I had to think about all of the very valid points that have been made thus far and have a reverse situation: why is too young, too young? Certainly there are many young people out there who have the mental and physical wherewithal to drive a school bus but because of their age, they cannot. There is a start up driving age for private vehicles and I imagine that there are some local rules and regulations that also apply to when a person is old enough to drive a school bus. In this case, we have an aged lady who I imagine has driven a school bus for the last 50 years or so and probably the same route day in and day out during the school year. (Mere supposition of course) She probably knows every doctor, lawyer, and trash collector that previously rode her bus when they were children which might make it all the more painful to say nice job and it's time to sit down and let the 30 year olds get a chance. I am seriously trying not to be cold hearted but if there are rules about the age when someone is deemed by the laws of insurance averages concerning a starting age then there should, in kind, be an ending date also. If someone reaches the end age then offer them a desk job or give them their gold watch, a farewell party and a nice pension wherever possible. I know, I too really want to be superman all the days I have on this earth but there will come a time when I will have to realize that my cape is rumpled and I'll have to stick to leaping over ant hills in my yard because even the shortest building will be too tall challenge.
I think if you know something about an older person that would make them dangerous driving, I think we should report them even if it means they'll not be able to drive ....better one person ticked off than a family dead. I'm pretty sure people with seizures shouldn't be driving or even on medical marijuana....I don't know what the law is for that though. I know recreational is the same as drunk driving though.
Although some of the people I worked with have retired, become nurses, doctors, or have gone on to do other thing with their lives, many of them are still working in EMS, driving ambulance Code 3, lifting patients, and so on. Yet, without having actual numbers in front of me, it seems to me that most of the accidents involving EMS personnel driving emergency vehicles involve those on the younger end of the scale, as eighteen is the minimum age in most states. While there may be some deterioration of reflexes or eyesight, I am thinking that this might be more than balanced by the fact that these EMS veterans have gotten over the initial thrill of driving fast, with lights and siren blasting, and are more likely to recognize that many cases don't require rapid transport. There is also the fact that EMS veterans are more likely to be paramedics rather than EMT-Basics, and are more likely to be in the back with the patient rather than driving, yet many EMS systems today staff two paramedics together and use their lower-level EMTs for non-emergencies. I left EMS because I had hurt myself seriously while lifting a patient. I don't think that my driving abilities are seriously impaired yet, and would feel comfortable driving an emergency vehicle.
Perhaps a little research might be appropriate in order to arrive at some conclusions using age brackets with a per capita scale involving " professional" drivers. Local DMV or even the more responsible auto insurance companies might have some figures to enlighten us all.
I have been driving since I was fourteen on the back road and highways and byways of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. I'm turning 84 next month. My drivers license is good thru 2019, but for the past six years I have been driving subject to my physical condition as derived by an MD and by an appropriate eye doctor. I don't drive into OKC on the interstate any longer and my eyesight will not allow me to drive night. I drive to the barber shop, to the bank periodically, to the grocery market on a regular basis, and visit my son and his family here in Norman. When in August this I will no longer seek an examination of my physical but will advise the Medical Board that advises the State Patrol that I no longer wish to go through the hassle of obtaining permission to drive in the State of Oklahoma. If I had been driving a bus and I have had a commercial or a license to haul passengers and have since I was sixteen,I would have quit this before my 75th birthday. To drive commercial vehicles or buses I feel drivers should be tested periodically. I know there are seniors older than I who are more capable of safe driving than some of the sixteen, seventeen, or older drivers the testing officers turn loose upon our streets and highways but I am not one of them. I think its time I quit. I'll use Uber or some other method to get around after this summer. I always thought I ride a bicycle when I gave up driving but I can no longer pump myself down a street. I do not have the lung capacity or the energy to power myself to walk a block from the house then I cannot get back home on my own. I have advanced COPD and have survived my second heart attack but it has left me a weakling. My primary activity is my computer and my harmonica. My computer has not been active for a while except for an occasional visit to Facebook or to read newspapers around the world. HopefullyI will be tapping the keys again eat soon. I enjoy playing my harmonica. I can play better than I ever hoped to but I play best the old gospel hymns that were sung when I grew up in a small church. I can still remember them work for word but I have trouble remembering todays music: rock, country, bluegrass. I bought an old shaped notes songbook at a garage sale on my street last year. Surprising it was hardly used. But from it I can tell the key in which it was written and can play a song in that key. At first it frustrated me because all I could think to play was religious music but I have come to enjoy it, playing some with great respect, others giving a bluesy feel. Apologies, I have gotten off subject and have begun to ramble.
I feel younger drivers lack experience, and men being testosterone driven in their youth often take more risks, so I would make a minimum age of say 30 for school buses, and possibly large vehicles in general. I had a few accidents in my late teens/early twenties but none since. There is evidence that a persons reflex actions do not noticeably slow with age, but other health factors could make the older driver unsafe of course................ironically we have had several truck and bus accidents recently in the UK, involving men in their 50s suffering blackouts and heart attacks....so health affects all ages. I feel the majority of seniors instinctively sense when they should stop, but not all I guess..
Totally agree! And, stop all the different iPhone stuff that goes on (texting, checking e-mail and on and on). Wear the seatbelt, slow down, but, drive with the speed of traffic!
Setting aside the “too old” concept for a moment, some folks in Tokyo put on their thinking caps and came up with something for seniors who have dementia to do. I’m not sure if I would like to frequent the restaurant due to the fact that if I order a hamburger I wouldn’t want squid to show up at the table. Edit: Apparently the venture was meant to expose the public to folks with dementia and though successful in that respect it only lasted for 3 days. I provided a link below the picture so folks can get a better understanding of what they were doing. https://mymodernmet.com/waiters-dementia-restaurant-tokyo/
Whether he seen her or saw her I’m sure that there are others who might have some reservations regarding the age of a bus driver. Note: I can almost hear George W. Bush saying the sentence exactly as Cody wrote it. Alas, if the parents trust her then there must be a reason for that trust and that’s all that really counts.
My take on all this is you have an objective test (or some way to measure capacity) that everyone is given in each situation (like driver's licensing), and you either pass or you don't. -There are no exceptions for a young person who fails but "has to have a license to survive" -There are no exceptions for an old person who passes but "is too old"
No offense Cody but someone of any age could have this happen at any time. There are people who have seizures that shouldn't be driving that do. What's to stop them from lying and driving a bus? I know a guy in his 20s that has seizures and he's driving around with his kid in the car. If she's capable of doing the job and doing it right then so be it.