A great way to avoid all accusations of ageism is to re-administer both written and road tests to all licensed drivers every 5 years without exception. Plenty of people who are not teenagers or senior citizens shouldn't be driving a car, and I have been one of them.

I'm 33 and the last time I had a driving test was when I was 15 to get my learner's permit. Michigan did not require me to take a driving test for my license because I had passed my permit test. The last time I had a written test was 10 years ago when I moved to Oregon. They did not require me to take a driving test because my Michigan license was in good standing. That's crazy! Sure, I haven't gotten into any car accidents or been pulled over for speeding since I was 19, but how the heck do they know what kind of driver I am? They sure don't know last month was the first time I drove a car in 2 years, and they definitely do not know it was because an ear tumor and subsequent recovery from the surgery to remove it gave me too many balance and depth perception problems to feel comfortable driving a car. I wasn't even up to riding a bike until 5 months ago. Those were my choices. My doctor didn't even suggest it. I know had I been driving a car during one of those dizziness/tilting spells, I could have killed someone. What if I wasn't the kind of person who always considers the consequences of my actions and who accepts my physical limitations? What a menace I would have been!

And - if you fail the road test, you should have to go to traffic school or some kind of refresher course. Thus, we finally give the automobile the respect it deserves as a deadly weapon and acknowledge that drivers are operators of a deadly weapon.