"I drive anywhere, nighttime or daytime," said Young, who is active in a number of community organizations. "(Age) doesn't affect me at all. So why should I take a test? They should make it so people with problems take the test."

Rep. Jerry Chang, D-2nd (Hilo), who introduced the bill, said he recalls the agony his own family experienced in getting his late father to stop driving. "He got into some close calls that scared the heck out of me," he said. "It took us awhile to get him to give up his license."

Statistics by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that drivers over age 75 had the second highest rate of fatal accidents in the United States in 2001 and 2002, Chang said. Teenagers ranked first.

"I think it's an important issue that needs to be addressed or have some sort of discussion on because other states are starting to do this," Chang said.

His colleague, Rep. Helene Hale, D-4th (Puna), the lone octogenarian in the Legislature, said she has seen statistics showing those over 75 are less prone to accidents than those under 25. "I think it's ridiculous," said Hale, 86, of Chang's bill. "We're much more careful drivers. We don't speed. We don't drink and drive."

Hawai'i law states that a county licensing agency can deny a license to someone if there is "good cause to believe that such person by reason of physical or mental disability would not be able to operate a motor vehicle with safety upon the highways."

There are 44,747 motorists statewide who are 75 or older, according to Dennis Kamimura, administrator for the city's Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing. That's about 5.3 percent of the state's licensed drivers.

Kamimura said his office does get letters from physicians recommending that a patient not drive. In such cases, the driver would need to have a physician complete a medical advisory form which is then submitted to a statewide medical advisory board for review.

The licenses of drivers 72 or older are renewed for only two years as the result of a law passed in 1997.

Before then, the renewal requirement for all motorists was four years. That same law also made it a six-year license for those 18 to 71, but kept it a four-year license for drivers 17 and under. Renewal, at any age, requires a vision test.

Older drivers tend to get into fewer accidents, are more likely to avoid driving at night and are more likely to take less dangerous routes, said Greg Marchildon, outgoing AARP state director.

The measure is "a short-sighted bill that does not get to the problem that the bill's sponsors and supporters would like to achieve," Marchildon said. "Just because someone is 75 or 78 years old, or 81 for that matter, doesn't inherently make them a bad driver. And just because you're 17 or 19 or 20 doesn't mean you drive 100 miles an hour on the H-1."

The only consequence of Chang's bill would be "it's going to bring more older people into the (Division of Motor Vehicles) to take road tests," Marchildon said.

AARP does support getting bad drivers off the road, regardless of their age, he said. "I think what people need to do is take a step back and have a discussion about how we can keep bad drivers off the road."

Retired engineer Alan Lloyd, 75, said he wants to see the rationale for picking 75 as the age someone needs to take a road test.

A licensed pilot, Lloyd said one option for dealing with suspect drivers of any age may be to require motorists to take a physical proficiency test that would test reflexes, peripheral vision and other skills helpful to driving.

House Transportation Chairman Joe Souki, D-8th (Wailuku, Waiehu), said he's leaning toward not hearing the bill in his committee, which would kill it for the year.

"I haven't made up my mind entirely yet," said Souki, 71. "In my case, it could be a conflict of interest if I heard the bill," he said, adding that he is a member of the AARP. "Let's wait and see. Right at this point, I'm not that disposed to hearing the bill."