1

Sydney Altman

ENC 3315-Argumentative Writing

Date-April 21, 2014

Final Argument-Older and Wiser Doesnt Mean A Safer Driver

Purpose-The goal of my argument is to change Floridas law regarding license renewal for
senior citizens. I am proposing that the law be changed to All senior citizens over the age
of 65 must retake a driving exam every five years.

Audience- I am writing specifically to Alan Becker and his associates. He is a lobbyist with
the law firm Becker & Poliakoff. They specialize in transportation legislation in Florida.














2




Dear Alan Becker and Associates,
Picture one of the times youve been in the car with your elderly relative. You needed to go
to the grocery store a few miles down the road to pick up food. You agree to go in the
passenger seat after they insist on driving. The moment the start their car and pull out of
the driveway you notice something unusual. Rather than go the 45-mile per hour speed
limit, they are going 30 miles per hour, cruising along at a leisurely pace. They dont realize
they are going slower than the biker next to them because their perception is different than
yours. Do you ever think, Why are they still allowed to drive?
As people age, their abilities to do many activities decreases. Driving is an everyday activity
that provides a person with mobility. At the age of 16 in the state of Florida, people are able
to obtain a drivers license. They can renew their license every eight years by simply filling
out an online form. This means that the elderly are not retested to prove their driving skills
as their cognitive and motor skills decline. The state assumes they are just as competent as
they were when they first got behind the wheel. But, when families, children, and new
drivers are on the road are we willing to risk safety for presumed competency?
Elderly drivers are known to be a deadly force on the road. The dangers of having older
drivers roaming the streets is immense and can impact all other people, both drivers and
passengers, on the road with them. In the United States (U.S.) the rate of crash
involvement among older drivers aged 70 and over per mile driven is higher than for all
other ages except drivers 24 and younger.1 While the elevated crash rate for younger
drivers is attributable to inexperience, risky behaviors, and alcohol, 2 older adults elevated
risk for motor vehicle collisions is due to medical conditions causing functional
impairments such as visual and cognitive deficits (McGwin).
In February of this year in Florida, a 79-year-old woman named Doreen Landstra backed
out onto the road after a church service and ended up hitting a group of seven people.
Three people were killed and the other four were severely injured (Elderly Driver Kills
Three After Church In Car Accident). This was a careless accident that occurred and it
shouldnt have happened.
Another similar situation occurred a few years ago in California when a 100-year-old man
named Preston Carter hit 11 people including nine children ("Driver Hits 11: Are Elderly
Drivers Making Roads Unsafe? (+video)."). I understand that these instances may be more
uncommon than common but how many accidents need to happen before action is taken to
limit potential risks? Transportation accidents are easy to prevent with intervention. Isnt
3
the safety of your citizens the most important factor in your legislation battles?
Due to the prevalence of crashes in the older demographic, the declining medical
conditions, and the loose regulations, its important to monitor the actions of older drivers
on the road to maintain safe streets and highways. Currently Florida does require a formal
eye exam when someone over the age of 70 applies for a renewal. This one requirement
isnt enough to prove driving capabilities.
To ensure they and all other drivers are safe, all drivers 65 and above should be required to
complete a physical driving exam every five years. If anyone can bring this law to the
legislature successfully, your record proves youre worthy.
Florida is known to be a retiree state. Many people move here in order to establish their
post work lives in a peaceful and sunny environment. According to the 2010 census, the 65
and up age category consists of 3,259,602 people out of a total population of 18,801,310
(http://www.flhsmv.gov/html/FactsFigures/1113.pdf). That means that the elderly make
up 17% of the population. Assuming everyone 18-65 plus has a drivers license, 14,799,219
people are on the road. This means that 22% of all drivers would be over the age of 65.

Since a huge segment of drivers are older, it only makes sense that Florida has the highest
senior driver crash deaths in the nation. As the baby boomer population continues to age,
more and more people enter this segment of the population. The number of Americans
over the age of 70 is set to explode, going from 28.5 million in 2011 and to 52.7 million in
2030, according to the U.S. Census. Statistics show that older drivers have higher crash
rates, including higher fatal rates, especially after age 75 (AOL Autos Staff). This problem
affects millions of people now and will affect millions more in the future. Though they may
not account for the most crashes (that belongs to new drivers) they are the second highest
with 10.7% of crashes total and 13.79% of deadly crashes (Lade).
A main reason that this elderly population continues to show declining driving abilities
deals with the effects of aging on the mind and body. As a person ages, their vision worsens,
their motor skills are slower, and their attention span is shortened. All of these skills are
crucial for driving. Senior citizens retire from jobs due to their declining health issues, so
why shouldnt they be expected to eventually retire from the roads, too?
To put things into perspective, when a person has perfect vision, they are at a 20/20
According to the American Foundation for the Blind, When compared to Americans 18 to
44 years of age, Americans 65-74 years of age were more than twice as likely to report
vision loss. When compared to Americans 18 to 44 years of age, Americans 75 years of age
and over were nearly three times as likely to report vision loss. The leading causes of
vision loss include age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and
glaucoma ("Special Report on Aging and Vision Loss.").
As people age, their vision problems gradually get worse. When a person takes their
driving exam at the age of 16, they typically have good to great vision. Florida does have the
law in effect about vision testing, but it is not enough. Even if their vision passes the test,
their perception while driving may not meet a standardized exam in a doctors office. The
4
only way to tell how a persons vision will impact their driving is to test it outwardly while
on the road.
In addition to declining vision, aging often causes a reduction of strength, coordination, and
flexibility ("Older Driver Safety." ). Though you may not think that driving involves these
skills, Im here to tell you that it does. Pain or stiffness in the body can cause slower
reaction times while trying to press the gas or break pedals. If the joints are stiff, turning
your neck to change lanes may be difficult or turning the steering wheels to complete a
difficult U-turn may be challenging.
Lastly, its proven that as people age, they lose some cognitive abilities. Though age does
make many people wiser, it also makes them slower at processing. The elderly remain
intelligent and attentive. Things that are affected by age include memory, processing, and
problem solving ("Older Driver Safety.").
In regards to memory, the elderly can recall past events of their life from their long-term
memory but have trouble remembering short-term events. Their attention span is good
when they focus on one activity, but falters when they multitask. When they try to solve
problems, they may think of alternative methods that may take longer to figure out. This
leads into the processing problem in which, Aging does affect the speed with which
cognitive and motor processes are performed. This does not mean that the activities cannot
be performed, but rather that they take longer! ("Cognitive Skills & Normal Aging.").
These cognitive functions are essential while driving, particularly when dealing with
reaction time and quick decision-making. Even the safest driver cant predict what obstacle
they will have to overcome when they enter their cars. They could be driving in the right
hand lane when a car runs a stop sign and cuts them off. If the driver cant react quick
enough, a head on collision will occur that could lead to injury or death. Would you want to
see all of your hard work improving the transportation infrastructure in this state go to
waste when an unprepared elderly driver ruins it all by causing irreparable accidents?
Incompetent senior drivers on the road are a danger to everyone. Florida has a law that
attempts to regulate renewal efforts, which is a good first step. We need to take it to the
next level now. You could improve our future and rewrite history if you fight for this cause.
A model for new regulations is Illinois. The Illinois DMV outlined their policies online
saying, Illinois drivers can renew their licenses for 4 years between ages 69 and 80; up to
the age of 86, they can renew for 2 years; after 87 years the license needs to be renewed
annually. Illinois drivers who are under 74 years can opt for the Safe Driver Renewal.
Drivers who are 74 years of age or older at the time their current driver license expires are
generally required to renew their license in person at a local VSD office. All drivers have to
take a vision test (see below). All drivers will be asked to take a written knowledge test
every 8 years, unless they have no traffic violations (Senior Drivers in Illinois). This is the
first attempt to consistently test drivers to make sure they are able to stay on the road. We
certainly dont want to take away rights to all senior citizen drivers. We just need to focus
on those that are no longer capable.
In a study conducted in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society, the value of taking a
5
road test was discovered. The study facilitators attempted to see if the road test helped
determine if there was a difference between a healthy and a cognitively impaired older
adults ability to drive safely in realistic settings. After 44 healthy and 41 cognitively
impaired individuals were tested, it was discovered that those who were cognitively
impaired had more errors on the simulated driving exam. Without a passing score, they
were not allowed to go on to the naturalistic setting (Davis).
This study, though small, indicates that a road test is needed to prove a persons capability.
If the study conductors wouldnt let those that failed in a simulated exercise on the road,
why should we let drivers on the road that havent retaken and passed another driving
test? If safety is your platform, then this indicates a lack of safety without new regulations.
I know many people may say that the government should not intervene in a persons right
to choose when to give up their mobility. When a person reaches a particular age, we
assume they can make wise decisions that are right for them. But, people are too close to
the situation to know when it is time to quit.
Government intervention allows those who are capable to prove their abilities and earn the
right to drive continuously. Not all senior drivers need restrictions but this proposal will
ensure that roads gradually get safer. The goal is to improve the road safety for everyone,
including the senior citizens who are unable to drive any longer. The faster we get them off
the road, the faster we can reduce accidents like the ones Landstra and Clark caused.
Another criticism to this new policy may be that the older populations are not the main
source of road accidents. Teens fulfill this category. Teens, unlike senior citizens, already
have restrictions on when they can drive. In Florida, the age to receive a license is 16. When
they pass, they are only able to drive until 11:00 pm without parental supervision. On their
17 birthdays, they are only able to drive until 1:00 am without supervision. Once they are
18, they are not legally restricted but they are still under their parents rules and almost
inevitably have continued restrictions. Senior citizens dont have parents to tell them when
they can and cant be on the roads. Therefore, the government must act as a parent and
intervene, with your help of course.
Targeting the older population is the first step in making the roads safer. Its time to change
the law so that citizens 65 and older are required to retake a driving exam every five years.
I am writing to you in the hopes that you will bring a petition to the state legislature in
order to change the drivers license laws in the state of Florida. I know that you are a very
prominent lobbyist that has a vested interest in transportation issues so I hope that I can
prove why laws for elderly drivers in this state must change.
The end goal of this proposal is to ensure that all drivers are fit to be on the road. I hope
that you will take on this issue and help Florida improve its driving records, decrease its
accident rates, and ensure a safer future for our children, adults, and senior citizens.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
6
Sydney Altman









Works Cited

"Cognitive Skills & Normal Aging." Cognitive Skills & Normal Aging. Emory University
Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Davis, Jennifer D., et al. "Road Test And Naturalistic Driving Performance In Healthy And
Cognitively Impaired Older Adults: Does Environment Matter?." Journal Of The American
Geriatrics Society 60.11 (2012): 2056-2062. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

"DMV.com." Senior Drivers in Illinois. N.p., 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

"Driver Hits 11: Are Elderly Drivers Making Roads Unsafe? (+video)." The Christian Science
Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

"Elderly Driver Kills Three After Church In Car Accident." Aol Autos. AOL Money & Finance,
4 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

"Florida DMV Online Guide." Driving Test. DMV Florida, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

"Florida Drivers License." Florida Drivers License. DMV Florida, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

Lade, Diane C. "Florida Leads Nation in Number of Senior Citizens Killed in Traffic
Accidents." Sun Sentinel. N.p., 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

McGwin Jr., Gerald, et al. "Survey Of Older Drivers' Experiences With Florida's Mandatory
Vision Re-Screening Law For Licensure." Ophthalmic Epidemiology 15.2 (2008): 121-127.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

Moore, Peter. "Make the Elderly Retake Driving Tests." YouGov: What the World Thinks.
YouGov, 5 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

"Older Driver Safety." : Warning Signs and Knowing When to Stop. HelpGuide.org, n.d. Web.
28 Mar. 2014.

"Special Report on Aging and Vision Loss." - American Foundation for the Blind. American
Foundation for the Blind, Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
7

http://www.flhsmv.gov/html/FactsFigures/1113.pdf

http://www.dot.state.il.us/travelstats/Crash%20Facts%202012.pdf (page 29)