Houston...We have A Problem

Decisions About Elderly Drivers


I guess that by now most everyone has heard the story or read the headline about former Senator and Astronaut John Glynn and his wife being involved in an auto accident:

Former senator and astronaut John Glenn and his wife, Annie, were slightly injured in a traffic accident near Easton Town Center last night.

The crash happened at 11:14 p.m. on Morse Road near the ramp to I-270, Columbus police said....

Glenn was charged by police with failure to yield on a left turn, Butland said.

The two-car accident happened on Morse Road near a ramp to I-270. Amy Myers of New Albany, the driver of the other car, was not injured.

This story points out a situation that in the end will affect every individual and family in this country, and I think that the state governments should take the initiative and stop acquiescing to popular opinion and public sentiment.

JOHN GLYNN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OUT DRIVING AROUND AT 11:14 PM AT NIGHT, UNLESS HE COULD PASS AN ANNUAL VISION AND DRIVING TEST.

I don't give a diddly doo if he was qualified to strap himself into a Mercury space capsule bolted on top of a modified Air force Redstone Ballistic Missile and hurl around the planet in outer space a couple of times back in 1962, I guar-an-damn-tee you that things in the man's brain and body have changed a good deal in the past 44 years, and he twern't no spring chicken when he accomplished the aforementioned superman-like feat.

Let's face it folks...John Glenn is OLD.

Heck...come to think of it...I'm old, and with my mental attitude I just may start running around crashing my old Chevy Suburban into other people's cars on purpose if they don't straighten up and start driving better.

The media constantly laments the demise of teen drivers and people coming home at night from bars, but the reality is that, for many of our elderly friends and relatives, driving down the road at 8:00 AM or 11:30 PM is just as dangerous as you and me setting out from the local tavern after happy hour with a blood alcohol content of 0.15.

People that were wonderful, safe, courteous drivers for 50 years suddenly become a danger to themselves if not an outright menace on the roadways, particularly after the sun has set.

Just like a learners permit and other limitations on young drivers, I’d like to see the government work with families to save our seniors from themselves, and prevent the injury of the general public in the process.

I personally know how hard it is to tell your grandfather that he can’t be allowed to drive any more. Our family had to remove the wires from the distributor of my Grandpa Rushing’s 56’ Chevy Belair to get him off of the road in the early 1970’s.

I also had to help the family of a dear elderly friend revoke his driving privileges in the past year.

I know that it’s very hard—losing your independence—particularly in a country and a society that has placed the personal automobile on a pedestal and eliminated the public transportation systems that were built in the early parts of the past century when these same citizens were coming of age to drive.

Still, I think that the reality is, if you really care, you should get off of your rear end and verify the driving ability of your older family members at least several times each year.

Take a look at yourself and your kids while you’re at it, by the way…

As the old saying goes, the best offense is a good defense, and I believe that it’s better to stop the driving “offenses” before they occur, rather than spending time in a hospital or funeral home lamenting your own inaction.

Just a thought…