"I really think we should pass a law in every state, I don't care whether it takes the independence away from an old person or not. You shouldn't be driving a car if you're over the age of 80. Maybe even less than that"
About this Quote
The bluntness does two jobs. First, it signals impatience with the polite fiction that independence is always sacred. "I don't care" is a moral shortcut, bypassing the messy reality that driving is often the last thread connecting older people to work, groceries, dignity. Second, it smuggles in a broader cultural anxiety: America loves freedom until freedom looks like slow reflexes at a four-way stop. The quote turns a legitimate safety problem into a clean, punitive solution, because clean solutions feel like control.
There's also a celebrity-performer psychology at play. Knievel understood spectacle and consequence, and this reads like a performer riffing in absolutist terms to land a punchline that isn't really a joke. The subtext: we tolerate risk when it's chosen and entertaining, less so when it's ordinary and unpredictable. His suggestion isn't policy; it's a provocation that reveals how quickly "public safety" can become a permission slip for blunt age-based limits.
Quote Details
| Topic | Aging |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Knievel, Evel. (2026, January 14). I really think we should pass a law in every state, I don't care whether it takes the independence away from an old person or not. You shouldn't be driving a car if you're over the age of 80. Maybe even less than that. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-really-think-we-should-pass-a-law-in-every-142249/
Chicago Style
Knievel, Evel. "I really think we should pass a law in every state, I don't care whether it takes the independence away from an old person or not. You shouldn't be driving a car if you're over the age of 80. Maybe even less than that." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-really-think-we-should-pass-a-law-in-every-142249/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I really think we should pass a law in every state, I don't care whether it takes the independence away from an old person or not. You shouldn't be driving a car if you're over the age of 80. Maybe even less than that." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-really-think-we-should-pass-a-law-in-every-142249/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.







