Quote:
Originally Posted by Norm Peterson
It is impossible to set a blanket age beyond which everybody's driving skill set has become inadequate. About ten years ago when I was autocrossing there was this one older gent who did well against much younger competitors in this fast-paced and frantic sort of driving event. He used to run the same car number as his age, and the last time I recall seeing him it was #82. My money - on a course previously unseen - would have been on him to run a better time and hit fewer cones than well over half the members of Camaro5 regardless of age. Maybe he was an outlier, but that's still evidence that with decent health, exceptionally good driving skills can be maintained well into one's senior years.
I'll be 69 this fall . . . you may find that the knee-jerk sort of answers that appeal to you today will have lost some of their luster a few years (decades?) from now. This might be one of them.
Norm
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To play devil's advocate though, they set blanket restrictions on the other end of the spectrum with minimum ages, based on generalized national data. There are people mature enough to drink before age 21 (most do anyway), and skilled enough to drive before 16. Not saying the ages should be changed or a maximum driving age should be set, just pointing that out. There should be regular recert tests every X amount of years, or after you reach age X. Good drivers like your autocross guy will carry on, and the dangers to public safety, regardless of age, will be taken off the road.