It’s a Matter of Safety—But Whose?

June 29, 2026

 

In a truly bizarre twist on the issue of elderly people who continue to drive, the State of Illinois has declared that people between the ages of 79 and 86 will no longer have to take the road test when they renew their driver’s licenses.

 

Now, I could see it if they skipped the written test: How many 79-year-olds can’t identify a Stop sign?

 

But to not have an actual road test, to see how well the vision and the reflexes and the judgment are working? That seems insane.

 

All I can think of is that the testers are too afraid to get in the car with some of the drivers, so they decided to skip that part.