In Britain, that appears to be the tack the government is taking.
Drivers intending to stay behind the wheel well into old age may have to pass exams proving they are mentally up to it.
Ministers want to ban anyone over 75 who does not pass the exams and they will insist that drivers repeat the series of IQ tests every five years if they want to stay on the road.
The new barriers to elderly motorists will also include an eyesight exam, but they will not have to re-take their practical driving test.
Since 1974, motorists have been allowed to continue unhindered until they reach 70. After that, they simply fill out a form every three years to declare they are fit to drive and are free of ailments such as epilepsy, diabetes and heart conditions.
But a shake-up was ordered because the 1.5million motorists aged 75 or over who have licences today will soar as the "baby boomer" generation approaches retirement and beyond.
The proposals, to be announced within weeks in a Government consultation document, suggest a "cognitive" exam to measure brain power.
It is likely to include an IQ-style puzzle such as being asked to spot the odd one out from a series of shapes.
Last night, a spokesman for the charity Age Concern warned: "A blanket system risks stereotyping the elderly as bad drivers."
Muriel Gladwin, 94, from Hereford, who taught herself to drive 82 years ago and has held a clean
licence since, said: "It's the wrong way round. You don't have as many older people getting into accidents as younger ones.
"It's the younger drivers who should be having more tests."
i have nothing whatsoever against eye examinations for older drivers. But younger folks who back what Britain is proposing should realize that some day, they too will be older. Unless the other British proposal kicks in, of course. Well, maybe that is the real message from the British government. You really would be stupid to grow old there. Because growing old is rapidly becoming an "unhealthy lifestyle choice" in Britain. Soon, the old in Britain will only be good for one thing: energy.
The real future is even darker than George Orwell feared.
