windcatcher
New Member
Bob Alkire said:
I agree with Bob. I was in my 50's before I trained and drove an 18 wheeler. Many of the truck drivers are over 50 and I ran into some that were in their 80's. Safe driving has a lot to do with alertness and attention and knowing how to 'read the road'. One only learns how to 'read the road' through experience....provided they were attentive and alert during that time of gaining experience.
Young people get into or cause many accidents because of impulse driving, multi tasking, and distractions. They haven't learned through practice, how to think ahead and plan moves, so their own actions can sudden and appear erractic enough to confuse other drivers.
The elderly, on the other hand, have profited from their experience on the road and also their experiences with life which has taught them caution and forward thinking. Their driving limitations are more aptly connected with impairment of the senses such as eye disorders, decreased hearing, and slowing reflexes. However, an experienced elderly driver is more apt to adjust to these limitations, and some restrict their driving to only certain roads and/or certain times for these very reasons of wanting to arrive safely and not having to compete with heavier and unpredictable traffic.
Note: I avoided the alzeheimer or dementia complaint in this discussion BECAUSE any mental imparity at ANY age should be evaluated with a strong leaning towards driving restrictions. Impairments may be temporary, such as the influence of medication or lack of sufficient sleep, or more pronouced, such as active hallucinations which interfere with observation and responding to reality, or chronic but intermittant, such as epilepsy uncontrolled, or extreme fluctuations in glucose levels in the uncontrolled diabetic. In these cases it is the condition, not the age, which is the factor of concern.
Edited to add: Ooooopsy! My apologies for going off topic to all you guys and gals!
Returning to gun education: I side with education. Education is essential for safe handling of a gun, if one chooses to own one or comes in possession of one. It is a constitutional right which needs support to be preserved and exercise. Remove the mystery about guns, with proper instruction on safe handleing, and kids, themselves, are less likely to be impressed by another kid bragging and wanting to 'show off' a weapon, or finding one and 'trying to see how it works'..... which is a natural product of their curiosity and unfamiliarity with the hazards of such.
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