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We may soon have 70 million boomers too old to drive, too car-dependent to stop.
(lloydalter.substack.com)
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this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2026
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You're absolutely right. I have a whole long list of specific health issues that mean I absolutely should not be driving, but holy hell, the amount of people (of all ages) pressuring me to get a license like I'm just lazy or refusing to 'grow up and become an adult' is BONKERS!
These are people that see how extremely often and ridiculously I full-on run into or sideswipe things while walking. They see how often I pass out, or my vision goes black. They want me behind the wheel of a speeding two ton death machine!? Car culture is wild.
I do feel awful being a burden on those around me who can drive, though. We don't have any public transportation or a walkable city (not that I can walk far anyway, lol.) Trust me; if I could drive, I fucking would!
Also... Both my parents have seizures (that are NOT under control) and continue to drive, even though they definitely shouldn't. My father has had them while driving and woke up in a ditch multiple times. They're not boomers, either.
I met a ~26yo girl who told me I wasn't in the same stage of life as her because I didn't have a car....
By any other capitalistic metric, I was more "advanced" in life... But I didn't have a car 😱 (comparing money is dumb, just making a point)
I totally get you. I've experienced similar! It's super weird.
Unfortunately, in american culture, to a lot of people "having a car" means "being grown up" and "not having a car" means "not being grown up."
It's a childish mentality really, and indicates that that 26 year old hadn't done any "growing up" in approximately a decade.
It reminds me of horse-riding barbarians.
Do these people not realize that there are in fact standards that prevent people with certain health problems from driving?
Only if their doctors report it or it's painfully obvious at the DMV, from my understanding. We live in a very backwards Trump-ian red state where being able to drive - even if they obviously should not to any reasonable person - is seen as their 'God-given constitutional right!' like with guns. Especially since there's no public transportation here. They're more worried about the inconvenience to the person needing their license taken away ('how are they gonna get to their doctors or their pharmacy for the treatment they need for their conditions?') than they are about the innocent people they may take out when they start seizing or mix up the pedals on their drive to their doctors office. It's a whole weird solipsistic cultural thing that I find difficult to explain.
Like, me? I obviously should not be driving, like mentioned in my previous comment (for more reasons than I listed.) I recognize that and don't want to hurt others (which is considered weird here,) so I don't. But I guaran-fucking-tee you I could get my license easily if I tried and I couldn't see my doctors doing the work to get it taken away from me.
There's also plenty of people who have had their licenses taken away - whether for medical reasons or DUIs or too many traffic violations - but still drive... Also super common here.
Sorry this reply is so long 😅 it's something I feel strongly about + my brain is broken, like I mentioned, so I ramble, lol. 😅
Nah, I appreciate your comment. It's hard when the answer to "should this person be driving" is 'maybe,' when they're right on the edge like that. That's something I don't have experience with because I became unable to drive quickly enough that I couldn't even if I wanted to.
I definitely relate to your feeling of "why would I want to put other people in danger" though. I stopped driving long before I technically had to because I didn't want to be unsafe.