MA considers new elderly driver rules

UNDATED (WPRI) - Massachusetts lawmakers are considering revising license laws, by adding increased restrictions on elderly drivers, after a series of deadly accidents in the Bay State.

The new rules would require drivers 85 and older to be re-tested every five years in order to keep their licenses.

The restrictions are being considered after several accidents involving senior citizens, including the crash that killed 4-year-old Dia Patel in Stoughton last summer.

Patel was crossing the street with her grandfather and two other siblings when she was struck by an elderly driver inside a crosswalk. Her family is now pushing for tougher laws.

Despite the recent accidents, the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration says senior citizens are responsible for only 10.6 percent of all fatal crashes within the United States. In Massachusetts that number climbed to 11.6 percent, and in Rhode Island it was just 6.4 percent, the second lowest in the country.

Experts say senior citizens have an increased chance of causing an accident within an intersection, due to a loss of peripheral vision.

In order to screen for this loss and help people become safer drivers as they get older, AAA of Southern New England has developed a new online program called Drive Sharp. They say the computer test can improve reaction time and cognitive ability at a surprising rate.

AAA is suggesting that all drivers take the test to determine if they have any driving limitations. Drive Sharp is now being used by several states.

Currently the Massachusetts bill that would require drivers 85 and older to pass a physical and mental fitness test every time they renew their license has stalled.