Drivers: we're all getting older

I spent the morning at a symposium on aging drivers, and it certainly opened my eyes. I'll be putting together a full article on it, but even before I get into that, it's given me a lot to ponder.

I watched my grandfather lose his license, and my father-in-law, and it was not an easy experience for either of them. The symposium touched on a lot of issues, such as restricted licensing rather than simply taking the license away; how to realize when you're no longer able to drive, and the need to self-regulate; issues surrounding alternatives, such as lack of public transit, especially in a rural area such as where I live; and whether elderly drivers are overrepresented in crash statistics.

Time catches up to you before you even realize it's there. Yesterday, I was 25, or so it seems; the reality is that I'll be 50 next winter. I like to think I'm as sharp as I ever was, especially since I've had the opportunity to take numerous driving and racing instructions thanks to my job. But when I stop and look at it with an objective eye, I do notice that I don't drive as fast as I used to, and I tend to wait a couple of seconds longer to be sure that traffic has cleared before I make my turns. I also find that I make more "final checks" than I used to do -- and I know it's because I'm making sure I haven't misgauged the speed of oncoming cars.

So given that, will I know when the time comes? Will I be smart enough to say that I'm not fit to do this, or will I be the senior citizen who needs intervention before I'll give up a license I no longer deserve to hold?

It's a tough thing, this getting older, especially since we all feel that we're the first people to ever go through it. When my grandfather was 95, he was interviewed by a magazine, and he said that he didn't recognize the old, wrinkled man he saw in the mirror. I was 33 at the time and didn't understand what he meant. It was a bit of a shock the day I looked in the mirror and did.