Man Says State Restricted His Driver's License Due To Age

A man in Michigan is suing the state for age discrimination after he failed a driving test and had his license restricted.

Three days after Carl Hainer turned 85, he received a letter from the Secretary of State asking him for medical documents and requesting he come in for a driving exam. He failed. Hainer is suing the state because he says he never should have been tested in the first place.

For Michigan's part, officials told Fox 17 news they will only test a driver if they receive a written complaint, typically from a family member, doctor or police. The SOS receives 400 complaints against drivers every month.

Hainer is now taking his fight to federal court. How to cope with an increasingly older population of drivers is a touchy topic that hasn't been addressed on a state or federal level. That's a problem in a graying America, where 52.7 million people will be 70 or older by 2030. The largest car accident in American history was caused on July 16, 2003, George Russell Weller, then 86, drove his 1992 Buick LeSabre through 2½ blocks of the Santa Monica, Calif., farmer's market, killing 10 people and seriously injuring 63 others.

It's important to be aware of close relatives abilities as they age. It's not easy to take away a person's mobility and sense of independence. Click here for tips on how to talk about driving with elderly parents.