Upper age limit for drivers?

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by REO6205, Jun 21, 2023.

Should there be an upper age limit on drivers? If so, what should it be?

Poll closed Jan 21, 2024.
  1. Yes, let them drive as long as they can pass the physical.

    71.6%
  2. No, geezers have no place on the road.

    4.1%
  3. 1 year physical for any driver over seventy

    33.8%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. skallagrime

    skallagrime Road Train Member

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    Do you think that is normal or likely in the general population? My dad is sharp... but not as sharp as he used to be, nor are his reaction times as good as his desired road speed
     
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  3. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    Normal is to be a henpecked P whipped (and haven’t got laid in over a decade, so the P whipping was residual), broken down, domesticated and mentally fragile walking dead type MF by the time you’re 50. So Dad is much better than average. Hence setting average rules is entirely unjust. Dad doesn’t have to be as good as he was, he just has to remain better than average.

    Kinda like the Tom Brady of trucking.
     
  4. skallagrime

    skallagrime Road Train Member

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    Bs, according to you, there should be no speed limits because it unfairly penalizes good drivers.

    The question posed at the outset was how should we deal with aging drivers, ive already pointed out that the rest of the motoring public is not great and proposed if not a fix, at least a potential remedy.

    Even If your grandfather is a trucking god, i dont really care, because such individuals will do fine, i am more concerned with reality, where age definitely DOES impact ability

    Oh wait, you agree with me but want your grandfather to be exempt because he's perfect

     
  5. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    None at all.

    No warnings on hot coffee either.
     
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  6. REO6205

    REO6205 Road Train Member

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    No warnings at all? I picked up a new bar for my 066 today and it had "Do not grasp while engine is running" on both sides. Good to know. :rolleyes:
     
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  7. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    No warnings, no guardrails, no DUI checkpoints, no HOS. Screw up=game over.
     
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  8. Snow Hater

    Snow Hater Medium Load Member

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    I was 68 when I got my CDL. There was another seasoned man in his early 80s going through orientation at the same time. I don't know how or if he's running after 3 years. I know he had a lot of years already. I've met other drivers, men and women, older than me, on the road.

    As for age limits, given what we've all seen out in the wild, no one should be able to get a CDL until age 30. Maybe, some of the stupid will have worn off by then. Hopefully, snowflakery isn't permanent. You know, dashboards littered with rainbows and unicorn farts and entitled drivers behind the wheel.

    I'm still going. Running 600+ miles/day is not a problem. I hate sitting.
    AGAIN, age is just a number. It's how you take care of your body and educate your mind (common sense for the slow kids.)
     
  9. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    I don’t think it’s an age issue, but a stupid issue. Stupid is a choice.

    You have 2 guys, age 23, looking at trucking. One because that’s what he’s always wanted to do, the other because he can’t do anything else. Same age, but the mentality is worlds apart. Locking out people younger than 30 hurts capable young people.

    A 21 yr old driver with diesel in his veins will more than likely outperform a 30 year old loser who looked to trucking as a last resort.
     
  10. OLDSKOOLERnWV

    OLDSKOOLERnWV Captain Redbeard

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    Well, back when Pop bought that near brand new 1988 Freightliner with the big flattop, big Cummins (444), 15 spd, just all decked out…. It was only a year old when pop drove it in on the lot, I was there that day.

    Couple months later Pop’s large car of that time era was slammed into the back of another flatbed in Tennessee. And the driver,,.? Well he was a young guy, so, did age have anything to do with wreck in reality?

    How many slam into the back of other trucks and cars during bad winters out west? Age related? I think not, at least not in every case.

    There’s men still out here today with millions of miles under their belt that are more qualified than guys 1/4 their age, but not every 70 or 80 year old person is in the same physical and mental health neither….
     
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  11. OLDSKOOLERnWV

    OLDSKOOLERnWV Captain Redbeard

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    As far as age and experience go…. you’ve heard me speak of my buddy with the 79 A model Kenworth I’m sure.

    He was setting in a Truckstop couple years ago taking a nap, engine off and windows down.

    Gets rudely awakened when his truck starts shaking fiercely. He was on the very end of the row with the right side of his truck exposed to the parking lot, another truck on his left parked.

    Another driver comes through the lot and makes a left hand turn around my buddy’s truck looking for a spot to park. Lots of room evident in the pictures, but guy still destroyed the new chrome original style bumper of the A model, as well as busted and he hood around the headlights.

    Keep in mind, plenty of room, and making a left swing around the parked row of trucks which would be visible in his mirror as well as just looking out the window.

    Guy was 61 years old and had been driving for 18 months, never drove nothing but a car before. Just got a wild hair to drive truck, but had No experience nor knowledge beforehand….
     
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