Driver found dead behind wheel, co driver in bunk

and i understand everybody "ages" differently.. with all the new breakthroughs in life extension products, fitness, etc.. today's 70 is not the same as 70 twenty years ago nor will it be the same as twenty years from now.. all im saying is that common sense would dictate you shouldnt be driving a truck in an OTR environment at 70 ..at the very least his medical records should be reviewed with a fine tooth comb to see if anything was "overlooked" at the public's expense to keep him on the road. Either way, I say in most cases the aging effects associated with 70 would hamper the ability to do the job safely no matter how skilled the driver was in his younger whipper snapper years.

 

70 is too old to drive?

 

if your talking about a Class A commercial motor vehicle in an OTR environment then I would say most likely it is unsafe to the public, and at the very least should have stricter medical requirements & yearly skill testing.

I would hope at 70 you are retired and playing golf or maybe teaching at a CDL school.

 

About a year ago I was getting loaded at a small place in nowhere Michigan. Got talking to this other driver there. I took him to be mid 50's or so. This dude was full of energy, appeared to be in great shape. He was telling some stories about the old days somehow his age came up. 73 years old, I couldn't believe it. Anyway, this guy was fit as hell, loved that he was still able to do what he loves and his only complaint was the affect his age has on insurance. I guess the insurance companies agree with you about age, and no doubt what they do is based on real statistics, but I have absolutely no concerns about sharing the road with that guy.

 

I used to drive charter bus. Whenever I was local I would often run with a driver who was in his 70s. He had retired from one company and was driving local for another. Local, because that was what he wanted to do.
His reactions were always appropriate, his safety record was perfect he took his job seriously and always paid perfect attention. I can tell you with absolute certainty that if my family had been on a bus I would much rather have known that he was at the controls than almost any of the younger drivers that I worked with. He was an EXCELLENT driver

 

When I was with maverick there was a driver in his 70's. Had been flatbedding for over 40 years. Heck of a nice guy and was fast at securing and tarping.

 

And this coming from a rookie!

 

It's quite possible for people to have a heart attack at almost any age. 30,50,70,90 really makes little difference any more. Besides, if it's what he loved to do,more power to him for driving for as long as he wants so long as he can qualify.

The REASON we have 65 set as the age for retirement dates back to when Social Security was first being legislated. Back then that was the life expectancy of most workers and the idea was there would be a surplus of funds by having people work until they were about to die!

As to your last sentiment, how does the discussion of women in the armed forces have ANYTHING to do with the age of CMV drivers? The French, Italian, and Greek underground fighters proved during WWII that women could fight and kill just as well as men. The Viet Cong did a pretty good job of it also! Wanna see my scars? Oh ya, check out the stats of women flyers in Israel's Air Force. Like NANA always infers "Don't ever underestimate women".