Dear Driving Diva: I will be 80 when I renew my driver's license this year. I painfully remember having to take my father's car keys away from him when he could no longer safely drive at 90. Does Arkansas have any special routines for senior citizens renewing their licenses? -- Old Too Soon
Dear Soon: We understand. We knew old folks who used to tag team. He couldn't see traffic signals for nuttin', so she'd tell him red, yellow or green.
The Department of Finance and Administration administers the licensing of drivers.
Renewal for the aged differs naught from anyone else's. If the vision test is passed, the license is issued. A driver must have minimum eyesight of 20/40 for an unrestricted license and 20/70 for a restricted. Field-of-vision requirement is 140 degrees for an unrestricted license and 105 degrees for restricted.
Now, what about a family member who's concerned about Old Dad still driving?
Turns out that family member, or a concerned citizen, can request an ability-to-drive hearing. That will be done with a driver control hearing officer. The driver in question will be given a form to be completed by a physician and returned to the Finance and Administration Department within 30 days. If the physician clears the driver, a road test will be scheduled with the Arkansas State Police.
If the driver passes the road test, no action is taken. But if the driver fails the road test the license is revoked.
Dear Mahatma: How many handicapped spaces per total parking spaces are supposed to be in shopping center parking lots? -- Sam I Am
Dear Sam: The number of handicapped, and van-accessible, parking spaces is dictated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The answer comes in a chart, of which we will give some examples.
One to 25 parking spaces -- one handicapped and one van-accessible.
Seventy-six to 100 -- four and one.
Two hundred and one to 300 -- seven and two.
There's more, of course. Hospital outpatient clinics need 10% of their spaces to be accessible. Twenty percent for outpatient physical therapy clinics.
A full list and lots more information is at adata.org.
O Mahatma of All Roads: As a frequent Interstate 40 and Interstate 49 driver, I often see death on the roadside -- tires, squirrels, skunks, dogs, deer, and of course armadillos. Then the next day, driving back, they're miraculously gone! Who are the unrecognized heroes to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude for their important work in Keeping Arkansas Beautiful? -- Rob
Dear Rob: The Arkansas Department of Transportation has maintenance crews in all 10 of its districts to pick up this stuff, which also includes furniture. Our own eyes have seen plenty of mattresses on the side of the road. Or in the road.
Credit also goes to motorists who call in to report. Motorists can call local law enforcement agencies, which will then relay the message to the department.
Fjfellone@gmail.com
Sunday on 07/13/2019