file photoI’m driving down the road when it occurs to me: The speed limit is 45 mph, although I am only going a mere 20 mph.
Before I look around to see if this is because of an accident up ahead, I find the reason right in front of me. In the Cadillac that putts along before me, I spot a bit of white hair peering over the driver’s seat. The driver had to be pushing 80 years of age.
I know there are probably a large number of competent, excellent drivers over the age of 70 out there. However, there are those drivers who are older and can be quite a hassle on the road. We’ll call them “high-risk” drivers.
I don’t mean to be a snotty college student who protests against older drivers, but I do think there is a problem that should be dealt with.
I know one day I too will be old and senile, but I will probably stay home and feed my 40 cats instead of venturing onto freeways.
And I’m not saying I am a superb driver right now. I’ve gotten into worse accidents than Billy Joel.
All I’m saying is that lately I seem to be experiencing an increase in road rage, and it seems to be directly correlated to my experiences with older drivers.
When these high-risk drivers venture onto the road and putt along at 30 mph on a 70 mph freeway, it causes a dangerous situation for every driver.
If these high-risk drivers want to continue driving on the roads, they should follow the speed limits posted, not cut them in half.
I believe that once a person turns, say, 70 years old, they should be retested.
I know that sounds cruel to retest a person who has been driving for 70 years, but after that long of a time, some people are stuck in the old ways of driving and become dangerous.
Or maybe they should just have their licenses taken away all together.
I can see it now.
Happy Birthday, Grandpa! Give me your license. SNAP. The tow truck is out in front. Wave goodbye to your Buick.
OK, I know I’ve crossed the line there; I’m sure we’ll never get to that extreme.
Maybe instead of retesting high-risk drivers, they could just have an older-person lane, like they do for semi trucks and buses.
All people over a certain age could drive in a lane off to the side and the speed limit could be set at 40 mph since that’s probably what they’re going anyway.
I understand not every high-risk driver suffers from this slow-speed disease, but the ones who do are close to making my head explode.
Sometimes I think if I could just get close enough to their car I could push them along and we could both go the speed limit.
I truly think when I’m at that age and decide to leave my 40 cats for the day to venture out on the road I will be a speed demon. I mean, if I survived 70 years of life I can survive going 80 mph. Not to mention, how sweet would it be to be a granny that passes up little punk teenagers on the highway?
It’s more than just the slow speeds that are dangerous about high-risk drivers. I don’t understand why some high-risk drivers sway back and forth in their own lane as if they’re going to switch and then change their mind.
I know they’re not busy dialing up their two-way or playing around with their 1970s radio and 8-track player, so what is it? I’m seriously asking.
Another pet peeve of mine would have to be the dreaded blinker occurrences. I think everyone knows what I’m talking about here.
You’re driving behind someone and they’ve got their blinker on. There aren’t any exits or streets for miles they could be turning off for, yet that little orange light just keeps blinking.
Who knows how long it has been going off or how long it’ll stay on? It’s a mystery to you, and I’m sure it is to the driver.
All I’m trying to say is when people are on the road, they need to drive according to speed limits (I know many of us younger drivers seem to have trouble with that one), stay in their own lane – preferably in the middle – and just do everything to ensure a safe drive.
