Grey power prevails over Senate bill targeting senior citizen drivers

Grey power had its way when a hotly contested bill that could sharply curtail driving privileges for senior citizens was amended to remove age requirements to instead concentrate on any risky driver. The amendment was adopted Monday by the state Assembly Transportation Committee after opponents of the original bill - including AARP and vocal senior citizens - said the bill in its original form would be discriminatory.The bill had passed in the Senate in June and was expected to garner the approval of Legislators: SB335 required all drivers over age 75 to take tests including written, vision and road before a license could be renewed within a four-year period. Age 80 would have triggered testing requirements every three years and after age 86 the interval would drop to two years. Age 90 would mean annual testing.Gov. Gray Davis signaled early on that he wasn't wholeheartedly supporting the bill as originally written by state Sen. Tom Hayden, and opposition of senior citizens, including Santa Paulans, grew.Seniors argued that the Department of Motor Vehicles would have heightened powers that could be used to strand thousands of able drivers and take away their independence. Senior lobbying groups advocated the input of physicians in the final decision on whether or not a driver is road worthy.