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For many older Americans Driving is the key to independence. That’s why the prospect of losing their car is a little like losing their legs.
In one day the grocery store, the doctor's office, the library, the friend’s home seem impossible to reach. Having lost the car, their independency feeling diminishes while isolation increases. Nevertheless, as Americans live longer, and baby boomers begin to age, more and more older adults are staying on the road in this country. And sometimes it brings disastrous results.
2007 AAA report mentions that almost a fifth of the fatalities on US roads in 2007 were elders. This is a substantial number, especially when you consider that older adults generally avoid Driving at night, during rush hour, and under other high-risk conditions.
Are elderly drivers safe? Yes — for the most part. The same can be said for teen drivers.
Do Driving skills of elderly drivers decline with age? Yes, but just like other age groups, Driving skills vary from one elderly person to another. Telling elderly drivers that it may be time to stop Driving can be one of the most difficult milestones for caregivers. Driving represents freedom and independence for the elderly — the ability to visit friends, go to the movies and shop — without relying on anyone else.
Revoking an elderly person's drivers license over a certain age is not an acceptable solution. elderly Driving skills vary widely at all ages. It is unfair to punish most elderly drivers for problems caused by only a few drivers.
Everyone ages differently, so some people are perfectly capable of continuing to drive in their seventies, eighties, and even beyond. Many elders, however, are at higher risk for road accidents. The elderly are more likely to receive traffic citations for failing to yield, turning improperly, and running red lights and stop signs - an indication of decreased Driving ability. A person 65 or older who is involved in a car accident is more likely to be seriously hurt, more likely to require hospitalization, and more likely to die than younger people involved in the same crash. In particular, fatal crash rates rise sharply after a driver has reached the age of 70.
How does aging affect the abilities of elderly drivers?
Safe elderly drivers require the complex coordination of many different skills. The physical and mental changes that accompany aging can diminish the abilities of elderly drivers. These include:
• A slowdown in response time
• A loss of clarity in vision and hearing
• A loss of muscle strength and flexibility
• Drowsiness due to medications
• A reduction in the ability to focus or concentrate
• Lower tolerance for alcohol
Taken separately, none of these changes automatically means that elderly drivers should stop. But caregivers need to regularly evaluate the elderly person's Driving skills to determine if they need to alter Driving habits or stop Driving altogether.
Risk factors of aging that affect safe driving
Visual decline
Vision declines with age, which means depth perception and judging the speed of oncoming traffic become more difficult. The eyes also lose the ability to process light, which makes night vision worse and causes more sensitivity to bright sunlight and glare. By age 60, you need three times the amount of light that you did at age 20 in order to drive safely after nightfall (AgeNet.com).
Hearing loss
Approximately one-third of adults over age 65 are hearing-impaired. Because hearing loss happens gradually, a senior may not realize they are missing important cues when Driving, such as honking, emergency sirens, or a child's bicycle bell.
Limited mobility and increased reaction time
With age, flexibility may decrease as response time increases. A full range of motion is crucial on the road. In addition, chronic conditions can limit mobility (rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's disease, sleep apnea, heart disease, or diabetes).
Medications
People often take more medications as they age. Certain medications, as well as a combination of medications and alcohol, can increase Driving risk. Be particularly careful about medication side-effects and interactions between medications.
Drowsiness
Aging can make sleeping more difficult, resulting in daytime tiredness and an increased tendency to doze off during the day (or while Driving). In addition, certain prescription drugs cause drowsiness.
Dementia or brain impairment
Mental impairment or dementia makes Driving more dangerous and more frustrating. Brain impairment may cause delayed reactions to sudden or confusing situations on the road.
Medical issues to consider
Caregivers need to know if the elderly person:
• Has had their vision and hearing tested recently?
• Has had a physical examination within the past year to test reflexes and make sure they don't have illnesses that would impact their Driving?
• Is taking medications or combinations of medications that might make them drowsy or confused while Driving?
• Has reduced or eliminated their intake of alcohol to compensate for lower tolerance?
• Has difficulty climbing a flight of stairs or walking more than one block?
• Has fallen - not counting a trip or stumble - once or more in the last year?
• Has had a physician told them that they should stop Driving?
Adapting to changes
Driving is not necessarily an all-or-nothing activity. Some programs exist to help elderly drivers adjust their Driving to changes in their physical condition:
AARP (the American Association of Retired Persons) sponsors the 55-Alive Mature Driver Program, which helps older people deal with issues such as how to compensate for vision problems associated with aging. And, the Association for Driver Rehabilitation offers referrals to specialists who teach people with disabilities, including those associated with aging, how to improve their Driving.
There are many ways for elderly drivers to adjust so they are not a danger to themselves or others. Among them are:
• Avoid Driving at night and, if possible, at dawn or dusk
• Drive only to familiar locations
• Avoid Driving to places far away from home
• Avoid expressways (freeways) and rush hour traffic
• Leave plenty of time to get where they are going
• Don't drive alone
Other forms of transportation
Encourage your loved one to rely more on public transportation. This will reduce their time behind the wheel and help prepare them for the day when they can no longer drive. Many cities offer special discounts for seniors on buses and trains, and senior centers and community service agencies often provide special transportation alternatives.
How to get them to stop
If you feel strongly that your parent cannot drive safely, you have little choice but to get them to stop Driving. If they agree without an argument, wonderful. If not, you have several options:
• Stage an intervention. This approach, commonly used with substance abusers, involves confronting the elderly driver as a group of concerned caregivers. The group should include family members, health care workers and anyone else respected by the senior. The intervention needs to be handled firmly but with compassion in order to break through the senior's denial of the issue.
• Contact the local Department of Motor Vehicles and report your concerns. Depending upon state regulations and your senior's disabilities, it may be illegal for them to continue to drive. The DMV may do nothing more than send a letter, but this might help convince your parent to stop.
• Take the keys, disable the car or move it to a location beyond the elderly person's control. Leave the headlights on all night or disconnect the battery to disable the car. But if your loved one is likely to call AAA or a mechanic, you have no choice but to eliminate all access to the car. While this may seem extreme, it can save the lives of seniors, other drivers and pedestrians.
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