Some people need to re-take their driver's test

by  Lindsey Todd
      Central Bucks West High School

                         Does anyone know how to drive anymore?
                    OK, so I know I sound like an old granny, but it's totally true.  I've had my license for a little more than a year and still consider myself to be a far better driver than some of these people allowed on the roads.
                    Last week, as I was trying to merge onto the bypass, there was a car in front of me going about 20 mph when, obviously, you're supposed to try to speed up and blend with the flow of traffic.  Let me tell you, this elderly man took his sweet time merging, and by that point, there were cars speeding alongside of us, honking at him to make sure he wouldn't do anything stupid and collide with them as he merged.
                   Also, a few days ago in Doylestown, I came to an intersection with a left-turning llane and one that went straight.  The car in front of me slowly moved to the left-turning lane, but then, as soon as the light turned green, WITHOUT putting his signal light on, decided he was going to go straight.  He, too, was an elderly man.
                  Those are just two instances, but let me assure you there were several others similar to these that have also occurred while I was driving.
                  My point in specifying that these people who nearly caused accidents were elderly is simply this :  If 16-year-old kids have to take a driver's test, a 76-year-old should also have to take (or in their case, re-take) the driving test.  People of this age or even a little younger are typically not as sharp as they were 20 or 30 years ago, and therefore should be tested before they are allowed to continue driving when it could, in fact, be fatal to them and to others on the road.
                 It is true that teenagers have the highest likelihood to get into accidents during their first years behind the wheel, probably due to speedy driving or inattention to the road.  But as dangerous as it is to drive 15 miles over the speed limit, I think it is also just as risky to drive 15 under the speed limit, which is exactly what many older people seem to do.
                 You can't drive on a 55 mph bypass at 45 mph without getting tailgated, honked at or flipped off, which creates a dangerous driving environment for all of the cars near you or around you.  Slow or confused driving (such as suddenly deciding to go straight when in a turning lane) are the top causes of road rage, and since these are  some of the common driving characteristics of elderly people, I strongly believe they should have to re-take the test.
                This is not an insult to the older drivers out there.  My grandpa is more than 80 years old and he is one of the sharpest, best drivers I know.
                However, I would feel a lot better about taking on the roads if I knew that everyone else out there was just as qualified to drive as they were when they first took their test.