Difficulties In Charging Elderly Drivers With Reckless Driving

Law enforcement in Denton has recently spoken about the difficulties presented in arresting elderly drivers. Recently, authorities pulled over an elderly driver after receiving reports that the driver had been headed the wrong way down a street. The driver ignored commands by law enforcement to roll down the vehicle’s windows and eventually the motorist drove away. The woman was charged with evading arrest. Drivers like this motorist present Denton law enforcement with the obstacle of deciding whether to let the driver continue operating a vehicle or perform an arrest. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that motor vehicle collisions were the second leading cause of injury death for individuals between the ages of 65 to 84 in 2014. Reckless driving is a category that includes a variety of criminal and dangerous types of driving, but with senior citizens most often includes blindly backing out of parked positions, failure to remain within a lane, speeding, traveling at an excessively slow rate, and using the wrong brake or gas pedal.

License Requirements for Senior Citizen

Legislators in the state of Texas attempted to curb the number of crash fatalities in 2007 by passing Katie’s Law, which requires individuals older than 79 to renew their licenses in person aand take a vision test in addition to requiring drivers over the age of 85 to renew their licenses in person every two years. In many cases, law enforcement will still call a member of the senior citizen’s family if that individual is unable to drive and has not been involved in an accident. Law enforcement in Denton emphasizes that senior citizens greatly value their independence and in many cases require motor vehicle to visit required locations like doctor’s offices and pharmacies.

If a person has concerns about a senior citizen driver, the Texas Department of Safety accepts written concerns about drivers who might potentially have conditions that could affect their ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Some of the medical conditions from which elderly drivers might suffer include delayed reaction times, difficulty concentrating, epilepsy, loss of depth perception, medication side effects, mental disturbances, stiffened neck, and vision problems.

License Restrictions for Elderly Drivers

The Texas Department of Public Safety has the power to place restrictions on a senior citizen’s driver’s license after conduct a driving test and discussing potential limitations. A large number of senior citizen receive the restriction on their driver’s license that they are required to wear corrective contact lenses or glasses. Other types of restrictions that can be placed on a licensed by the Texas Department of Public Safety include daytime only driving, driving only when another driver over the age of 21 is in the front seat, no freeway driving, not traveling over 45 miles per hour, required hearing aids while driving, and using automatic transmissions, outside mirrors, or power steering with motor vehicles.

Contact a Skilled Criminal Defense Attorney

Criminal convictions can result in some substantial complications. If you are charged with a crime, consider obtaining the assistance of a seasoned criminal defense attorney like the legal counsel at Wheeler Law Office today.

(image courtesy of Gabriel Santiago)