LAKE WORTH, Fla. (AP) – At 86, Sol Finkelstein leads an active life thanks to his driver’s license: It helps him get to the grocery store, see his doctor, and most importantly, join friends at daily luncheons at a local senior center.
But as state lawmakers consider a bill to require vision tests for drivers who are 80 and older, Finkelstein may face a new hurdle to get behind the wheel of his 1990 Oldsmobile.
“If I can’t pass the eye test, I’m finished,” said Finkelstein, who lives at a West Palm Beach retirement community and moved to Florida 20 years ago from New York City.
The Senate bill passed unanimously Thursday and its House companion is expected to be considered before lawmakers adjourn next week.
Nationally, older drivers in 37 states don’t have to meet any special requirements to renew their licenses, though several have more stringent standards than those proposed in Florida, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an industry research group.
Maine starts testing drivers’ vision after their 40th birthdays and drivers 50 and older must take a vision test in Oregon. In New Hampshire and Illinois, drivers renewing their licenses who are 75 and older have to take a road test.
To meet the new Florida requirement, applicants could be tested at driver’s license offices, or if renewing by mail, submit a form signed by a physician confirming that their vision is adequate.
After years of opposing similar measures, AARP Florida and its 2.6 million members lent its support to the legislation. Before, state Rep. Irv Slosberg said most lawmakers believed it would have been “political suicide” to vote for it.
Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, who represents more elderly drivers than any other House member, said the bill will probably only remove a small percentage of drivers but will make the roads safer for everyone.
Lyn Bodiford, AARP’s state affairs coordinator, said the advocacy group changed its stance because lawmakers agreed to consider related issues, such as finding ways to improve transportation for those who can no longer drive and creating a task force to help keep elderly drivers on the road as long as possible.
“Our entire culture is oriented to the car and certainly seniors are no different than the rest of us,” Bodiford said.
“But it’s no excuse to have someone who’s impaired driving on the road because it serves their independence.”
Howard Holt, who is still driving at 90, said states should look beyond testing drivers’ eyesight alone.
“Testing their vision doesn’t really prove much,” said Holt, a Lake Worth retiree who avoids driving at night. “My trouble is not with my eyes, but it takes me too long to think of something sometimes.”
Elderly drivers have higher rates of fatal crashes than all but the youngest drivers, especially per mile driven, largely due to their increased susceptibility to injury, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports.
Despite concerns, Finkelstein and other older drivers say they’ll risk taking the exam to get some of their less-capable contemporaries off the road.
“If you can’t see, then you shouldn’t drive. Period,” said Finkelstein, who wears bifocals.
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On the Net:
AARP Florida: http://www.aarp.org/fl
Florida Legislature: http://www.leg.state.fl.us
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: http://www.hwysafety.org
AP-ES-04-25-03 0249EDT
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