I?m one of those who believes a time comes when drivers need to be retested to continue driving. Diminished eyesight and reaction times can make it unsafe for some senior citizens to get behind the wheel. Now comes a study from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine that says we shouldn?t be too quick to take those keys away, or that we should at least be prepared for the consequences. The survey of almost 1,600 seniors in Salisbury (I guess they didn?t have enough grant money to get to Florida) found those who stayed behind the wheel were less likely to enter nursing homes or assisted living centers. It?s not clear whether the affliction that forced some of the study participants to enter a nursing home was the same that forced them to stop driving.
While this may be a “chicken and egg” sort of argument, it does provide something to think about.
At the same time, researchers say the study is not recommending seniors continue to drive if they are a risk to themselves or others on the road, which I found encouraging.
I?d also be curious to see the results from a more urban area where transit is a viable option.
Salisbury, a town of about 40,000, has no formal public transportation, meaning that if seniors don?t drive, or catch a ride with a friend or family member, they?re sitting at home and that leads to the need for long-term care.
?Stop? disobeying street signs
Jim from Ellicott City writes: “I?ve noticed that many drivers in my neighborhood treat stop signs as yield signs, that is, they look both ways but don?t stop unless there is cross traffic.
“In the last two or three years that I have observed this, I am not aware of any resulting crashes. Would it make sense to change these stop signs to yield signs?
“About 15 years ago at a neighborhood stop sign, a lady?s foot slipped off her brake pedal [she was wearing flip-flops and her flip-flop got caught under pedals and she could not recover in time] and she drove into the side of my car.
“She was charged with failure to yield.”
My vote would be “no.”
The stop and yield signs around the region are put there after a good deal of thought, though in most cases it?s a no-brainer.
Any point where two roads intersect is going to get a stop sign (or electronic signals).
Yield signs are placed where traffic comes into another road at a speed and usually an angle that allows the driver to see what?s going on.
The people who don?t stop at stop signs are taking a calculated risk that they?ve seen everything in terms of oncoming traffic and are certain they aren?t going to get a ticket.
They don?t and won?t always do so, but drivers need to be made aware when a stop is required and not just recommended.
Transportation questions? Thoughts, comments, random musings? Do you have an idea on how to make Baltimore?s commute a little easier for everyone? Write to Steve at Letters@SprawlandCrawl.com.
