Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By every account so far, 93-year-old Ralph Parker, who police say struck and killed a man Wednesday in St. Petersburg, had no business being behind the wheel. Parker hit the pedestrian on 34th Street S, severed the man's leg and continued driving, stopping three miles later at the Sunshine Skyway bridge where a toll taker saw the victim's body lodged in the car's windshield.
This case is an extreme example of the risks some elderly drivers pose. Authorities said Parker had shown signs of dementia before; on the day of the accident, his son had left Idaho to get his father in a safe place. Police said Parker did not realize what happened and, questioned later, said he thought the body dropped from the sky. Police took his license and Parker will have to take a test in the unlikely event he ever wants to drive again. The state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said it would investigate whether Parker should have had driving privileges in the first place.
This review, while important, raises a larger question: What can Florida and other states do to lower the risks posed by elderly drivers? Experts have warned for years that elderly drivers need more comprehensive testing. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, older people have higher rates of fatal crashes per mile driven than any other group except young people. Factors such as Alzheimer's disease, the effects of medication, mobility problems and impaired eyesight are among the factors that can erode driving skills.
Vision tests help, but they do not alert officials to broader problems that could diminish a driver's competence. Florida, like many states, has no comprehensive test for older drivers; seniors 80 and older must pass a vision test to renew their license every six years. The burden falls on families, friends and physicians to volunteer that an elderly driver may pose a danger. In those cases, the state convenes a medical board to consider pulling a license.
This all-or-nothing approach avoids what admittedly is a tricky problem, both politically and emotionally. Seniors understandably are reluctant to give up their licenses. Having the freedom to drive conveys independence. Governments have done a poor job of making mass transportation a practical option.
If 15 and 16 are minimum ages at which a person's motor skills, maturity and judgment are recognized as sufficient to extend driving privileges, then the state should also develop a comprehensive test to regularly screen the competence of older drivers. That would better protect the public, including elderly drivers.