Free Republic

Pressure is building on state lawmakers to monitor elderly drivers more closely, renewing the heated, politically sensitive debate over whether seniors should have to prove their continued fitness to drive. Massachusetts, like many states, does not have testing for older drivers, other than universally administered eye tests. Advocates for the elderly have sharply opposed age-based oversight as discriminatory, and noted that the state prohibits age discrimination in licensing.

PINELLAS PARK - When the exam was over and score tallied, John Cox felt his spirit sag. He failed his driver's license test. "You're going to see a lot of me until I get my license," he promised the man behind the desk. Cox returned a month later in July and passed. His license is valid through 2010. "I'll be 103 then," Cox said Friday. "I'll keep driving until I can't. I don't let age get to me." The often difficult issue about elderly drivers resurfaced this week when a pedestrian was killed by a 93-year-old man who drove 3...

Since moving to Miami from California 18 months ago, Arnold Dejesus has narrowly escaped getting run over twice while crossing the street. Once, the 36-year-old salesman was so angry he kicked the offending car. Dejesus says Florida's roads are extremely dangerous for pedestrians, and according to a private study released Thursday, he is right. The study by the Washington, D.C.-based Surface Transportation Policy Project says Florida's roads are the nation's most dangerous for people walking along them. Tampa ranked first among the state's metropolitan areas with 3.69 pedestrian deaths annually per 100,000 people. Orlando was next with 3.15, and Miami-Fort...