A Good Idea

Tom Miller

Active Member
Feb 21, 2001
7,229
2
38
School/Org
SCO
City
Fayetteville
State
NC
AARP backs required vision tests for senior drivers
DIANE C. LADE
Knight Ridder Tribune News Service

FORT LAUDERDALE - A proposal that will require seniors to have a vision test when renewing their driver's licenses will start making its way through the Legislature next week, and one of its surprise supporters is AARP, the massive seniors' lobbying group that for years ferociously fought any driver testing based on age.

"We've never been against taking people who can't drive off the road, we only opposed doing it at a certain age," said Bentley Lipscomb, AARP's state director. "We're doing this because other older people are getting killed by the ones who can't drive."

The move finally could spell success for the 10th attempt to target older drivers since 1986 - attempts that were nicknamed "suicide bills," as in political suicide. Most never made it out of committee, as legislators fretted over backlash from older voters and organizations such as AARP.

That's why Sen. Stephen Wise, the architect of SB 52, courted AARP's favor before he pressed on. He was somewhat stunned when the group that claims to represent 3 million Floridians actually signed on.

"I can't believe it. Nobody can believe it," said Wise, R-Jacksonville. "When I started, I didn't even think I could get this put on the agenda. Now I think there's better than a 50-50 chance (of passing)."

Testing options

All drivers take a vision test the first time they apply for a Florida license. After that, drivers can renew a six-year license two consecutive times by mail or on-line without any additional testing. That means a driver with a good record can go 18 years untested.

Wise's bill would require people to have their vision checked each time they renew after their 80th birthday. The test, which drivers would take with their glasses on or contact lenses in, could be done for free at their local driver's license bureau. Or they could submit documentation from a family physician or eye doctor, an optometrist or an optician.

He said alternatives, such as shortening license-renewal periods or mandating that physicians report patients diagnosed with diseases such as Alzheimer's, were too costly or "too draconian."

"I think it's the right thing to do," said Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, who is sponsoring the bill in the House. "If people are 79 years old and they can't pass a vision test, they shouldn't be driving."

Lawmakers may be surprised how many seniors agree.

George Goldhirsch, 85, drives almost daily but thinks the proposed vision testing is "a wonderful idea." And he would go further.

"I think they should be road tested, too," said Goldhirsch, of Delray Beach. "I see too many seniors as it is who shouldn't be driving. If they have problems getting into their cars, what are their reaction times going to be?"

Vision testing makes perfect sense to snowbird Marilyn Nudelman, who spends most of her year in Chicago. Illinois has the nation's strictest licensing standards for seniors, and now that she's 75, Nudelman will have to take a road test every four years, accelerating to every year after her 86th birthday.

She and her husband recently decided to stop riding with some of their Weston neighbors whose driving ability they questioned. "But taking away people's licenses is a hardship. You are taking away their independence," she said.

Crashes increasing

Wise decided to sponsor the bill after four older relatives had accidents last summer and after he looked at a 2001 state report on state licensing and motor vehicle regulation.

The number of Florida drivers age 85 and older increased by 48 percent to 203,869 from 1995 to 1999, according to the report by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.

Teenagers and elders are the two groups with the highest crash rates, although teens are considered the worst drivers by the insurance industry. But the state report found the fatal rate for drivers age 80 to 84 equaled that of teenagers, and that the rate for those age 85 and older surpassed teens, as an older body has more trouble recovering from severe trauma than a younger one. Teens have a higher total number of crashes than older drivers, but when factoring in the number of miles driven, the state report found crash risk started rising steeply at age 75 and surpassed that of teenagers after age 80.

While AARP didn't oppose the vision test, "it wasn't enough to make us support the bill," said Lyn Bodiford, AARP's state affairs coordinator. "We said, 'Let's look at the big picture.' "

So the amended draft that will be reintroduced in the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday includes the creation of a committee that will examine options for seniors who can no longer drive. If the bill passes, Florida would join 12 states that have special licensing provisions for older drivers.