The title of this thread is both ageist and inaccurate. I know a fair number of older people who are very good drivers—much safer that a lot of younger drivers.

My father was an excellent driver right up into his early eighties. When he was young, he spent ten years as a chauffeur for a wealthy family (which, as well as driving, included doing mechanical work on the Packard limo). He knew how to drive safely and smoothly, and maintained those abilities until his health began to fail, at which time he said, "I don't think I should drive anymore," and that was it.

Right now, I'm 75. A couple of years ago, I was driving in a residential area, and suddenly a kid on a bicycle—a boy about ten or eleven years old—darted out between two parked cars right in front of me. Had it not been for a) a lot of experience as a driver, and, b) quick reflexes despite being what some regard as an "older driver," I could very easily have strained the kid through the grill of my Toyota Corolla. It scared him so bad he fell of his bicycle. As he reassembled himself, he was about nine shades of pale slightly tinted with green. I just stared at him, and he looked back, very guiltily, then mounted his bike and pedaled off. I don't think he'll pull that trick again.

Barring professional race drivers, I'll match my reflexes against any driver out there. At least you don't find all that many older drivers working on a laptop computer on the passenger's seat, talking on a cell phone, and eating an Egg McMuffin while zipping down the freeway and weaving in and out of traffic at seventy miles per hour.

If you compare accident statistics between older drivers and drivers under twenty-five, you might be in for a surprise. The younger drivers may, in general, have faster reflexes, but many older drivers have sufficient experience to anticipate and avoid dangerous situations in the first place.

Don Firth.