More older drivers face licensing rules

WASHINGTON -- Jerry Wiseman notices it's harder to turn and check his car's blind spots at age 69 than it was at 50. So the Illinois man and his wife took a refresher driving course, hunting tips to stay safe behind the wheel for many more years -- a good idea, considering their state has arguably the nation's toughest older-driver laws.

More older drivers are on the road than ever before, and an Associated Press review found they face a hodgepodge of state licensing rules that reflect scientific uncertainty and public angst over a growing question: How can we tell if it's time to give up the keys?

Thirty states plus the District of Columbia have some sort of older-age requirement for driver's licenses, ranging from more vision testing to making seniors renew their licenses more frequently than younger people.

At what age? That's literally all over the map. Maryland starts eye exams at 40. Shorter license renewals kick in anywhere from age 59 in Georgia to 85 in Texas.

With an imminent surge in senior drivers, the federal government proposes that states take steps to address what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls "the real and growing problem of older driver safety."

Here's the conundrum: "Birthdays don't kill. Health conditions do," said Joseph Coughlin, head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AgeLab, which develops technologies to help older people stay active. Healthy older drivers aren't necessarily less safe than younger ones, he points out.

Older drivers don't crash as often as younger ones. But they drive less. About 60 percent of seniors voluntarily cut back, avoiding night driving or interstates or bad weather, said David Eby of University of Michigan's Center for Advancing Safe Transportation throughout the Lifespan.

The crash rate of older drivers begins to climb in the 70s, with a sharper jump at 80, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says. Teens and 20-somethings do worse.