SENIOR DRIVERS TESTING SUPPORTED.

Byline: Kathryn Combs Staff Writer

According to a statewide poll released Friday, 61 percent of senior voters support Senate Bill 335, a measure that would subject elderly drivers to more rigorous testing when they renew their drivers licenses.

The poll by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin and Associates showed that 75 percent of 1,000 registered voters of all ages would support the bill, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Hayden, D-Los Angeles. The poll has a 3.1 percent margin of error.

``Senior drivers, starting at the age of 75, get into an increasing number of auto accidents, more than any other age group,'' said Rocky Rushing, a Hayden spokesman.

The poll was commissioned by a Woodland Hills man whose 15-year-old daughter was killed by a hit and run driver. Mark Mitock brought the issue of elderly drivers to Hayden's attention, Rushing said.

After pleading no contest to felony hit and run charges, the driver was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and sentenced to probation.

``There are approximately 700 to 800 seniors who die every year behind the wheel, and for the most part they cause the accidents that cause their deaths,'' Rushing said.

But opponents called the bill age discrimination.

``People do not age identically,'' said Helen Savage, the state legislative representative for American Association of Retired Persons. ``The only thing that triggers (this bill) is achieving a certain birthday.''

Hayden's bill requires drivers over 75 to renew their licenses and submit to behind-the-wheel testing every one to four years, depending on their age.