FOX6 Investigators ask, "How old is too old to drive?"
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Some say age is just a number. But how safe would you feel sharing the road with a 100-year-old driver? Believe it or not, there are 217 drivers age 100 or older with valid Wisconsin licenses. And 278,000 over the age of 75.
How old is too old to drive?
That's a question state lawmakers have been grappling with for years. And while they do, tales of elderly drivers who pose a danger on the road keep piling up.
Perhaps the most notable examples are those of wrong-way drivers on Milwaukee area interstate highways. The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office reports that most wrong-way drivers are drunk. But some are simply confused.
On May 18, 2012, an 81-year-old Muskego woman drives the wrong way on I-94 near Rawson. Her license had not been renewed since she was 73. She no longer has a license.
Like an 81-year-old Muskego woman who got onto I-94 by entering at an exit ramp. DOT cameras captured frightening video of her 3-mile journey headed south in the northbound lanes, as dozens of panicked drivers flooded 911 dispatchers with emergency calls.
That driver is one among thousands who are referred each year to the DMV for reevaluation of their driving ability.
The FOX6 Investigators obtained one week's worth of so-called "Driver Condition or Behavior" reports filed by police. In just one week, we found 58 examples of licensed drivers with serious medication issues, seizures, blackouts, vision problems and confusion or disorientation.
Like a Sheboygan woman who drove to McDonald's, then left her car there for three days with the windows down and cash in the front seat. When police came to her home, she told them she didn't own a car and she thought it was 1978. Her son told police he was worried that she might hurt someone. He eventually took away the keys.
"I just gave 'em up," the elderly driver told the FOX 6 Investigators.
"You thought that was the right thing to do?" asked FOX 6's Bryan Polcyn.
"Right," she replied.
Ripon Police Chief Dave Lukoski says when families can't convince a loved one to stop driving, they sometimes turn to law enforcement for help.
"I think it is a tough situation that a lot of family members have to make and a lot of times they prefer somebody else make them," Lukoski says."
Other times, police act on their own.
"Do you currently have a drivers license?" asks FOX 6's Bryan Polcyn.
"I've got it in my billfold," answers a 95-year-old Ripon man, who recently had his license taken away.
Last fall, the man called police to help find his missing car. He'd forgotten where he left it. When police ran his name in their computers, they saw that he'd also been involved in a traffic accident the previous year, in which he blew a stop sign and rammed into another car.
Police asked the state to give him a re-test. But he doesn't think he'll take it.
"I don't think I am. I'm 95 and I'm gettin' near my end of my..." he says, as his voice trails off.
"You know, we all have elderly parents," Lukoski says. "And you just hope the time doesn't come."
"It's an independence issue," says Jonathan Safran, a personal injury lawyer who says he's seeing an increase in drivers in their 80s, and even 90s, crashing into other drivers.
"We anticipate that is going to increase over time as the average age seems to be increasing too," Safran said.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says there are more than 22-million drivers in America aged 70 and older. And as baby boomers age, that number will nearly double by the year 2030 to 42-million. The IIHS says older drivers are already involved in more fatal crashes per mile driven than other age groups, especially once they reach the age of 75.
State Senator Fred Risser, age 86, is preparing to introduce a bill that would require drivers 75 and older to undergo license renewals every 4 years instead of every 8 years.
Now Wisconsin State Senator Fred Risser (D - Madison) is preparing to introduce a bill that would require drivers age 75 and older to get more frequent license renewals.
"When a person has to go and renew their license it makes them think about it," Risser says.
20 states currently have accelerated license renewal cycles for elderly drivers, but not Wisconsin. And of the 30 states without special restrictions for older drivers, Wisconsin has the longest license renewal cycle. Just once every 8 years.
"Eight years is way too long," Risser says. "I know they put it in at the time saying we will save money, because we don't have to do it so often. But I think it costs money because people change. Their eyes change. Their body changes in 8 years time."
Remember that 81-year-old wrong way driver? She had not renewed her license since she was 73. And under Wisconsin state law, she didn't have to.
"I am 86," Risser points out. "Should I get my renewal, which I will get next year, and should I have it for 8 years?"
He pauses to do the math.
"I'll be 95 or something when it's up," Risser said.
"I think it is appropriate to do some additional testing to ensure the safety of the public," Safran says.
Risser has not yet introduced a bill, but he says it will require drivers 75 and older to go through a license renewal once every 4 years, instead of 8. That means more frequent eye exams, too.
"That's good because eyes do change. I know," Risser says.
But even before it's introduced, Risser's bill faces an uphill battle.
Former State Assemblyman Sheldon Wasserman tried in 2003, 2005 and again in 2007 to pass accelerated license renewals for older drivers. He failed every time.
"Elderly and older individuals are more apt to vote," Safran points out. "I think there is a political component to it.'
Risser has one distinct advantage. He's an elderly driver, too.
"It would certainly apply to me," Risser said.
He says he doesn't want to push older drivers off the road if they're still capable. But he hoping more frequent trips to the DMV will give them pause to consider if it's time to hang up the keys for good.
Senator Risser expects to formally introduce the bill by the end of the year.
If you know of an elderly driver who is not safe to drive, you can file a "Driver Condition or Behavior" report with DMV. You can even ask that your identity remain confidential, though DMV says there's no guarantee a judge would honor that agreement if the driver insists on knowing who reported them.
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