Brian Carr, on September 16, 2009, posted on the Daily Fuel Economy Tip blog a post entitled Age Specific Driving Retesting Should Be Required. His post claims Senior drivers should be periodically re-tested in order to allow them to keep their licenses.

There are some excellent comments posted by readers. My take is as follows:

What does it mean to drive safely? The question Brian is really raising is “at what point in time does a person’s visual, cognitive and motor skills become an impairment to safe driving?”

The answer is that there is no set age. This is what causes the rub.

Each state is going to have to deal with this issue. The best way to approach this is scientifically. The studies need to be funded. The laws much match the facts.

We cannot compare the problems associated with age with the general driving population. A person who has cognitive, vision and motor skills problems at 40 should not be compared to those in their 80s. Although similar results, how to address them needs to be done separately.

We at DriveSafety manufacture and sell driving simulators for researchers and medical professionals. The topic of elderly driving, along with distracted driving, are among the most engaging topics within the driving research community.

The topic is being addressed in many states (and countries). We should all hope the political decisions match the scientific facts; getting emotion out of the equation.