By Jill Dellamalva
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 15, 1997

The right to drive: Who has it and who doesn't?

Metal grinding up against metal is one of the most disturbing noises to me. The last time I heard it was a few months ago, when an elderly man pulled out onto the wrong side of the road and collided with my car.

Until I was standing at the roadside, watching traffic crunch over pieces of my shattered headlights, I never thought much about who should be allowed to drive and who shouldn't.

"People over 65 should have to retake their driver's tests!" I complained to anyone who would listen.

I received sympathy from some people, but to my surprise, others thought differently.

"Would you like to take on the responsibility of driving your grandparents everywhere because they're not allowed to take themselves?" a friend asked me.

I thought about that for a minute. That means trips to the grocery store, to the post office and anywhere else errands needed to be run. For some people, it would mean driving elderly relatives to the hospital, to doctor's appointments ... and the list goes on. Not only would this take a great deal of responsibility, but it would also take a great deal of time.

After doing a little bit of research on the topic, I discovered that most elderly drivers do take precautions such as wearing seatbelts. They seldom speed, and rarely drink and drive. Yet fatal accidents among the elderly have increased 25 percent over the past decade, while the rate for teen-agers has fallen. And by the year 2000, people 65 and older will make up about one-third of drivers in the U.S.

Is there a reasonable solution to the problem of increasing accident frequency among the elderly?

In the Sept. 22 edition of the Tucson Citizen, The Associated Press reported on a study being done at the University of Maryland. Scientists have been experimenting by putting seniors in front of computer screens for simulation driving. To test how brain and motor skills work in the elderly, the simulation has pedestrians appear suddenly, cars cut across the street and street signs flash by.

Charles Fox, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the university, said the experiment led him to believe that crashes occur when drivers misjudge their declining ability to perceive speed and distance. He said the goal of the scientists was to find a way of preventing accidents from happening, because once they get hurt, many elderly do not recover.

Scientists also found that sunlight exposure resulted in older people developing cataracts. I was shocked to learn that "for every 1 percent increase in the amount of ultraviolet-B rays that reach the eye, there is a 10 percent increase in cataracts."

As well as working on treatments for these eye problems, other solutions are being discussed. Nissan Car Corporation may one day design cars with special features to help seniors.

It may seem that I'm picking on senior drivers because I was hit by one. But that's not true. I could have gotten into an accident with just about anyone. And after seeing an Oprah show a few weeks ago about the bad habits of teen drivers, I realize that it's unfair to single out one group as the source of the problem.

My 16-year-old brother has only been driving since August and has already received three points on his license because of a speeding ticket. He took a few driving lessons, but is that enough? Perhaps we'd have safer streets if it was mandatory for young drivers to have a certain amount of training hours before they can apply for a license - even if it means making the driving age higher.

As everyone knows, for old and for young, roads are becoming dangerous places. No matter how well you think you are driving, you always have to worry about the people who aren't driving safely. There were 993 traffic fatalities in Arizona in 1996. Until we realize that it takes just a little common sense to acknowledge the problem and devise some solutions, expect to see a similar, if not greater number, for 1997.

Jill Dellamalva is a junior majoring in creative writing and journalism.