It's not strictly american. I'm not american, and here we have plenty of elderly drivers, it makes me worried when I see them. Luckily we have good public transport too.

Ok everything except the first to lines is entirely irrelevant. I'm sure if an elderly bus driver drove into someone they would be dragged along for much longer

Too bad there's no Internet.

We could go with tried and true methods, like trains, buses, etc. Much better overall result, but yes, not a simple change.

In any case, the sooner we take the steering wheel out of human hands, the better. Too many people are unfit to drive.

Many middle-class Boomers are are emotionally invested in their houses, which locks them into their cars. They were taught to tie their self worth to their big house in the suburbs, and our car-based transportation infrastructure was designed to get them into those houses. Now they are living in houses they do not need in low-density areas but they will not move not because they like driving, but because they cannot imagine living in an apartment.

My mom does not like cars, does not like driving, and is not a safe driver, but will not consider moving out of her house that she has been in for forty years. So she keeps driving.

Most people that have reached the point of the person in that article would probably spend less just hiring a cab when necessary than they do on car maintenance, gas, insurance... It doesn't solve the issue for rural elders, that's all.

This coupled with the amount of accidents and deaths on our roadways, it really should be a no brainer that we recertify frequently. Some trades have some fields that require frequent retesting, first aid training requires renewal, but cars get a pass. I think big auto and oil would have a strong push back on any of this legislation because it could add barriers to their profits. Grandma can't drop her retirement fund on a new SUV if she fails the recert.

Ok, then they buy an f150 instead.