Poor vision at night. A decreasing ability to make split-second decisions. Crowded roads.

In 2001, 16 percent of drivers were 65 or older.

And as more older Americans are keeping their driver's licenses longer, these concerns are leading many to ask themselves: Am I too old to drive?

And it's not just the elderly drivers, or members of their families, keeping an eye on their driving skills and asking questions.

Beginning in October, South Carolina drivers 65 and older will have to:

-- Renew their license every five years rather than every 10 years.

-- Pass a vision test.

National and state transportation agencies as well as medical organizations such as the American Medical Association also are coming forward with plans to curb the deadly statistics associated with elderly drivers.

"Older drivers are more experienced and they understand their limits, but driving also equals freedom, and freedom is something difficult for them to give up," said Paul Haaland, associate director of policy and research with The Road Information Program, or TRIPS.

Ed Kinard, 73, of North Charleston doesn't argue with that.

"My biggest concern is staying out of the operating room, not causing a problem on the road," Kinard said. "If someone told me I couldn't drive anymore, I would not like that at all. I could not stand being in the house all the time."

Teenagers are involved in the highest number of car accidents each year. Elderly drivers come in second.

There were 3,164 drivers over the age of 70 killed in auto crashes in 2001, according to a recent TRIPS study, a 27 percent increase from 1991 when 2,494 elderly drivers died.

In South Carolina that year, 65 drivers over age 70 were killed, ranking South Carolina 20th for the highest number of elderly drivers killed. South Carolina has roughly 274,100 drivers over 70.

Some elderly drivers say that while the number is not surprising, it does not mean all older drivers are bad drivers.

"It is more about physical condition than age," said Sally Wilson of West Ashley.

"I see a lot of other 84-year-old women who look and act a lot older than I do."

Those ladies do not drive, she said. She does.

Her children in Florida, however, have asked her to stop driving to visit them because of concerns about her ability to navigate on longer trips, especially with all the trucks on Interstate 95, a main thoroughfare from South Carolina to Florida. She now travels by airplane for family visits.

Her family's concern is understandable. Florida had 268 drivers over the age of 70 killed in car crashes two years ago, the most in the United States, according to the TRIPS report. That state has 1.9 million drivers over 70.

The Florida Department of Transportation has been watching the number of deaths increase over the years, said Mark Wilson, deputy state traffic operations engineer with Florida DOT. For more than 10 years, the state has been making changes to road design and signs to accommodate its growing population of elderly drivers.

Signs are bigger and placed more frequently to decrease the chances for elderly drivers to miss a turn or run off the road.

Lettering on signs is 6 to 8 inches tall, rather than the standard 4 inches tall, and 6-inch-wide pavement markings, rather than the standard 4-inch-wide pavement markings, stripe the sides of the roads.

Wilson said the Florida DOT now is looking into installing off-centered left turn lanes. Wilson thinks that moving one lane half a car's length in the opposite direction will improve visibility for drivers making left turns. All the changes, he said, make driving easier for the state's elderly drivers.

"If you drive in Florida while it's raining, you will see a huge difference," Wilson said.

Kinard would like roads in South Carolina striped with the wider lines.

"I do have a lot more problems driving at night, especially when it's raining," Kinard said. "You can barely see what's in front of you."

Wilhelmina Thomas of West Ashley says a little caution and a little courtesy will get you to your destination safely, even without the larger-lettered signs or wider lines to guide you. "Most senior citizens are wearing their glasses (if they need glasses), so we are not out there missing signs," said Thomas, 68. "It is the younger drivers who are not courteous. We are the ones obeying the rules and trying not to speed."

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says teenagers pose the greatest threat to other drivers, but when drivers begin aging, their chances of surviving a crash decrease.

"Elderly drivers, because of their frailty, often die in a crash that a teen driver will survive," said Russ Rader, spokesperson for the institute.

Grover Chaplin, 77, recently found himself unable to drive because of heart surgery, which was a trying situation for his wife, Joyce, 72, who does not like to drive.

"There are so many crazy people on the road. I like to be the passenger," Joyce Chaplin said. "Especially after the guy in California. That really scared me."

On July 16, an 86-year-old man drove through a Santa Monica, Calif., farmers market, killing 10 people.

Chaplin said she will not let herself reach that point. She plans to put the brakes on her driving days all by herself.

"When I'm 80, I'll probably give it up," she said.