Driving While Elderly is an example of why we have Reason magazine:
A study reported in the journal Human Factors finds “young drivers’ reaction times slow to that of a 70-year-old when they operate a vehicle while talking on a cell phone.” This is meant to be an indictment of cell phones, of course, but it could also be taken as an argument against letting the elderly drive. They’re just as impaired as a teenager talking on a cell phone!The Washington Times story also mentions a 2003 study in which “the researchers concluded that motorists who talk on cell phones are more impaired than drunken drivers” — by which the Times means drivers with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or more. Again, the comparison is meant to show how dangerous cell phones are, but it could be turned around to question the fairness and wisdom of setting the legal BAC limit at .08 percent when it’s perfectly legal in almost all jurisdictions to use a cell phone while driving, which seems to be more dangerous.