BOSTON -- After four separate crashes involving older drivers on Massachusetts roads, including one that claimed the life of a 6-year-old girl, state lawmakers are poised to begin debating proposed legislation that would impose restrictions on elderly operators.

NewsCenter 5's Todd Kazakiewich reported that the issue has been debated for a long time, but the recent rash of collisions has brought it into sharp focus.

Just this past weekend in Melrose an 86-year-old woman struck an 84-year-old man who was crossing the street, leaving him critically injured.

On June 2 in Danvers, a 93-year-old man plowed his car into a Danvers Wal-Mart, hurting a 1-year-old girl who was hospitalized. The very next day, in Plymouth, seven people were injured when a 73-year-old woman jumped a curb and rammed into a war memorial ceremony. On June 13, a 4-year-old girl was killed as she was crossing Route 138 in Stoughton with her family. The driver, also an elderly woman, is facing a vehicular homicide charge.

The legislature's Joint Committee On Transportation is scheduled to hold a hearing on restrictions Tuesday. The proposed bill would require flagging of dangerous drivers and seniors would be required to re-take tests. It would also be easier for families to intervene to get older, dangerous drivers off the roads.

There is a separate bill in the legislature that would require doctors to report all impaired drivers of all ages to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.