My father drove his car well into his late 70s. Neither I nor my siblings had the heart to take the keys away from Dad, although we know that his reflexes were not what they should be and his mental faculties were failing.
We jeopardized the lives of many innocent people by accepting our country’s neglectful monitoring of elderly drivers and allowing him to keep on driving. Fortunately, Dad never got into an accident.
I was appalled to read that the woman who recently drove her automobile on the curb of Wabash Avenue, killing two people and injuring several others, will be allowed to take another driver’s test and resume driving if she passes the test. This woman should never be allowed to drive again. Although she claims her accelerator stuck, the vehicle was tested after the accident and passed with flying colors.
I hope when I age and it is clear that my senses have dulled, my wife or daughter takes the keys away from me. I am not indicting the elderly, only our laws. All too often our system slaps the wrists of drunken drivers and speeders as well. How many innocent lives need to be lost before our legislators wake up and pass more stringent penalties for negligent drivers?
