Earlier this week, Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon was jogging near her California home when she was suddenly struck by a car while crossing a street in a sidewalk. Although Witherspoon was not injured in the pedestrian accident, suffering only a minor cut to her forehead, the incident has called new attention to a topic of hot debate here in Arizona and throughout the country: should the elderly be allowed to drive, and how should we determine whether they are safe on the road?

According to local police, the 84-year-old woman who struck Witherspoon received a traffic ticket and has been ordered to retake her driver's test. She now has 30 days to report to a DMV field office, where she will take the written and behind-the-wheel test, as well as submit to an eye examination. She may also have to provide a doctor's note indicating that she has been in for a checkup and detailing any medications she is taking.

It sounds harsh, but many elderly drivers no longer have the ability to drive safely, creating a danger to themselves and to those around them. For example, an elderly woman was recently ordered to undergo a similar drivers license reexamination after driving onto a Fourth of July parade route and injuring a child. The woman in that case was driving without a license after failing a similar DMV reexamination several months earlier.

What do you think? Should elderly drivers be required to undergo more rigorous testing to prove that they are safe on the road? Or does such testing infringe on their rights?

Source: Santa Monica Daily Press, "Elderly driver in Witherspoon accident ordered to retake driving test," Kevin Herrera, Sept. 9, 2011