I suspect that when they come together for the holidays, plenty of families contemplate what to do about senior parents who might be too old to drive. It is among the most difficult family decisions because it signals a passing from independence to dependence.
The St. Petersburg Times produced a series on this sensitive subject. The stories are close-up tales of older folks struggling just to get around. But they blow through school zones, can't spot barriers and lose concentration at stop lights. The story includes this context:
"To be fair, very old people are not the only dangerous drivers out there.
"Teenagers are notoriously bad; they get in more crashes per mile traveled than any other age group.
"The difference is that young people generally become better drivers as they age. Old people don't. Their reflexes slow, their hearing and eyesight deteriorate, their concentration falters.
"There is encouraging data showing that older drivers have gotten into fewer fatal crashes in recent years, likely because of safer cars, better fitness and improved emergency medical treatment.
"But the fact remains that the older they get, the worse they get. The number of crashes seniors get into per mile driven spikes dramatically after age 80.
"Most of their mistakes are minor -- the surprise lane change, the parking lot thump. But some are disastrous and seem directly connected to their age. Seniors ramble into ditches, off bridges, through storefronts.
"Several years ago, a 93-year-old man struck a pedestrian in St. Petersburg and kept driving for miles with the man's body lodged in his windshield.
"Florida has 732,293 licensed drivers over 80, says the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
"The question is how many should really be out there. Some states have begun pilot programs to regularly test the reflexes and cognitive abilities of older drivers. But Florida is not among them. It requires only that people over 80 renew their licenses every six years instead of every eight, like everyone else. In addition, those 80 and over must pass a vision test to keep driving. A 2005 study showed that only 7 percent of them did not pass it.
"The state may also order a driving test for someone who has caused a wreck or generated a complaint. And some seniors have their keys taken away by a concerned family member.
"But for most, the decision to give up driving is a personal one. It is also a profoundly difficult one because of the loss of mobility and independence that comes with it."
Resources
AAASeniors.com: "Helping Senior Drivers in Your Life."
Also from AAA:
"The AAA Foundation's is a tool that allows drivers to assess their own performance. It provides specific safety suggestions based on the driver's answers to 15 questions.
"AAA's AAA Roadwise Review is a computer-based self-assessment tool that measures the eight functional abilities shown to be the strongest predictors of collision risk among senior drivers."
SeniorDriving.org, "
a Web site for the senior drivers, their families, traffic safety professionals, and alternative transportation providers."
SmartMotorist.com claims, "
In the next 20 years the number of elderly drivers (persons 70 and over) is predicted to triple in the United States."
