Driving

[Idnar7]

Do you sometimes feel your reflexes are preventing you from driving safely? Sometimes I feel anxious driving. I feel I am safe but worry about others around me, When do you know it is time to stop drving? Waiting for an accident is not a good plan. Have you worried about your driving skills?

 

[finnski1]

no

 

[aja8888]

Do you sometimes feel your reflexes are preventing you from driving safely? Sometimes I feel anxious driving. I feel I am safe but worry about others around me, When do you know it is time to stop drving? Waiting for an accident is not a good plan. Have you worried about your driving skills?

Nope!

And I am a few months shy of 82 years old. Next week I am going on a 5,000 mile driving trip. I guess I am lucky!

 

[Dtail]

At 65 y.o., I am still very comfortable driving and the reflexes are still very good.
However a few of our friends now do not drive at night anymore.

 

[Pointby2]

In California at least, they offer mature driver improvement program. Worth considering.

Mature driver improvement courses are designed for drivers 55 and older and provide instruction on:

• Defensive driving.
• California motor vehicle laws.
• Updates on rules of the road.
• The effects that medication, fatigue, alcohol, visual, or auditory limitations have on a person’s driving ability.

 

[COcheesehead]

Nope, still driving aggressively and it drives my wife nuts.

 

[braumeister]

Some keep driving as usual, even when they shouldn't.
Some stop driving even if they're capable, just because they're nervous about it.
I think most of us fall into a third grouping, where it's a gray area.

Some states change their renewal policies at a certain age, usually for a vision test, and make the renewals more frequent, even annual in some states. Some even require a written exam after a certain age. It would probably be a good thing if more states went that route.

I don't know of any jurisdiction that requires a road test for seniors, but it might not be a bad idea.

 

[Koolau]

I think I need a back-up camera. Other than that, I still feel reasonably confident in driving. DW really doesn't like to drive any more though she is capable of it.

 

[MarieIG]

Not reflexes but my night vision could be better. That has been an ongoing problem and even when working I would only drive home at night after work on very well lit roads.

 

[Koolau]

Not reflexes but my night vision could be better. That has been an ongoing problem and even when working I would only drive home at night after work on very well lit roads.

Have you already had cataract surgery? That makes a huge difference for many when it comes to night vision.

 

[youbet]

At almost 78, I’m still driving in urban traffic at home and pulling our camper all over the country on vacations with a manual transmission pick-up truck. Frequently when DW, my son or one of the grandkids rides along, I ask if they think I’m doing ok and, so far, it’s thumbs up.

 

[aja8888]

All the folks in my ROMEO group, maybe 12 or so, are over 73 and driving normally. Two have big 5th wheel campers and huge dually trucks to haul the campers. They travel all over the U.S. with them each summer.

While age may play a factor in driving skills (reaction time, etc), it's not a huge deterrent if one is careful and somewhat healthy. I have never had cataracts so I don't suffer from whatever it is that limits night time driving.

 

[youbet]

I don't know of any jurisdiction that requires a road test for seniors, but it might not be a bad idea.

Illinois does. Until very recently the age was 75. Currently it’s 79. There is legislation pending to raise the age to 87.

 

[MarieIG]

Have you already had cataract surgery? That makes a huge difference for many when it comes to night vision.

No. But I have had this issue for years. I only started to develop cataracts in the last year. That and a puckered retina, which I was told was more serious than the cataracts and for which I am being monitored by an ophthalmologist.

 

[HFWR]

If you don’t like the way I drive, stay off the sidewalk!

I’m more cautious than most drivers, and maybe more so now. But I have reflexes like a cat! I don’t like night driving, and rarely do it.

My driver’s test is the million miles give or take that I’ve driven since 1970, with no moving violations, and only one accident. I pulled out in front of someone, who was in a blind spot behind a bush. When I saw her I hit the brakes, but she was going fast enough in a 30mph zone that when she clipped the front end of my car she spun completely around. She had room to steer around…

 

[zaqxsw]

Not concerned about my driving ability but I'm getting so much more alert to all of the poor driving around me. I swear if I was a policeman I'd have folks pulled over a good part of the time. But the police don't seem to do that anymore...

Folks running red lights, weaving in and out of their lane, tailgating when we're already 15 MPH above the speed limit, and of course no use of turn signals.

 

[Midpack]

At 71 yo I’m not concerned about my driving yet, but maybe some day. I drive defensively at all times, especially nowadays with about half of drivers, all ages, I see are looking at their smartphones while driving.

OTOH at 68 yo DW is very jumpy behind the wheel and she tries to avoid driving at night. She had a serious accident about 20 years ago and she’s never been the same behind the wheel since.

 

[Ronstar]

No. I'm turning 70 in a few months and have no problem with city driving/ road trips/whatever.

 

[Aerides]

If you feel anxious, it's a good reason to limit driving no matter your age or other conditions.

 

[razztazz]

Sort of a spooky question. Just yesterday I renewed my license. It's good for 8 years. Till I'm 76.

After the heart attack (Summer 2020, I was about to turn 63) I stopped driving on I-80 which is a major road here for getting around. No official or clinical medical constraints but, hey, I'm an old man with a heart condition and a pacemaker. What would you do? I just thought it was prudent. I "feel" however, that if had to go across town via I-80 fast, I could do it if I had to. Yes, I do feel my reflexes aren't what they used to be but A) They haven't been in several years and B) They don't need to be that good, just good enough. All other around-town driving I do on surface streets with no problems. If I need to run across the bridge to The Big Town (which is rare) I call a cab or an Uber.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I used to love driving but I no longer want to drive if I don't have to. We have a semi-autonomous self-driving car (Cadillac Lyriq with Super Cruise) and I don't trust its self-driving capability, so I don't use it. Well, there were several times that I felt that it made lousy decisions, so I just don't believe it is good enough. Having said that, I am looking forward to have a car that is fully self-driving, like the Tesla. We test drove both and decided that the Cadillac felt more luxurious and hence the choice. But now, it's increasingly attractive to have full self-driving capability, so we are planning to trade it in for a Tesla Model X when the Lyriq turns 3. We bought it in Oct 2024.

I am only a young 62/63 yo and have no issues with reflexes. But I don't really know why I no longer love to share the roads with other drivers.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I used to love driving but I no longer want to drive if I don't have to. We have a semi-autonomous self-driving car (Cadillac Lyriq with Super Cruise) and I don't trust its self-driving capability, so I don't use it. Well, there were several times that I felt that it made lousy decisions, so I just don't believe it is good enough. Having said that, I am looking forward to have a car that is fully self-driving, like the Tesla. We test drove both and decided that the Cadillac felt more luxurious and hence the choice. But now, it's increasingly attractive to have full self-driving capability, so we are planning to trade it in for a Tesla Model X when the Lyriq turns 3. We bought it in Oct 2024.

I am only a young 62/63 yo and have no issues with reflexes. But I don't really know why I no longer love to share the roads with other drivers.

My son has a 4 year old Tesla and he said that the self driving program that he pays a monthly fee for is much better than the free version.

 

[joesxm3]

My Tesla does the driving for me, although I still drive the 2004 Acura TSX to church and grocery to keep it from seizing up. The 4 year old Tesla would be hardware 3 (HW3) and limited to version 12 self driving. I recently traded my HW3 Tesla in for a new one with HW4 and version 13 FSD. While version 12 is quite good, version 13 is better. But not quite ready for me to sleep in the back seat.

 

[Samething]

At 64 I still consider myself a very good driver. My night vision isn’t what it used to be and very dark roads are uncomfortable. I always give myself plenty of time to get to my destination.

 

[athena53]

I'm 72 and had a squeaky-clean record going back 30 years. Then, in late 2023, I got in a stupid fender-bender, my fault (sideswipe, no damage worth fixing to my car, $4,000 for the other person's truck and and for an $8,000 Bodily Injury claim that had to be fabricated) and shortly after was ticketed for going 85 mph on I-35 on a clear, sunny day with little traffic.

After that I got paranoid. I finally got out the owners' manual and learned how to use cruise control. Knock wood, my hyper-vigilance has paid off so far. I'm planning to move to a retirement community next year and figure that when the time comes to give up my license there's regular shuttles to Costco and other places and I can use Uber for the rest. Like the previous poster, my night vision isn't great so I avoid night driving if I can.