An individual’s reflexes decrease with age which affects their ability to drive. The ability to make quick decisions is an important skill to have to avoid accidents. Reflexes allow an individual to react quickly to a dangerous driving situation. It is the time an individual takes to slam on the brake or avoid an obstruction that makes reflexes so important while driving, Geriatrics’ poor reflexes create delayed reactions which ultimately increase the risk for accidents. Reflexes are needed to prevent various types of accidents such as rear-ending and pedestrian striking. It is probable that as one ages, the connection between the two hemispheres of your brain become delayed (University of Michigan). Author Rachael Seidler states, “The …show more content…
Cognition is defined as a mental action that is a result of intuition, sensation, and perception. Medical Doctors at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine states, “cognitive impairment is defined as a decline in at least one of the following domains: short-term memory, attention, orientation, judgment and problem-solving skills, and visuospatial skills (Washington University). All important skills to have drive, it is evident that geriatrics’ cognitive impairment affect the ability to drive safely. Prevalent medical problems such as Dementia and Alzheimer 's disease also contribute to an older driver’s cognitive impairment. Whether it is forgetting to put on a seatbelt or forgetting how to drive to a familiar location, these diseases affect safe driving. According to S. Lloyd, “Outpatient surveys indicate that about 30 percent of older adults with dementia are current drivers” (American Academy of Family Physicians). Dementia can affect memory, visual perception, and focus while driving. One of the most dangerous symptoms of Dementia is confusion. Confusion varies including forgetting familiar roads, forgetting meanings of road signs, or forgetting the basic rules of the road. It is evident that confusion at four way stops and intersections increases the risk for accident occurrence as well. One of the most prevalent type of accidents occurs due to brake pedal confusion. At a local
Throughout this investigation, data collection and statistical analysis will be performed to determine the validity of the following claim; “for driving a car, quick reactions are the most important factor. Males will be better drivers than females because they have faster reaction times” (Michael, 2014). In terms of driving, the time it takes for an individual to react to stimulus will have a major impact on the outcome of the situation. In an emergency, a driver may be required to rapidly slam on the breaks or turn the steering wheel, however it the individuals reaction time is slower than average, the likelihood of a collision is much greater. For instance, when an individual with a
Many levels of driver distraction are there depending on how it influences and impacts on the driver performance and accident hazard in different possible manners. Driving performance depends on various interrelated factors: ability of the user, experience of the user, driving task complexity, design and the activities with in-vehicle technologies. Performance of driving are defined in terms of following three measures:
WARNING!! There is currently a dangerous epidemic outbreak of accidents caused by distracted driving all across the United States. Many believe that this outbreak only affects teenagers. Although, according to The Texas Department of Transportation in 2015 there has been over 105,000 of these accidents deals with teenagers and adults as the driver due to distracted driving. Safe driving is described as a complex procedure that requires 100 percent of focus and concentration. While, distractive driving is defined as any time the driver takes their eyes off the road for even a split second due to any distraction. These distractions can range from eating to using any electronic device and even talking to others inside and outside the car. There are countless of cases after cases about drivers being distracted and getting into fatal car
Dementia is a disease which causes mental debility and affects one’s way of intelligent, attentiveness, recollection and problem-solving (NHS, 2013). As a result of dysfunction of brain cells in some parts of the brain it affects the thinking process then dementia occurs and it usually comes with age (Ibid). It is estimated that 560
Driver Readiness Page 2 of 10 Physical Readiness When you drive, you get information from all of your senses. You see, hear, smell and feel the motion of the vehicle - all of this input helps you to be aware of your driving environment, to predict what might happen, and to assess how to react. This information is processed by your brain and keeps you aware of changing situations. Sensory input helps your brain understand and decide when to accelerate, steer or brake. You also need to be in general good health with no injuries or illness that might prevent you from operating your vehicle safely. Vision Vision is the primary sense used in driving. About 90% of the information required for safe driving relates to vision. Since 90%
why an annual mandatory driving and written test will separate those who can and can not operate a vehicle safely. These tests should be mandatory over a certain age. The driving test is important to better access relexes and other senses while the written test may seperate those who maintained psychical abilites yet lack in other ability such as memory and if raod signs and rules of the road are still familior. According to Alzheimer 's Society many indivduals with dementia may still be able to drive for some time until their dementia progresses. Part of the problem is that many older drivers feel that driving is a largely automatic activity and should be able to continue. The Alzheimer 's Society also states that many with dementia retain their learned skills even after being diagnosed, and that "driving is a complicated task that requires a split-second combination of complex thought processes and manual skills, such as “make sense of and respond to everything they see – including road signs and obstacles” ( Alzheimers Society)
Several methods were implemented in the design of the experiment to carefully track all aspects of the veteran’s driving functions such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) which assesses cognitive functioning, the foot tap test which shows the subject’s ability to move his/her foot between pedals, and various range of motion tests. Technological equipment such as the “Optec 2500 Visual Analyzer” and the “Useful field of View” test program which measure and record the subject’s visual and reflex reactions were also extremely useful tools in studying the veteran’s driving behviors. These tests in the experiment were all conducted by an occupational therapist who is a certified driving rehabilitation specialist (OT-CDRS)
MacReady, N. (2004, August). Is elderly patient driving? Watch for red flags. Clinical Psychiatry News, 32(8), 41. Retrieved from http://db16.linccweb.org/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.db16.linccweb.org/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lincclin_mdcc&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA121779767&asid=27681e9ea56b005a1b91df71d0e88519
Emotions while driving can with strong emotions they can distract you stay at calm focused state. Physical sense while driving a lot is going on when you are driving your sight, hearing, and smell. Changes in sight can distract you from driving. Hearing can help you identify your surrounding but it can also distract you especially when you have other people in the car. The smell can help identify leaks in your car. Physical disability physical disability can include fatigue, tempory injury/illness, and permanent disabilities. Fatigue can disrupt you driving and make it dangerous to drive. Temporary injury/illness can have effects on your driving that you will have to adapt too. Permanent illness can make driving more difficult but there is specially made cars for people with permanent
Summary: The central focus of Pollastek et al’s (2012) study was to determine why elderly drivers are more likely to be involved in vehicular accidents at intersections than younger experienced drivers. As a means of data collection Pollastek et al (2012) tested the scanning ability of elderly drivers at intersections through a series of different scenarios. Each scenario took place in a simulated environment, testing the scanning ability of elderly drivers where they were instructed to go through 1) a four-way intersection, 2) turn right at a T-intersection and 3) proceed through an intersection. Pollastek et al (2012) found that elderly drivers fail to properly scan for potential hazards while proceeding through intersections. Pollastek et al (2012) also found that by providing video feedback the participants in the training group performed similarly to younger experienced drivers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Cognitive impairment is when a person has trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, or making decisions that affect their everyday life.”
Lees et al. (2007) asked the participants to verbally express what they saw in terms of landmarks (e.g restaurants). While the participants explained the landmarks, the experimenter assessed all the driving faults that occurred and tallied the number of correct landmarks that were acknowledged (Lees et al., 2007). Without being biased towards elderly drivers, Lees et al. (2007) found a common factor. It was not so much that older people could not detect change; it was the speed to which they could react to it (Lees et al., 2007). It seemed as though elders are cognitively busy both assessing the change and deciding what to in regards to it. Lees et al. (2007) acknowledged that people of all ages are susceptible to traffic crashes and proposed that people be aware of the need of attention in driving. Lees et al. (2007) also explained that when researching on different ages, specific stimuli may be considered more attractive to one individual more so than the other.
Additionally, many elderly people experience side effects from prescription medications and are not even aware of it. A report conducted by AAA determined that “prescription medications pose a threat to traffic safety, with only twenty-eight percent of seniors fifty-five or older aware of the potential impact those drugs can have on their driving” (Many Elderly Drivers). For example, some medicines commonly taken for anxiety or insomnia can cause confusion, drowsiness, decreased motor skills, and impaired memory” (Reutter). The Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported, “elderly citizens made up nine percent of the residential population, but accounted for fourteen percent of all traffic fatalities, and caused seventeen percent of all pedestrian fatalities” (qtd. Murphy). These numbers are particularly frightening now because the U.S. Census Bureau projects that there will be “9.6 million people aged eighty-five and older by 2030: up seventy-three percent from today” (Older Americans). “Road safety analysts predict that by 2030, when all baby boomers are at least sixty-five, they will be responsible for twenty-five percent of all crashes” (Davis & DeBarros). Lawmakers have acknowledged this issue. However, it is
Many concerns have been expressed about the potential dangers elderly drivers present when operating a vehicle. Mental and physical capabilities begin to decline as a person ages. When their health deteriorates, the well being of other individuals on the road is at stake. Many elderly drivers should not drive due to their medical history and the fact that they might suffer from possible side effects from taking multiple prescription medicines. In addition, local organizations and neighbors can provide transportation for the elderly to keep them from endangering themselves and others. The threat senior citizens create when driving can be avoided if they are tested to ensure their competence as a driver.
While my Granny’s passengers knew about her ineptitude for driving, other drivers were unaware of the danger passing them by. Individuals over 85, who drive, have a four times higher fatality rate than teenagers (Landphair). There are many news stories regarding elderly people who have caused numerous deaths by simply confusing the gas and brake pedals (Landphair). Some contribute these accidents to a decline in vision and cognitive functioning, two factors essential to safe driving. Studies have also shown that if older individuals are under pressure, they tend to make more driving errors than teens (Charles).