each other and to him about whether it was time to stop driving. He wouldn't hear of it. In fact, he'd be offended and angry every time we brought it up. One of his favorite arguments was he could drive as well as we could. He insisted his reflexes, vision and so on were fine. It got really scary when we said we were afraid he'd hit someone and he said, "So what? That's what insurance is for."
It was a dilemma. Dignity and respect are important to me. I hate to see elderly people losing their freedom and being treated like children. Then there's always the question of how the person will get around after he or she stops driving. On the other hand, safety on the road is even more important. What if I looked the other way and my relative killed or maimed someone? I didn't take any action because (1) I wasn't sure he was "losing it," and (2) he was sure he was fine.
My options for action were pretty limited anyway. I checked Nevada law, and it wasn't very helpful. I don't want to take the time to research the details all over again now, but I learned the laws regulating seniors' drivers licenses were written to protect the drivers rather than the public. The process to have a license taken away involves getting a doctor to fill out a form saying the person isn't competent and submit it to the DMV. You can't just contact the DMV yourself and rat someone out. There was no way we would have been able to get our relative to his doctor for something like that, and I don't know how many doctors would want to risk the anger and possible lawsuits of their patients by making such a serious accusation.
As for catching these people at renewal time—forget about it. This guy got his optometrist to fill out a form saying he could see. He flunked the eye test at the DMV but still got his license renewed because of the optometrist's word.
The problem was solved for us when he was injured in a fall and had to move into an assisted living facility. We simply refused to move his car there.
The thing is, it's more than two years later and he's still insisting he should be driving. He can hardly pick up his feet, he has trouble getting the phone on the hook when he's done talking, he keeps his eyes closed most of the time and (I am not making this up) he has trouble finding his way from his bed to the bathroom. But he still wants us to bring him his car so he can drive himself to doctors appointments, go to the store and visit us. Scary thought: His driver's license is valid until the end of 2009.
In defense of the driver who drove up the I-80 offramp at Pyramid Way this morning, the lanes at that intersection are confusing. If someone is going to get mixed up at an I-80 interchange, it's likely to be there. The inability to make a legal left turn onto Victorian Avenue when southbound on Pyramid Way causes all sorts of problems including law breaking. As confusing as the lanes can appear, though, an alert person would be able to tell the difference between an off ramp and an on ramp.
I imagine there's some turmoil in Mr. Emory's family now. I have some advice for them: Don't trust him to decide whether he's still capable of driving safely. In retrospect, it's clear we were right and our elderly relative was wrong about it. I am very grateful no one was hurt while we were waiting for him to decide on his own it was time to park permanently. He never will, because after a certain point in time he stopped being able to consider it rationally.
It's a very sore subject. For me, it's also very personal.
I have an elderly relative we started worrying about a few years ago. He kept getting lost—on his way back from trips, on his way to church and in my neighborhood when he came to visit me. He complained of other drivers tailgating and honking at him. He was involved in a couple of fender benders—never his fault, he assured us.
Those of us in the younger generation started talking to each other and to him about whether it was time to stop driving. He wouldn't hear of it. In fact, he'd be offended and angry every time we brought it up. One of his favorite arguments was he could drive as well as we could. He insisted his reflexes, vision and so on were fine. It got really scary when we said we were afraid he'd hit someone and he said, "So what? That's what insurance is for."
It was a dilemma. Dignity and respect are important to me. I hate to see elderly people losing their freedom and being treated like children. Then there's always the question of how the person will get around after he or she stops driving. On the other hand, safety on the road is even more important. What if I looked the other way and my relative killed or maimed someone? I didn't take any action because (1) I wasn't sure he was "losing it," and (2) he was sure he was fine.
My options for action were pretty limited anyway. I checked Nevada law, and it wasn't very helpful. I don't want to take the time to research the details all over again now, but I learned the laws regulating seniors' drivers licenses were written to protect the drivers rather than the public. The process to have a license taken away involves getting a doctor to fill out a form saying the person isn't competent and submit it to the DMV. You can't just contact the DMV yourself and rat someone out. There was no way we would have been able to get our relative to his doctor for something like that, and I don't know how many doctors would want to risk the anger and possible lawsuits of their patients by making such a serious accusation.
As for catching these people at renewal time—forget about it. This guy got his optometrist to fill out a form saying he could see. He flunked the eye test at the DMV but still got his license renewed because of the optometrist's word.
The problem was solved for us when he was injured in a fall and had to move into an assisted living facility. We simply refused to move his car there.
The thing is, it's more than two years later and he's still insisting he should be driving. He can hardly pick up his feet, he has trouble getting the phone on the hook when he's done talking, he keeps his eyes closed most of the time and (I am not making this up) he has trouble finding his way from his bed to the bathroom. But he still wants us to bring him his car so he can drive himself to doctors appointments, go to the store and visit us. Scary thought: His driver's license is valid until the end of 2009.
In defense of the driver who drove up the I-80 offramp at Pyramid Way this morning, the lanes at that intersection are confusing. If someone is going to get mixed up at an I-80 interchange, it's likely to be there. The inability to make a legal left turn onto Victorian Avenue when southbound on Pyramid Way causes all sorts of problems including law breaking. As confusing as the lanes can appear, though, an alert person would be able to tell the difference between an off ramp and an on ramp.
I imagine there's some turmoil in Mr. Emory's family now. I have some advice for them: Don't trust him to decide whether he's still capable of driving safely. In retrospect, it's clear we were right and our elderly relative was wrong about it. I am very grateful no one was hurt while we were waiting for him to decide on his own it was time to park permanently. He never will, because after a certain point in time he stopped being able to consider it rationally.
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