Who would you be more afraid of on the road??? A 16 yr. old who just got his/her license? Or a very elderly person (75+ yrs. old)?

I'm more scared of elderly people...

Just today I was driving down a busy road... an elderly man was attempting to make a left turn out of a parking lot on my side of the road. He pulled out in front of me, then realized there were still cars coming, so he comes to a DEAD STOP right in front of me. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid t-boning him and wait until traffic cleared and he had a chance to complete his left turn. how did he not see the cars coming??? more importantly, how did he not see ME??? even if the other lane had been clear, he still would have been cutting it close pulling out in front of me.

I've seen an elderly women JUMP a curb doing about 15 MPH... that was actually kind of funny. I've seen them miss turns and just STOP in the middle of the road, and then try to bust a U-turn, all while there is steady traffic in both directions. and more...

what do you think...?

 

8/10 times - The elderly driver is more dangerous. I was in line at the DMV once when a DMV employee had to repeatedly help an elderly woman discern where the line on the floor was to have her photo taken for her new license. Scary.

May smack of agism, but I feel anyone over 70 should have to pass a fairly stringent annual or bi-annual test in order to renew their driving priveledge.

Besides, when I'm 70 - I feel I'll have been granted the right to be driven around by some young whipper-snapper...

 

Look at the statistics. Young drivers cause more accidents than any other age group including the elderly.

Young drivers THINK they know how to drive, but they don't have the experience. A lot of old people at least KNOW that they're past their prime when it comes to driving and try to drive accordingly (aka slow)

 

clawhammer has a point. the reason why elderly people DON'T have to retake their driving tests is because they're barely a nuisance compared to 16 or 17 year olds, who often times tend to drive too self-assured or dangerous.

 

Not ignoring the statistics or any given actuary table, but in your own real-world driving experience, how often have you shaken your head after looking over at an elderly driver v. a 16 year old driver on the freeway?

For me, it's about 8 out of 10 times.

Sure, kids street race and think that they are invincible, but I don't tend to hang out at 1:00 AM in strip mall parking lots.

(Obviously a huge over-simplification based on my personal experience...)

 

i would have to guess young kids drive a lot more than the geezers..... some old people are just horrible at driving.... i watched a lady take 30 seconds to just back out of a spot...nothing tricky about it.... she was totally clueless.......

hopefully I have some young trophy to drive me around and change my diapers when i get old.

 

There are more 16/17 year old kids in the nation who want to speed in their cars than 97 year olds who want to drive to the mall...

 

as has been hinted at, the older driver is more likely to piss you off by driving excessively cautiously. Not so with the young driver. Which is why new drivers are more dangerous.

Regardless, I can't remember the last time I was able to accurately tell the age of someone driving a car under 30. So how the hell could anyone accurately claim to know if someone is 16 or 20? It is much easier to identify someone over 40.

The only statistic I have ever compiled related to this is Saturn drivers. 90% of the time someone moving into your lane forces you to slam on the brakes on a freeway, it is a Saturn

 

they do.
I have to fill out paperwork for their vision all the time

 

yup. Would you rather be hit by an out of control young driver or old driver? When the old driver is out of control he'll be driving 25mph. The young maybe hitting 125mph.