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She drove her 1993 Camry through Gresham on Hwy. G before turning onto Hwy. U and then east onto Hwy. A. Just before reaching Cherry Road, however, Ash saw something red out of the corner of her eye and her windshield broke.
Ash, now 80, continued on her way but turned around a short time later because her car was making noises. When she got back to the scene, she saw “two people bending over the mailbox, doing CPR,” according to Shawano County Sheriff’s Department investigator Gordon Kowaleski’s report.
Ash, who is scheduled for a preliminary court hearing in Shawano County next month, faces felony charges for homicide by negligent use of a motor vehicle in the death of bicyclist Wayne W. Smith, 49.
It’s not clear if more frequent vision tests would have prevented the accident, and Ash hasn’t been convicted of anything. But some legislators are hoping to revive a stalled bill that would require more frequent testing for drivers age 75 and older.
Ash, who has age-related macular degeneration, reportedly told police she didn’t see Smith before or just after the accident, and that her eyesight wasn’t very good.
Smith might still be alive if such a requirement was in place, said state Rep. John Ainsworth, R-Shawano, who heads the Assembly Committee on Transportation.
“She doesn’t belong in prison, she belongs off the road,” Ainsworth said.
The bill, which could affect more than 276,000 seniors, would require drivers from age 75 years through 84 years to pass a vision test every three years. Drivers 85 and older would be required to take a vision test and written exam on traffic laws every two years, under the bill.
Most drivers now are required to take a vision test every eight years, and older drivers face no stricter standards, said Phil Cardis, a Wisconsin Legislative Counsel attorney.
The Transportation Committee voted 9-5 in favor of Assembly Bill 43, and Ainsworth said he has gathered enough support to get the bill through the Assembly with the help of some Democrats. A similar bill also made it out of the committee last legislative session by a 15-1 vote but never made it to the floor, Ainsworth said.
Ainsworth said he’s puzzled by the bill’s lack of progress, given that AARP-Wisconsin, the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups and the state Department of Transportation support the proposal. No one testified against it during a public hearing earlier this year, and many seniors he’s talked with in the Shawano area support it, Ainsworth said.
Committee member Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, however, who voted against it this session and last, said the bill discriminates against older drivers. Younger drivers cause more accidents, Suder said, and any further restrictions should affect all drivers.
“I don’t like the legislation. I’m going to try to defeat it every way I can,” Suder said.
But state Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, a Milwaukee Democrat and physician who introduced the bill, said it would save thousands of lives in the long run.
Twenty-two states have provisions that help ensure older drivers continue to meet licensing requirements, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Many require more frequent tests or have specific tests for older drivers, who also may be asked to renew their license in person rather than by mail or electronically, according to the institute.
Wisconsin is just one of two states that only test vision once every eight years, said state Rep. J.A. “Doc” Hines, R-Oxford, the state’s oldest serving legislator and head of the Assembly Public Health Committee.
Hines supports Wasserman’s bill, but said the fact it was referred to Joint Finance by his party’s leaders means it likely will die again without a floor vote.
His own driver’s license is up for renewal next year, when he turns 79, Hines said. If he passes, his new license would be good “until I was 87 years old,” he said. “That’s crazy.”
Hines said he recently went to the eye doctor on his own because he didn’t think his vision “was what it was supposed to be.” His problem was cleared up with a laser treatment, but it can be very difficult for older people to admit they have a problem driving. Families and physicians also have difficulty bringing up the topic, Hines said.
Tom Sheehan can be reached at tsheehan@madison.com or (608) 252-6198.
