NEWARK, N.J., October 12 – Three legislators have warned that senior citizen drivers over 65 may need retesting, limited licenses, and restricted hours of driving time because the number of car accidents involving seniors is rising.

The legislators however stopped short of fully endorsing those plans because such a drastic move would involve one million drivers in the state who are over 65 and already fed up with high taxation and wasteful spending.

The sponsors of the legislation who want to do something about the high accident rates among senior drivers have instead called for a state transportation plan they call The Uniform Senior Citizens Safe Driving Health Centers and Protection of Senior Citizen Pedestrians and Automobile Passengers Act.

It calls for the Transportation Department to come up with an action plan to stress the transportation needs and driving practices of senior citizen residents and develop strategies to promote their safety.

At the same time it would require auto insurance companies to give a 10 percent discount to any senior completing a state approved driving course.

Insurance companies, however, treat senior drivers the same way as they do other adult drivers with equal rates, and dont consider them a group as risky behind the wheel as teenagers, beginner drivers, or the thousands of male operators between 20 and 30 who are rated higher than the rest of the adult drivers, including seniors.

In fact if a senior completes a driving course in any of the 18 state-approved driving schools, the senior gets a 10 percent reduction in their car insurance rates.

Sponsors Justify Legislation

Regardless, the reposed legislation is needed because, the sponsors said, senior citizens over 65 are now confronting a crisis of safety on our highways both in New Jersey and in the nation.

This legislation has failed to pass the past four years, but has now been reintroduced.

The three sponsors are State Senators Bob Smith (D-Middlesex County), Fred Madden (D-Burlington County), and Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer (R-Burlington County). They urge something be done to curb the tragic automobile accidents involving drivers over 65.

Their statement declares, Understandably, senior citizens are wary of any proposal that would restrict their use of a personal motor vehicle. The ability to operate a vehicle affords them mobility in a state where alternate transportation is often not available.

The sponsors add, It is fitting and appropriate that this state undertake the development of a comprehensive plan of action that will assess the transportation needs of senior citizen residents and recommend voluntary consensual, workable, and effective measures to enhance the safety of its senior citizen drivers and pedestrians.

While this plan must be thorough and objective, it should also recognize the importance of a motor vehicle to senior citizens as a means of mobility and as a connection.

High Accident Rates

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, drivers over age 75 had a higher rate of fatal accidents nationwide in 2001 and 2002 than any age group except for teenagers.

Additionally, New Jersey State Police reports from 1995-2000 show an increase of older persons involved fatal traffic accidents, while traffic fatalities in the same period for all age groups under 50 declined.

The number of older licensed drivers aged 75 to 84 went to 314,000, and the number of persons 65 or older in this state is expected to more than double by the year 2030.

Latest motor vehicle figures show that there are 1.3 million drivers over 60 years of age who have license. Of that number 666,350 are over 70 years of age, and 245,000 of them over 80 years of age. In fact, there are 40 persons over 100 who have drivers licenses, but they are solely used for identification.

Fifteen other states require accelerated license renewal for older drivers, i.e., instead of renewals every four years they are renewed every two years or even annually. Illinois and New Hampshire require a road test for applicants over age 75. Florida and Virginia require vision tests for drivers over 80.

New Jersey, too, has a law requiring vision tests, but it was never implemented.