Daily Herald opinion: Cautious optimism for senior driving proposal: But ‘safety first’ must remain rule of the road
In 2023, Illinois inched forward in regards to treating seniors with the respect they deserved, raising the age of mandatory annual driver's tests from 75 to 79.
The Daily Herald Editorial Board agreed at the time that the change was warranted, especially since the idea was successfully piloted during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep vulnerable seniors and others from having to come to DMV offices.
More to the point — that point being safety on the roads — the data showed that drivers tend to get into fewer, not more, accidents as they age: For every 1,000 drivers over age 75, fewer than 25 are involved in crashes each year, while young adults aged 20 to 24 have three times that many, according to 2023 statistics from the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Now, proposed legislation that gives senior drivers more leeway yet has gotten unanimous support in the Illinois House, and is slowly gaining adherents in the state Senate.
The proposed change is more dramatic than in 2023. The legislation would begin requiring annual driving tests for seniors at age 87, not age 79. It calls for vision tests for people renewing their licenses between the ages of 81 and 86.
As well — and this is key — it allows for family members to report unsafe drivers. According to Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois is one of only five states that doesn't have this reporting mechanism, and those unsafe drivers can be any age when reported. The reporting criteria could be medical problems, cognitive issues or just a noticeable decline in driving skills.
“If you are really serious about keeping folks who should not be on the road off the road, you can't just throw out an arbitrary age number,” Giannoulias said. “There (are) so many issues out there regardless of age.”
In some regards, the big jump in when mandatory driving tests kick in for seniors makes as much sense as it did in 2023. Older Illinoisans today are living longer and are healthier and more cognitively alert than their parents and grandparents, as well as living independently longer, according to a 2021 National Council on Aging report.
Yes, aging has negative effects on motor skills, reaction times, vision and hearing, but it affects all of us differently and at different ages. So why, some seniors rightly ask, should they be relegated to a one-size-fits-all box?
AARP representatives agree, and call the legislation a positive step. “Today's older adults are living longer, healthier lives and maintaining their driving skills well into their 80s,” said AARP Associate State Director Jeffrey Scott, as quoted in Marni Pyke's Monday transportation column.
That’s true, and we are happy that Illinois is taking all of that under advisement as it advocates for senior drivers.
But all of us at some point will reach a point of diminishing returns, and a reckoning with our driving futures. Is 87 the appropriate age to begin annual road testing? We don't know. We do know there are other considerations, like how changes in our medications can affect our ability to react behind the wheel; or how arthritis can make it harder to turn your head from side to side to get a clearer picture of the road. And while seniors don't have the most accidents among age groups, the accidents they have tend to be more serious, according to the National Council on Aging.
We advocate for the increase in age for mandatory road driving tests, because today's seniors deserve the consideration. Eighty-seven might well be a median age for most seniors where annual testing is now a good idea. But Illinois has to keep the big picture in mind. Consideration for seniors will never outweigh safety on the roads — for seniors, and for everyone else. We can't be afraid to revisit the mandatory testing issue if troubling statistics arise; or, be willing to find other ways to weed out unsafe drivers.