Just days after an 86-year-old Malden woman had her license revoked for striking a pedestrian in a crosswalk, the Legislature's Joint Transportation Committee met this week to consider a number of proposals involving expanded testing for elderly drivers.
One bill filed by Sen. Brian Joyce, D-Milton, would require individuals renewing their licenses to pass a vision and road test every five years after their 85th birthday. Current law requires only a vision test every 10 years.
Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, co-chair of the committee, would go further, lowering the age for retesting and making it easier for either the Registry of Motor Vehicles or relatives to get impaired elderly drivers off the road. He promises a comprehensive bill will be reported out by the end of the session.
We've noted repeatedly in this space that driving is not a right, but a privilege. There's an age limit. One is not allowed to drive if incapacitated by drugs or alcohol. Those who repeatedly violate driving-under-the-influence laws have their licenses suspended or revoked.
Teen drivers have limits on the hours they can operate their cars and on the passengers they may carry. A "junior operator" license does not grant the full privileges and freedoms of an adult driver's license.
It is past time for Massachusetts to enact limits on elderly drivers who can no long operate a motor vehicle safely, as 26 states and the District of Columbia have already done.
It's important to note that no one is trying to take away the licenses of all elderly drivers, just those who have lost the physical or mental ability to operate a vehicle safely. Too many such drivers are on the road today, causing accidents and loss of life.
At the same time, the state must continue its efforts to educate young drivers on how to drive responsibly. Also this week, a Bourne woman was killed and three of her friends seriously injured when she crashed her car into a tree. They'd been out celebrating the driver's 21st birthday.
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