Wisdom Behind the Wheel

Globe Editorial

June 18, 2009 

Legislation is slowly advancing at the State House to establish a commission to study cognitive impairment in older drivers, to find a fair way of determining if individual drivers are still competent to operate a car. The bill is well-intentioned, but it has the whiff of a tactic to stall the urgently needed change in state laws regarding how risky drivers are licensed. Massachusetts doesn’t need another fatality like the heartbreaking death of 4-year-old Diya Patel to know that too many people who are licensed to drive shouldn’t be in possession of the keys.

Patel was killed last week while crossing a Stoughton street with her grandfather, allegedly by an 89-year-old driver. The woman’s records, obtained by the Globe, show she has been responsible for five car crashes since 1982.

Senator Brian Joyce of Milton has proposed legislation requiring drivers over age 85 to pass a road test every five years. Currently, all drivers, including older residents, need only to pass a vision test every 10 years. The Joyce bill is considered radioactive by many who don’t want to offend the AARP and other groups that see the potential for age discrimination in the measure. But frankly, the Joyce bill does not go far enough. Impairment can begin well before age 85; national data show the number of fatal crashes per mile driven for those over age 75 is more than three times the number for drivers ages 50 to 54.

Currently, only New Hampshire and Illinois require road retests specifically for drivers over age 75. New Hampshire gives them three chances to pass the test. But Massachusetts state law explicitly prohibits discrimination by reason of age in issuing licenses, and all drivers over age 65 actually receive a 25 percent discount on their insurance premiums.

We understand that older people can become isolated when they lose the ability to drive. More and better public transportation, private van services, or volunteers ought to be available. And we agree that teenagers and texting drivers of all ages are also a menace. But we support strict laws against all but emergency use of cellphones while driving, and younger drivers already operate under restrictions.

To state the obvious: All elder drivers are not alike, and some are perfectly capable of driving safely well into their golden years. It would be fairer if all Massachusetts drivers, regardless of age, were given road retests periodically. But the administrative costs would be prohibitive. Just as insurance companies can fairly charge inexperienced younger drivers more for their coverage, the state should be able to require at-risk older drivers to take a road test. 
Anything less is a hazard to everyone’s health.

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