Los Angeles officials say that an elderly woman accidentally hit the gas instead of the brakes outside a car dealership on Wednesday morning, driving into the building and leaving one dead.
It's my god given right to drive a 5,000lb vehicle. Any attempt to make sure I'm fit to drive this safely is an assault on my god given rights.
That is a home-made American problem. If you are not living in a city center that happens to have usable public transport, being left without a car makes you an outcast. No shopping, no personal social contacts, no way to visit a doctor, etc.
It's not strictly american. I'm not american, and here we have plenty of elderly drivers, it makes me worried when I see them. Luckily we have good public transport too.
Ok everything except the first to lines is entirely irrelevant. I'm sure if an elderly bus driver drove into someone they would be dragged along for much longer
I let my license expire during the pandemic and had to retake the written and driving tests in my thirties. Made me of the opinion we should all have to retest for licenses every 10 years. It makes sure everyone is at least aware of the laws and also helps naturally remove licenses whose ability to drive has diminished for whatever reason.
Driving shouldn’t be something you certified in for life, it isn’t like riding a bike
This coupled with the amount of accidents and deaths on our roadways, it really should be a no brainer that we recertify frequently. Some trades have some fields that require frequent retesting, first aid training requires renewal, but cars get a pass. I think big auto and oil would have a strong push back on any of this legislation because it could add barriers to their profits. Grandma can't drop her retirement fund on a new SUV if she fails the recert.
I mean, I even understand suvs to a degree, but giving them to an elderly person is just straight up stupid. It goes against my inner logic. Like giving granny an ak and gramps a rocket launcher for self-defense, when going to the store.