When should a senior citizen stop driving?

Dear senior linkage line,br>

I have been driving all my life and have not had an accident or a ticket in the last 15 years. Recently, I noticed that my children always insist on driving. I don't know if they are being kind or if they do not trust my abilities anymore. Is there any way for me to assess my driving abilities without endangering my driver's license?

Signed,

Mario

Dear Mario,

According to AAA, one of every three drivers in America is over 55 years of age. Drivers over 55 represent a wide range of abilities and no individual should have his or her license jeopardized solely because of age. Safe driving skills, including vision, reflexes, flexibility and hearing can start to deteriorate around age 55 and greater losses can be observed after 75 years of age. However, age alone does not indicate whether a person is able, or unable, to operate a motor vehicle safely.

Instead there are several screening or assessment tools that are available on the Web or upon request. Besides assessing your driving ability, enrollment in qualifying courses may also qualify you for a decrease in car insurance premiums. You should check that the classes qualify you for the discount.

The AAA Foundation for Safety has a Web site at www.seniordrivers.org where there are all sorts of tools that you can use to assess driving skills and abilities. If you are not able to access a computer, you can call AAA at the Washington, D.C., office at (202) 638-5944 and request a brochure, "Drivers 55 Plus." That brochure also has a self-survey. AAA also has several driving education courses tailored to different age groups.

AARP Web site at www.aarp.org has information about safe driving for seniors as well. Once you reach the Web site, click on the "family" tab and under that tab click on "housing and mobility." Under that page, if you scroll down to AARP Programs on the left hand side, you will see a link for Driver's Safety Program. On that Web page entitled AARP Driver Safety Program, you will see all sorts of articles and links to driver safety issues. There also is an opportunity to register for their online safe driving course and locations of their safe driving courses classroom instruction. You can also register for a classroom course by calling toll free at (888) 227-7669. The cost is less than $20.

The Minnesota Safety Council at (800) 444-9150 also has classes. Their Web site is www.minnesotasafetycouncil.org/home.cfm, follow the links: "Traffic" and then "Mature driver training (insurance discount)."

Both AAA and AARP advise that as seniors realize limitations to their safe driving ability, they should explore other ways to get around. Sometimes that means public transportation such as city buses, Arrowhead Transit, Dial-A-Ride or private taxi services. Sometimes it means relying on family members. Sometimes it means finding an alternative to driving under certain conditions, such as limiting driving to the daytime.

My suggestion to you, Mario, is to explore some of the self-assessment tools that are available either on-line (remember that public libraries have online access and librarians who can help you) or by telephone to one of the above mentioned agencies. If you find that there are some problems with your ability to drive safely, you should explore any changes to your car that might make it safer such as a wide-view rear view mirror or other modifications. If you can identify that night driving or driving in heavy traffic is something you should avoid, then you can plan your trips around those factors and try to avoid such conditions. It also is advised that people familiarize themselves with the public transportation system in their area, if available, so if there is a time that they cannot safely drive, they are familiar with how it works.

Your driver's license is valid as long as you keep it current and it has not otherwise been suspended or revoked. That said, you may self-limit your driving if you feel that to drive would be unsafe. Indeed, if you have experienced a loss of consciousness, Minnesota law requires that you report it in writing to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's commissioner of Driver Vehicle Services. See Minnesota Rules 7410.2500 and Minn. Statutes 171.04 subdivision 1(11). Also, any person may report an unsafe driver to the commissioner of Driver Vehicle Services. If someone reports you as an unsafe driver, the commissioner has the ability to make you take the written and/or the behind-the-wheel tests, as well as be examined by your physician. If you refuse to comply with the commissioner's requests, your license can be canceled. Under the law, these requests cannot be based on your age; rather, they are based on your mental and physical ability to drive. As you age, having assessments done on a regular basis and reasonably responding to the assessments, may persuade your children and others to not report you as an unsafe driver since you are driving responsibly and safely.

I hope this information is helpful and I wish you luck in many more miles of safe driving.

This column is written by the Senior Citizens' Law Project. It is not meant to give complete answers to individual questions. If you are 60 years of age or older and live within the Minnesota Arrowhead Region, you may contact us with questions for legal help by writing to: Senior Citizens' Law Project, Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota, 302 Ordean Bldg., Duluth, MN 55802. Please include a phone number and return address. To view previous articles, go to: www.lasnem.org. Reprints by permission only.