Should there be a mandatory driving re-test for individuals over a certain age?

So im driving down the street the other day, knowing that im cutting my deadline close, when a fairly nice, larger car, pulls out in front of me and continues in the same direction as me. My initial reaction is whatever they just better make sure you keep going my speed. Not very much later, I find that the vehicle is traveling much slower than the flow should, or wanted to be traveling at. With my deadline approaching and the fact that they shouldn’t have pulled out in front of me while I was advancing, started to make me upset. Road rage if you will.

Further down the road, with more cars lining up behind me, I started to examine who was in the car ahead. Not to my surprise, the impeding car was full of senior citizens. Knowing all of the stereotypes about seniors, I know their not going to speed up and the only way I’m getting around them is if they turn off the road. The enlightenment of this fact starts to upset me ever more.

Needless to say, I was missed my deadline that normally should have been easy to make by any normal driver at a normal speed. So upon arriving at my destination, it finally occurred to me where this carload of seniors was traveling to, the HOSPITAL. Well, at least these seniors decided to carpool to the hospital rather than take four different cars and have four times the slow drivers on the road at once.

But this leads me to the question, “Should there be a mandatory driving re-test for individuals over a certain age?” My belief is YES!! People above the age of 63 should in fact be made, on the suggestion of their doctor, are made to retake their driving tests. Now many of you might say, “Well its there right to be able to drive.” This is true, however, you had to prove you could drive to get your license in the first place. You should have to prove that you could still drive, after a certain age. I use the age of 65 as a ballpark figure. My reasons for this are quite simple. As you increase in age, your reflexes diminish. You tend to travel slower because you don’t feel safe traveling at a faster speed. But does going slower make it less safe than going faster? Maybe not for you as you drive your own car, BUT it becomes riskier for every other driver on the road around you. That’s why we have regulated speeds, so everyone knows how fast everyone else should be going. If you’re a senior and pull out and continue to impede traffic, the cars behind you maybe get into an accident just because of the unexpected slow speed of their vehicles.

Im not saying that all seniors shouldn’t be allowed to operate a motorized vehicle, im just saying that they should be made to prove they can SAFETLY operate that vehicle after a certain age.

Snailman,

Should you lose your cool or not?

When we get upset, some of us would lose our cool and raise our voice, possibly make a scene, or even start to swear. Others might simply do nothing, let it the situation pass by and take what ever happens with a grain of salt. What would you do in a situation that made you upset? Would you take the way of the over-reactor, or would you take the calm, cool route?? My suggestion to you is a combination of both.

A while back my girlfriend, lets call her snailwoman, booked a conference with a well, internationally known Hotel chain. Booking with a company like this, would offer most of us comfort, especially after you have confirmed your reservations several times before. Not this time. Apparently the rooms got over booked and they had to be roomed at a different location. If this happened to you, you would expect to have better accommodations than you would originally have had. Unfortunately they didn’t get this kind of treatment. They were put up in a hotel room that you wouldn’t wish upon your worst mother-in-law.

Do you think she started to scream and yell when this happened? Would you have? Or would you wait and calmly complain later on? After talking with her boss, she calmly but firmly complained to the Hotel chain. She didn’t lose her cool, raise her voice, or start to swear. Some of you might be saying, “That’s not what I would have done!” If this is your response, you need to read the conclusion before embarking on your next complaint.

The long and short of the story is, well I write this to you, while sitting in a $500 a night hotel room, with its own Jacuzzi. Jacuzzi and wine, combined with the knowledge that it’s all free, should be enough of a reason for you to keep calm next time you get shafted.

Did I mention the Jacuzzi and the free $500 night?? I think I did. The answer is, lose your cool, but do it calmly and effectively.

Snailman,