Elderly Driver 'Blacked Out' Before Crashing Into Deputy

Tragic..RIP Sgt.Whitmore.

Bump Robocop33; having a DL is a privilege; not a right. For the safety of the general public, older drivers should be tested more frequently to see if they are physically and mentally able to safely operate a motor vehicle.

You gotta know when it's time to give up the license...RIP

Two terrible tragedies in Central Fl in a week's time. God bless and be safe out there all.
RIP brothers.

RIPB

Tell you what, At 79 yrs old he should have been tested every year, period. I damn near lost my life myself to an elderly driver and because of him I have been disabled and in consistent pain for over 25 yrs now. I also had my career in a job I dearly loved cut short because he was unable to operate aMV safely and pulled out directly in front of a police unit operating lights and siren which he did not notice and truth be told he didn't much care as he had that "I'm a senior an can do what I want" attitude. I guess I am more angry than most because this incident killed a LEO and an elderly driver nearly killed me and I still see them on the roads daily.
I see this on a daily basis down here in Fl. and at his age either he or someone should have known better than to allow him to drive without having a physical and retest for his DL.
We are not taking away anyone's "rights" by requiring we check older drivers anymore than we are taking away the rights of anyone that is not competent to drive. Will they continue to drive anyway? Maybe some will but most will not and that alone will save many lives.
I am sure Maine State Police have some great guys and some that are very good in traffic but come on, how many Interstates do they patrol when compared to Calif or NY and other States?While the size of the State isn't always the most important determining factor, (South Dakota had maybe the best traffic guys), it certainly helps.
Bottom line, we need to make the streets safer and one of the immediate ways would be to re-test older drivers more often rather than just send them a renewal by mail every 6 yrs or so.

Robo I was a plain old street cop doing traffic and DUI enforcement for many years. I started out as a Maine State Police cadet back in the early 90s assigned to one of their best traffic troops so I know what goes on on the road. I'm still doing traffic enforcement in my current job around a bunch of kids who seem to think that texting their friends while holding a Starbucks cup in their teeth and steering with their elbows is OK. I've worked my share of fatalities and even lost a good friend from Snohomish County a few years back who was trying to help get a stolen car suspect into custody. Yes at times I do make assumptions about people, but I try and make them lean towards the positive side of life instead of developing a "us vs them" attitude and becoming another burnt out cynical cop. I have to believe in the basic goodness of people until they give me proof that they are badguys so that I don't stop trying to make the world a better place for the people I care about.

Are all people over 65 poor drivers? No, they aren't but there are some people who don't belong behind a wheel, for whatever reason regardless of age. Would having mandatory retesting of licenses after age 65 cure this problem? Not to the levels we all would hope for if the number of suspended and revoked licenses I have come across doing traffic enforcement is any indication of people's willingness to disobey the law. How far do we push regulating people's lives before they start calling us oppressive thugs (well more than they do already)? Do we get to the point of the fascist police in "1984" or do we at least attempt to preserve the freedoms this country stands for?

We don't live in a perfect society or a perfect world. I understand this and I am not making excuses for Saunders. All I was trying to do is get folks to stop and think for a moment before demonizing a man none of us know for having a tragic accident I am positive he wishes never happened. if it turns out that Saunders did anything at all to deliberately cause this accident and to take Sgt. Whitmore's life I will happily apologize to everyone here for assuming that Saunders was a decent man who ended up in a horrific circumstance.