Elderly licenses revoked appropriately
Nikki Waldmann
Mesa Legend
Driving is a privilege. This is something that almost everyone learns from the first time they get behind the wheel. One’s license could be revoked for many different reasons, such as driving under the influence. In the state of Arizona drivers need to renew their licenses after twelve years until they reach the age of sixty-five and once they reach sixty-five, to renew it every five years. But, is that really a fair amount of time? Many accidents have occurred for many different reasons, but plenty of people never seem to think the elderly are in the wrong when they “accidentally” put their car in reverse and run into a building. I strongly believe that the government needs to rethink their timing of when people in general should renew their licenses, but mainly for the elderly.
Back in 2013 there was a car accident that involved an elderly woman who had rammed her car into a school building, killing a student and injuring eleven other students. The police refused to release the name of the woman, and as far as the public knows, this woman was not charged with the crime of manslaughter. If a younger adult had done the same we would have heard all about the person and learned their identity. But, it seems as if because this person is elderly they get off Scot-free. Another great example would be something that happened to me last year in 2015. I was in a parking lot pulling into a Del Taco when an elderly man in the car in front of me started to put his car into reverse. I could not backup or I would have gone into oncoming traffic, so I started honking my horn, persistently keeping my hand on my horn, as he backed up and hit me.
Getting out of my car to quickly ask the man “Did you not hear me honking my horn!” his reply was, “No I did not hear it.” Thankfully, no damage was done to either car. But, in all seriousness, if someone cannot hear a horn then why in the world are they driving in the first place? It’s not just Arizona its all of America that needs to seriously work on this issue of not only on young drivers who make mistakes but the elderly who are causing harm to the road by not hearing car horns, seeing other cars in other lanes to pass, and not stopping for stop signs.
