-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Old People: When can we take their privileges away?
- Thread starter Keylime
- Start date
- Status
My grandfather had his driving privilege taken away at 63. My family actually had to put pressure on Uncle Sam to get this done. My grandfather suffered a couple strokes which left him very dangerous behind the wheel.
We can't have grandpa passing out and driving off the road!
Woffls
Member
I think they can probably make the same informed decisions that the rest of us can, but it takes them about a million times longer to do it. So, take action on activities such as driving, but not something like voting, which they can probably do as well as the rest of us.
Driving is probably the only major issue; everyone should have to retake their driving test at 65, and everyone over 65 should get free public transport so they have the choice. If you don't like public transport, tough, drive better or find someone else who can.
Driving is probably the only major issue; everyone should have to retake their driving test at 65, and everyone over 65 should get free public transport so they have the choice. If you don't like public transport, tough, drive better or find someone else who can.
Seniors' right to drive can be moderated by testing; it's not an issue of honor and respect, but one of public safety. A case can be made for any other activity in which their participation might cause a potential public health hazard.
I'm not really sure what legitimate reasons there are to take away seniors' rights for anything else.
I'm not really sure what legitimate reasons there are to take away seniors' rights for anything else.
fatigues_gasolini
Member
Davidion said:
How often should they be tested?
Seniors are one of the biggest voting groups in the country, and anything that goes into effect to limit them can have huge repercussions.
Im in all support of limiting them when driving.
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
This is the one thing that bothers me the most (outside of driving), actually.gamerecks said:
People that are more or less no longer productive to society are the ones driving all the important decisions that effect the rest of us.
It's purely our own fault for not getting more involved, but I'd argue we have a lot more to worry about than our older friends, so they have much more time to devote to the process.
Napoleonthechimp
Member
There is no law in the UK that says old people have to retake their driving test every couple of years... at least not yet.Nexus Zero said:
I was watching a programme about this very issue and one of the oldest people tested (75+) did have major problems with his reaction time and got confused with the gear selection, which on a stick shift is a big problem.
RubxQub said:
Yes, but I don't think you're running much of a risk of seniors starting drunken riots, so I'd lean on the side of pragmatism on that one. :lol
gamerecks said:
Not for me to say.
But again, this would a philosophical ideal; I'm well aware of how utterly impossible actually putting such a restriction into practice may be.
Megadragon15
Member
Wait until the op gets old and see how he feel when his rights are taken away because he is old. That'll teach the old people of today.
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Just because I'd take it personally when I'm older doesn't mean it isn't a correct and responsible idea.Megadragon15 said:
I think we've pretty clearly established that everyone agrees that driving should require re-certification (which was the biggest issue I had in the OP in regards to my own grandfather), I simply lumped all age restricted items together, perhaps incorrectly.
XBOX HIVES
Banned
Man now I know why old people are so paranoid. It's not just death coming after them, but it's also the youth.
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
I didn't say I was going to lock them up in cages and charge a fee to view them like a human zoo or something, just remove some of their privileges if they are no longer able to safely partake in them.Xeke said:
Let's not get carried away here :lol
...and for the record, "old people" as I've deemed them have all the power in the world right now, so I couldn't do any of what I'm proposing. I'm just simply looking to see if others agree.
XBOX HIVES
Banned
RubxQub said:
Who are you trying to protect in the end, them or yourself?
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Both.XBOX HIVES said:
I've given personal accounts of having a grandfather who is surely unfit to drive, and being hit by an old person driving because they either didn't bother to check what color a light was or couldn't tell when they did look...and despite this continued driving through the intersection.
Protect my grandfather from harm, protect my grandfather from harming others.
RubxQub said:
Where do you get your information?
http://www.rmiia.org/Auto/Teens/Teen_Driving_Statistics.htm
The only statistic that the elderly lead in is percentage of fatalities in auto accidents because, well... they're old and their bodies can't take an impact.
soundahfekz
Member
I think senior citizens should need to retest every year. I can't even count the number of times I've seen a lincoln, caprice, or lesabre with a white fro and some specs going 2 miles per hour during peak traffic hours.
I've also seen some who drive better then those of us in our prime age, so I'm not bunching the elderly all together.
I've also seen some who drive better then those of us in our prime age, so I'm not bunching the elderly all together.
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Admittedly, it's very hard to find information about accidents broken down by age. Most information is presented in regards to teenage driving statistics, however popular opinion is that teenagers and people that are 70+ are more at risk for accidents.bill0527 said:
I'm trying to find some conclusive statistical information that would back this up, however I can only find tidbits on non-official reports at the moment.
Anecdotally, however, I can easily say that some older drivers make some of the poorest driving decisions I've ever seen, whether that's not checking blind spots when changing lanes, running lights or driving dangerously slow on highways.
I'll keep looking for some data, however here's this article in the meantime:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-05-02-older-drivers-usat1a_N.htm
soundahfekz
Member
RubxQub said:
Yesterday this woman when the opposite way on the roundabount turn into oncoming traffic, no accident, but traffic stalled and it was a complete mess for a while after.
mikeybwright
Banned
Forget just the elderly, retest everyone every 2 or so years. I've seen a person my age, early 20s, hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk going about 40 miles an hour. It might suck, but it would keep the idiots off the road...and since we are on the subject, how is texting while driving not illegal? I understand the argument of natural selection and weeding out the weak but I have had 2 friends hospitalized from idiots texting while driving.
Alucrid said:
Why bother giving them automated cars when we can just matrix them? They'll take less resources to keep alive that way anyway. Plus they can live in a resource independent utopia, not like the shitty movie matrix. And we can visit them via internet connections. It'll be fine.
Hell, I'd love to retire to matrix-utopia in the future. Fuck the inconveniences of reality; why use an automated car, when I can zone/teleport to my buds/location of choice?
RubxQub said:
Are you thinking clearly today? Did some old fuck cut you off in traffic or make you late to somewhere?
Anecdotally, I see far, far more teenagers and early 20-somethings doing stupid shit in traffic than I see the elderly doing. Texting for one - its so bad in my state that they banned teenagers from texting while driving. I also had an early 20-something douchebag white boy gangster wannabe pass me up in a school zone a few days ago .. and I was going 5 miles over the speed limit.
If we're gonna start ripping the keys away from certain demographics - take the keys away from all the blonde soccer moms who drive SUV's. They all speed and they all talk on their cell phones while driving.
N
NinjaFridge
Unconfirmed Member
mikeybwright said:
Agree, except maybe every 5 years instead of 2. I've seen a guy in a jeep driving over two footpaths in the middle of a town because he couldn't be bothered waiting in traffic for a few seconds, and it was just a few seconds because we were behind him. He was in his 40's.
Cindres said:
While we're checking off the list...
For those of us in or around Amish country - get those damn horse and buggies off the road also. Seems like there's always some shit massive fatal traffic accident where a vehicle the size of a tank plows the fuck right over one of those things and kills a bunch of people.
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
:lolbill0527 said:
The article I linked (and yourself) admit that the elderly account for the most fatalities in accidents. This means that not only are they getting in a high amount of accidents in the first place, but they are the most likely to get killed from it.
This, if nothing else, is reason enough to want to limit their involvement in driving. To save themselves.
GoutPatrol
Forgotten in his cell
I trust my 87 year old grandfather on the road more than myself.
PistolGrip
sex vacation in Guam
I support you!!! Down with seniors (except my parents!)
Older people become paranoid and think everyone is out to get them, also they are accident prone. Not to mention they take forever at the supermarket counter... "oh no shes counting pennies!!!"
In all seriousness I think a reason test should be given to people as a way to allow them to vote. If you cannot use your head to reason then you should not vote. Unfortunately this would just about obliterate the republican party.
No worries all of our problems will be resolved once the death panels kick in...
Older people become paranoid and think everyone is out to get them, also they are accident prone. Not to mention they take forever at the supermarket counter... "oh no shes counting pennies!!!"
In all seriousness I think a reason test should be given to people as a way to allow them to vote. If you cannot use your head to reason then you should not vote. Unfortunately this would just about obliterate the republican party.
No worries all of our problems will be resolved once the death panels kick in...
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
There will always be exceptions, but when dealing with such a mass of people, I'm afraid broad brush strokes would be necessary if anything was going to be done at all like it is from the lower age ranges.GoutPatrol said:
RubxQub said:
Then we should raise the voting age to around 30, then, unless you're in the military. Who do you think has the better knowledge base on which to make informed decisions - a 20 year-old or a 60 year-old? Obviously there are exceptions, but if I'm taking advice on life, finances, etc., I'm probably going ask someone who has seen how things work for a while than someone who's most valuable knowledge they can offer me is 4 or 5 different ways to smoke pot.
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
I can agree a bit with what you're saying there, but the 20-somethings of the world are the new blood. They are working jobs and building families, so they have just as much at stake as the 30-60 somethings.Woodsy said:
As far as experience goes, no question that generally 30 somethings should be more versed on issues than 20 somethings.
D
Deleted member 20415
Unconfirmed Member
I'm all for regular driving exams for people over 65, going for an exam once every 2 years is not too much to ask.
Older people will tell you when you're younger that "driving is a privilege and not a right" until you try to take their keys away, then it becomes a right.
Rubx, don't you live in NYC? I don't see old people driving cars here, so in this case, we should impose a "Don't slow up the deli line" laws that force silver bullets into their own line while the youngins can get their sandwiches quicker.
I once wrote a story where old people were sent to "resorts" on the moon. All their children convinced them by making them watch these movies where old people played space tennis and lounged on space beaches, but in reality they were being sent away to their deaths in zero G. It was dark, but pretty awesome... I think that works better than death panels.
Older people will tell you when you're younger that "driving is a privilege and not a right" until you try to take their keys away, then it becomes a right.
Rubx, don't you live in NYC? I don't see old people driving cars here, so in this case, we should impose a "Don't slow up the deli line" laws that force silver bullets into their own line while the youngins can get their sandwiches quicker.
PistolGrip said:
I once wrote a story where old people were sent to "resorts" on the moon. All their children convinced them by making them watch these movies where old people played space tennis and lounged on space beaches, but in reality they were being sent away to their deaths in zero G. It was dark, but pretty awesome... I think that works better than death panels.
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Just outside Philly, actually.El_TigroX said:
I don't see a whole lot of old folks driving out where I am. I imagine in the city they either are too afraid of the harsher conditions or make use of public transportation...or just generally don't live in the city. It's really more in suburban areas that you notice them.
Children are always under some type of guardianship and are someone else's responsibility. The elderly aren't and some have to live life with the idea that no one is going to take care of me but me. Therefore, it is imperative they be able to vote and have a voice in matters that affect them. Especially since they no longer have a spring in their step and are the most vunerable.
It's funny people are saying they shouldn't vote when half the supreme court is over 70, one is 90, and the youngest about to be on the dark side of the 50's. Don't let them vote, just interpret the constitution.
It's funny people are saying they shouldn't vote when half the supreme court is over 70, one is 90, and the youngest about to be on the dark side of the 50's. Don't let them vote, just interpret the constitution.
Keylime
ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
Solid point.J-Rod said:
I definitely view the elderly (when it comes to voting) as holding back the rest of the nation because they vote down just about anything that equates to increased taxes, despite the benefits that would be seen, so admittedly I'm a bit jaded about the voting situation.
I'm a bit off the voting bandwagon and more so on the driving one since this thread's creation, though.
milkyjay20
Member
atkbob said:
did you start the iraq/afpak war?
rubxdub: are you a really good troll? what you're suggesting is mild fascism, which makes you a mild nutcase. what is it with today? first i run into a *possible* eugenicist, and now this. the idea of taking away someone's privilege that they've had all their life is something of a cruel god archetype. it's unconstitutional or something. and you can't compare kids and old people. when it comes to drinking and smoking, it's not a question of intelligence but of maturity, and maturity comes with age and experience. when it comes to voting, it's never a question. personally, i think kids should be allowed to vote as well, they should at least know their president. i agree about driving. any other liberties you feel old people do not deserve?
of course, the intent behind this thread may not be for fascism, but rather an argument for a perceived hypocrisy around the rules for kids and old people. i understand where you're coming from, but simply put, an old person is an adult and a kid is a kid. it's about maturity, not intelligence.
would you really feel comfortable giving a 14 year old a beer?
It's not a matter of opinion that people's mental conditions degrade as they get old. That's a serious issue when it comes to getting behind the wheel of a 250hp 3000lb vehicle. Why should there be any age bias when it comes to driving safety? Of course old people should be tested for their driving skills. It'll just never happen because it's political suicide.
And LOL @ the "they fought for our rights" comment. What fucking relevance does that have to anything?
And LOL @ the "they fought for our rights" comment. What fucking relevance does that have to anything?
milkyjay20
Member
demon said:
this guy's suggesting that the rights they fought for (and if they're a ww2 vet, then they really did fight for those rights) be taken away. perfectly relevant.
- Status