Legislation requiring older California drivers to take driving tests narrowly passed the state Senate and is before the state Assembly  ALSO: Silhouettes highlight pedestrian deaths on streets of San Francisco RELATED VIDEO CNN's Siobhan Darrow reports on efforts to make elderly drivers take road tests Windows Media 28K 80K

In this story: Death of teen in crosswalk prompts proposal Age discrimination? At age 76, she fears she'll fail new test RELATED STORIES, SITES

SANTA MONICA, California (CNN) -- The death of a teen-age girl, caused by a 96-year-old motorist, could prompt California to become the latest state to put restrictions on elderly drivers seeking to renew their licenses. Supporters consider the issue a matter of public safety while critics attack it as discriminatory.

While people 65 and older make up 12 percent of California's licensed drivers, they are involved in 17 percent of fatal crashes and cause 60 percent of those, according to a recent study by the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.

"After age 80, there is a sharp decline in driving ability, although many drivers continue driving safely. Drivers over 80 are more than twice as likely to be at fault in a fatal collision than the average driver," DMV spokesman Evan Nossoff told The Los Angeles Times.

Death of teen in crosswalk prompts proposal

A bill to require continuing driving tests for older California residents narrowly passed in the state Senate and is now before the state Assembly.

It would require California drivers age 75 and older to pass a written and road test when their licenses come up for renewal. Those tests would be required more frequently as the drivers get older, until, at age 90, they would need to renew every year.

State Sen. Tom Hayden, who wrote the measure, says the intent is to "save lives, particularly seniors' lives."

But it was the death of a 15-year girl that led to the Hayden's proposal.

Brandi Mitock of Santa Monica was run down in a crosswalk last November. Her father, who witnessed the accident and hopes to turn the tragedy into something positive, took his case to Hayden.

Mark Mitock said he believes his daughter would be alive today if elderly motorists were tested for their driving abilities.

Brandi Mitock was run down by an elderly driver as she crossed the street

Byron Cox, the 96-year-old driver who struck Brandi, apparently hadn't taken a road test since he got his driver's license in 1918.

Cox pleaded no contest. He was sentenced to five years probation, ordered to surrender his driver's license and told to donate $5,000 to help Hayden win passage of the pending legislation.

Age discrimination?

Eleven states already have age-based renewal requirements and others are reviewing the issue, but they face stiff opposition from one of the country's most powerful lobbies -- senior citizens groups.

These groups consider the Hayden bill an example of age discrimination.

It may also be premature, said Jean Carpenter, a California lobbyist for the American Association of Retired Persons.

She said new technology being developed by the Department of Motor Vehicles may make it possible to test all drivers periodically using subjective road-simulation systems that could render the senator's concerns moot.

Many older drivers increase their safety on the road by driving only during daylight and finding routes that involve less traffic or no left-hand turns, she said.

Preston says she fears she may lose her license if she is made to take a new road test

AARP also sponsors refresher driving courses so older drivers can get a break on their insurance.

At age 76, she fears she'll fail new test

Seventy-six-year-old Emma Preston, who has taken the class, told CNN she is afraid to get behind the wheel for a new road test, fearing she'll lose her license.

"I need to drive. I live in an area where there (are) no busses. Nothing," said Preston, who lives alone.

According to studies, senior drivers have the highest rates of fatal car accidents per mile except teen-agers.

"It isn't just older people who can be poor drivers. Eighteen-, 21-, and 35-year-olds can also be, depending on the circumstances," said Lois Wellington, president of the Congress of California Seniors.

Wellington said she does not oppose driver testing or other attempts to get all dangerous motorists off the road. But she does object to efforts that target a particular age group.

Supporters of the proposal deny that they're discriminating against older Californians. They say they're simply trying to save lives by testing older drivers whose reflexes and abilities may not be as sharp as they once were.

"We put all kinds of burdens on 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds to be tested, and all evidence shows that at age 75 and beyond one's reflexes worsen," says Hayden.

"This doesn't discriminate against anybody unless you think having to take a road test when you're 81 years old is too much," he added.

As far as Mark Mitock is concerned, that's a reasonable request.

Correspondent Siobhan Darrow and The Associated Press contributed to this report which was written by Jim Morris.

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