Not a generalization about older drivers and their driving ability. Rather, an observation about how things have changed for these older drivers and how pathetic and lax our licensing requirements are.

Back in the 50s and 60s traffic engineers thought that cyclists (and pedestrians) wouldn't be on the roads anymore, and a lot of the driver's education materials reflected this. Fast-forward 40 years and what these people know, or think they know, about interacting with cyclists on the road is totally wrong.

Unfortunately many states' "tests" for re-licensing don't really test for anything except your vision and ability to identify traffic signs by shape (not to mention the states like Arizona, where a license is good for 40 or more years), so these drivers never have their assumptions--or their "knowledge"--updated.

Heck, I got my license only about 25 years ago in NY, and I still remember the driver's ed manual having information on which type of vehicle (including, yes, a person on horseback!) had the right-of-way at a 4-way stop. Next time you come to a 4-way stop and you can't get the driver to go even though he was there first, remember that when he learned to drive the rule might have been, cyclists have the right-of-way.