Speech on Mandatory Yearly Driving Tests for those over 65

Mandatory Yearly Driving Tests for Those Over 65 Today I will be talking to you about elderly drivers and mandatory yearly driving tests for those over 65. Have you ever been driving to work or school and get stuck behind an older person going 10 miles below the speed limit? Or an elderly driver that merges into your lane without looking? Many elderly drivers are not in the proper state to be driving on their own. I have experienced this first hand. My car was sideswiped in my very own neighborhood by my elderly neighbor. She was driving down the road and saw another car coming, she moved to the opposite side of the road and hit my parked car. After denting the entire passenger side of my car she said that she hadn’t been driving in 25 years and didn’t see my car parked there. If she had taken a driving test before getting behind the wheel after 25 years than this entire incident could have been avoided. These elderly drivers should not be allowed behind the wheel of a car until they have proven that they are capable of driving or taken a driving test. They have many health problems that negatively affect our traffic safety and these mandatory tests can reduce that risk. Elderly people are potentially dangerous drivers. One of the major causes of elderly accidents are due to vision loss. After the age of 65 the risk of blindness and vision loss raises significantly. Driving on the road when you have a vision impairment is extremely dangerous. Although this is true, this does not stop many elderly people from driving. According to a visual impairment project in Australia, one in three elderly people have vision less than the legal driving requirements. As you get older it is more difficult for your eyes to adjust to changes in light, this makes it more dangerous to be driving at night and early morning. Certain eye diseases are huge contributors to car accidents within the elderly community. Diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma, which are very common in