Driving Safely . . . Older Drivers not so Bad?
Maybe we’re not so bad.
We live in a mobile society. For most of us, the ability to drive a car is intrinsic to the ability to live independently. How else can you “get about”.
However, after the Drivers-under-twenty category, the Drivers-over-seventy-five are the next most problematic. In comparison, the younger drivers speed more frequently, drink before driving, and underestimate weather conditions. But, although drivers in the younger category are four times more likely to crash that the older category, their crashes are less deadly.
For older drivers, slower reaction times and spells of disorientation affect their performance, especially at intersections and highway merges.
In truth, we all know that our muscle tone, reaction times, and eyesight will diminish as we age. If we keep surviving, then sooner or later we all know that there will come a point in time when we will have to give up the car keys. I remember being on the other side of that decision when I had to “lose my Dad’s keys”. My Dad made that decision easier for me because I knew that he loved to walk. Through walking, he prolonged his independence.
Jane Broady, that clarifier of so many health issues, has spelled out the problems facing older drivers in many articles. For example -
- in this NY Times article, she spells out all of the health factors that can impair older drivers.
- while in a subsequent NT Times article, she provides a number of suggestions to combat those impairments and prolong the ability to drive, e.g. never tailgate, avoid rush hour, nighttime and bad weather trips, take a defensive driving course, and update your car. It should be noted that the AARP offers a drivers test for self-assessment.
But despite all these realities, there seems to be some encouraging signs regarding older drivers. It’s not that the issue is going away, but maybe it is being delayed. In the latest statistics, it seems that we might be getting better.
Although there will always be a day when we will have to surrender the keys, maybe it is not coming quite as soon as we thought.
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