Should There Be a Maximum Age Limit For New York Drivers?

Each and every day hundreds of thousands of drivers hit the road in the Capital Region to get to all kinds of destinations. Young drivers going to school, people on their way to work, or simply some are just out to run an errand or two. The roads are busy and it only takes one wrong move to cause an accident.

One my way to work I see drivers making questionable decisions on a daily basis. Most of these incidents seem to happen at intersections or one of the many roundabouts we now have in the area. For me, I driver through the ones near Fuller Road and Washington Avenue and from my observations, the elderly have the most trouble here.

Dangers of driving at an accelerated age

As we all get older there are certain things that happen. Our rection time isn't as good. Our memories could be slipping. Our eyesight and hearing is worsening. All of these things are what you need to safely drive. So when I see an elderly driver stopped in the middle of the road trying to figure out their next move I am questioning whether they should be out driving anymore.

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On Thursday morning I watched an elderly man stop in a roundabout causing everyone else to slam on their brakes. He then drove in the middle of two lanes on Washington Avenue Extension until he finally pulled off for Walmart. I hope he was going to get a vision exam. No one was hurt, thankfully, but he could have caused a major problem.

Read More: New York Speed Week Ticketing Results - 27k Issued 

Obviously no one wants to have that hard conversation with their elderly family members, so why not send them this article instead.

New York Guidelines

Is there an age limit? There's a limit for when you can start driving, and that's 16. There is no limit on how old you can be to keep driving. It could be forever if you just did it without anyone stepping in.

There are a few things you have to do here in New York as a senior driver to maintain your license. According to Nolo Law you have to take a vision test to renew once you hit a certain age. But that's really all you have to do. You either do it on your own and bring a copy or get it there.

They may place restrictions on you to continue driving like,

• using telescopic lenses
• daylight-only driving
• wearing hearing aids while driving

The state could also make it so you're unable to drive on roads with on or off ramps. However it's not like you can stop that from happening. So you just have to trust people.

I hope that one day if I am making bad choices while driving or putting others at risk my kids will be tough with me and say "Dad, that's enough driving for you."