The Safety Of Elderly Drivers

One reason people have been accidently killed by elderly people is because elders get easily distracted by what other drivers are doing. Another reason people have been killed or injured by elders is that a pedestrian will cross and to think fast the elder will mistake the gas for the brake. And some elderly people will get too caught up on what other drivers are doing and pay less attention to what they are doing. People have also been killed by the elderly because many elders have not taken a driving test in many years and should be reminded how to drive. Lastly, driving expectations may have changed from when they have learned how to

Berk also uses a great amount of factual evidence to persuade the reader that driver-less cars would greatly benefit the elderly. He states, “According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the collision rate for older drivers is among the highest of any age group.” Seniors, thus, pose a threat not only to themselves, but to others as well. Therefore, it would benefit the elderly, as well as the rest of the population, to give seniors access to

We have all had the experience of being stuck behind someone that is either driving too slow, swerving, or breaking way too early; then when we drive up next to them its 9 times out of 10 an elderly driver. I believe that at the age of 75, and older, maybe even a little younger, yearly driving, medical, and vision exams need to be done to renew their licenses. This process can reduce the number of accidents involving seniors, and even help to reduce road rage situations for other drivers on the road. Now I am not trying to say that all accidents are caused by seniors, because younger drivers are responsible for, and are involved in a greater number of serious road traffic crashes than seniors. (Carvel 2002) The point I am trying to make is

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.

Being able to operate a motor vehicle takes complex skills, body movements and the ability to judge situations and act in a short time. “Older drivers may experience a slower reaction time, a loss in flexibility and muscle strength, sleepiness caused by medicines, and a reduced ability to concentrate and focus on the task at hand” (Should Elderly Drivers be Retested?). Aging should not be the main reason to stop driving but the affects of aging call for a good enough reason to retest elderly drivers.

An area that I found interesting in the AOTA website was conference and events page. This page provides valuable information that can help me grow as an occupational therapist and provides different type of learning experiences. Within that page, there are various type of events, but I found the Older Driver Safety Awareness Week the most interesting. AOTA has recognized the changes that come up with aging and therefore plan to promote safe driving experience for the elderly. AOTA’s Older Driver Safety Awareness week is usually held in December. For this year, the Older Driver Safety Awareness week is schedule to be from December 4 to December 8. Many different aspects of older safety driving will be discussed each day. The goal of the Older

The ability to operate a vehicle affords them mobility in a state where alternate transportation is often not available” (Zarate, 2). The government could just make them retake the exam every year or every six months depending on past wrecks and medical issues. Missouri has not made this a law but there has been other attempts in other states that have been working great. “Today fifteen other states require accelerated license renewal for older drivers, but instead of renewals every four years they are renewed every two years or even annually” (Zarate, 2). “Illinois and New Hampshire are two states close to Missouri and they require a road test for applicants over age 75” (Zarate, 2). “Florida and Virginia may be farther, but they still require vision tests for drivers over 80” (Zarate, 2). The driving rates of wrecks would decrease considerably by providing a way of transportation for the elderly to still get around, but safer plus be able to maybe collect money off of it for the government. The sponsors of the legislation who want to do something about the high accident rates among senior drivers have instead called for a state transportation plan they call "The Uniform Senior Citizens Safe Driving Health Centers and Protection of Senior Citizen Pedestrians and Automobile Passengers Act” (Zarate, 2). This calls for the Transportation Department to come up with a good

Did you know that elderly drivers are not required to reapply for their driving licenses? Even though they suffer from diminished vision,hearing, and reaction time. As read in research one of the most common causes of car crashes is the fatigue of driver or excessive speed or slow driving of the vehicle. Perhaps the cause behind all of these car accidents are due to the most respected members of our society, the elderly. In fact maybe the press covers up the truth about certain incidents because they know they will receive a huge amount a of complaints from the crowd because their true message will be misunderstood. A message to educate our people to let them see why requiring a reapplication is so important. See they need to reapply and go

In this week's edition of Harper's Weekly Review, the topic that interested me was the one covering the story of an elderly woman crashing into 14 cars. A woman, 75 years of age, crashed in 14 cars and caused about 25,000 euros($27,888.75) worth of damage. I thought this was interesting because for quite some time I've seen that many elderly drivers are sometimes a nuisance on the road or just cause accidents such as the one the article describes. Just recently, about a month ago, a cousin of mine was working front desk at a salon and an elderly woman in her late 70's crashes into the salon with my cousin just barely avoiding critical injury. I believe that there has to be a stricter rule or law that applied to the elderly regarding driving.

“An eighty-six year old man killed ten people and injured more than seventy when he drove his Buick into a crowded farmers market in California. In Florida, an eighty-four year old woman drove her car through a window of a Sears and into a cash register and employee” (Murphy). Sadly enough, instances like these are becoming more and more prevalent and require immediate action. It is imperative that a more comprehensive approach be taken when deciding the competence of elderly drivers. Laws must be put into action to mandate and administer testing and re-examining of the skills and eligibility of this group. Equally important, we must consider those who will no longer be able to drive, and ensure their transportation and occupational needs

The dangers most elderly drivers create can be prevented. Older people may consider driving the "last connection to freedom and independence"

It is proven that elderly people who undergo vision tests have fewer crashes than those who do not take the vision tests (“Vision Tests Help Elderly Drivers”). There are a few common types of accidents that occur because the elderly driver’s vision is deteriorating. Some different types of accidents that the elderly are usually involved in are: failing to yield the right-of-way, they do not see stop signs, accidents involving turns, and oncoming traffic problems. Many of these types of incidents are caused from visual field loss or visual search problems (Keltner and Johnson 1181). As reported by Joanne Wood and Rod Troutbeck from the American Academy of Optometry, they explain that “elderly drivers also report difficulty reading signs and seeing other vehicles which appear unexpectedly among the problems they experience in driving” (120). If the elderly are reporting having these problems, then something needs to be done. Every state should require vision tests to prevent these accidents from happening. An article from Review from Optometry states “In 2001, people age 70 and older made 13% of all traffic fatalities, 12% of vehicle occupant fatalities, and 18% of pedestrian fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“Should Elderly” 7). These drivers are causing so many different kinds of accidents that it is only going to keep happening unless we take away the elderlies’ driving ability. If we let elderly drivers keep renewing their licenses without any tests, nothing is going to change and people are going to continue to be in

In 2014, An 86-year-old man drove his automobile into a crowded farmer's’ market in Santa Monica, California, killing ten people (iihs.org). You’re probably thinking “what a horrible thing to do”. Actually, he didn’t anticipate for this to happen. Because he was elderly, he was not capable to drive safely. Deterioration in vision and the ability to logically reason and remember, as well as the rise of physical challenges such as arthritis and reduced strength is most common in people aged 75 and older. Elders can not drive as well as they did years ago, even if they might think so. If we want to prevent more than 40% of car accidents, elders should retake their driver’s test every two years to make sure that they can still drive safely.

I believe elderly folk are a complete hazard to our roads. However, I must back myself up by saying that all people are a hazard when moving faster than a running pace. Inevitably, elderly are even more hazardous than the rest of the population since their age comes with more complications than a younger person. At an elderly age, the body becomes more susceptible to complications and the brain’s neurotransmitters to not behave normally. These complications and abnormalities can be the cause of a MCI (heart attack) or a brain aneurysm. If one of those were to occur while an old geezer was driving it would likely result in a fatal accident. As a solution, for there should be a special chauffer system set up for elderly.

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).