What group will
compose one out of every four drivers in the United States in 2025, according
to Insurance Information Institute?
Illegal immigrants?
No.
Children born
in 2009? Hardly.
How about baby
boomers? By 2025, there won't be much baby left, as the boomers become
senior citizens, and they will continue to rule the road.
Currently, there
are about 28 million seniors on the road, or about 15 percent of the total
driving population, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
"Although the
popular press often portrays elderly drivers as menaces on the road due
to slow driving, safety problems posed by older drivers are less obvious
and are often different from the popular perception," said Dr. David Grabowski,
an associate professor of health economics in the Department of Health
Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.
After teenagers,
seniors over the age of 75 are statistically more likely to be involved
in a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA).
In 2005, the
age group with the most vehicle crashes (fatal and non-fatal) were drivers
age 16 to 24, with 54 crashes per 100,000 drivers.
The rates dropped
the older the age group became, until it came to drivers 75 years old or
more, when the number spiked to 25, up from 19. Drivers over 85 years old
accounted for 34 crashes per 100,000 drivers.
A study composed
by the Rand Corporation found that seniors, despite taking up 15 percent
of the driving population, were accountable for only 7 percent of all accidents.
People age 18-25
make up 13 percent of registered motorists, yet were charged with 43 percent
of accidents.
If seniors are
actually safer drivers than teenagers, then why don't people clamor for
more testing for teenagers? Why are there fewer horror stories written
about teenage drivers than elderly drivers?
But then why
not just put the car in park for the last time, and relinquish their license
when they are unfit to drive?
"Their license
is their independence," said Ollie LaFond, N.H. state coordinator for the
AARP Driver Safety Classes.
Seniors use
their cars for any number of reasons, including getting to the doctor's
office, getting groceries, visiting family and friends, going to church.
Sometimes, like in the Seacoast area, there just aren't enough alternatives
to driving.
"How would you
feel if you couldn't drive for a week?" asked Tom Vaccaro, who teaches
the AARP senior driving course in Portsmouth. "Everyone's going to reach
that age eventually when they do have to give up driving."
On Sept. 27,
Regina Freeman, 92, was out shopping for groceries at the Woodbury Avenue
Market Basket in Portsmouth, when she allegedly accidentally hit the gas
pedal instead of the brake. Her car hit a man loading groceries into his
car, then hit a parked car before a pedestrian helped her turn off the
ignition.
In 2003, an
86-year-old man, Russell Weller, from Santa Monica, Calif., allegedly mistook
his gas pedal for the brake, and drove his car three blocks. Through a
farmers market. The crash killed 10, and wounded more than 50.
In April 2007,
an 86-year-old woman allegedly accidentally drove her car through the lobby
of the Rye post office. Luckily, no one was injured.
It would be
unfair to label all senior drivers as bad drivers, just as it would be
unfair to label all teenage drivers as dangerous drivers.
It would also
be wrong to assume that drivers over 75 are dangerous to other drivers.
If they are dangerous, it's mainly to themselves.
"With older
drivers, when they get into an accident, because they are more frail, they
are more likely to succumb to serious injury," said LaFond.
In fact, when
involved in a two-car collision, seniors are seven times more likely to
die, according to Rand Corporation.
In a report
from Edmunds, 40 percent of fatal crashes involving seniors over 70 years
old happened when another car was involved at an intersection. For drivers
35 to 54 years old, that number is 23 percent.
The problems
the elderly face when driving are the same that they face in everyday life.
"As we get older,
we can expect our eyesight, hearing and flexibility to decline," said LaFond.
"And it's not just one thing, it's a combination of things."
Seniors have
significantly weakened hearing and vision, most notably peripheral vision,
which can lead to more accidents in transit.
"We emphasize
giving yourself enough time and space to react," said Vaccaro.
"We teach seniors
the three-second rule, and giving yourself a space cushion. We also teach
them new things, and how to cut down on driving. We then ask them to rate
their driving fitness. ... We also talk about hearing, vision, medication,
and driving impaired. A lot of people don't realize that their reflexes
have slowed, because it happens so gradually."
An inability
to see what, or who, is next to their car usually leads to disaster, regardless
of age. Senior citizens were responsible for 20 percent of pedestrian deaths
in 2005, according to iii.com.
Possibly the
most frightening aspect of senior drivers is those who drive while suffering
from physically or mentally impairing diseases. Not only do many diseases
such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's affect cognitive ability, but some
medications may cause dizziness, confusion and drowsiness.
"Cognitive impairment
rises with age and has its highest prevalence in later years. Cognitive
functions related to driving include memory and attention, systematic scanning
of the environment, verbal and other information processing, and decision-making
and problem solving," said Grabowski.
New Hampshire
is one of the strictest states in terms of senior drivers.
When a New Hampshire
resident turns 75, he or she is required to take a road test. New Hampshire
residents cannot renew their licenses through the mail, because they are
required to take a road test each time their license is renewed.
Only New Hampshire,
Illinois, and the District of Columbia require seniors to take a road test
after license renewal.
"States with
in-person license renewals had 17 percent lower fatality rates relative
to those that did not in-person renewal," said Grabowski.
Most people
who participate in the AARP driving course use the course more as a refresher
than as a remedial lesson.
"Most people
who are there, are there to keep abreast of the new laws," said LaFond.
"It's self-enrichment."
"People that
take the course actually get a break on their insurance," said Vaccaro.
"And it's really worthwhile, because seniors can learn a lot (from the
class)."
Many seniors
compensate for their diminishing driving skills by driving during the day,
avoiding major highways, driving slowly and only driving short distances.
Legislation
is hard, because no two drivers are the same.
An age restriction
would take licenses away from good, safe drivers, while potentially letting
unsafe drivers continue to drive.
When should
seniors hand in their wheels?
When they get
into more minor accidents — slamming into shopping carts, fences, bumping
into other cars at low speeds, scraping into posts — more frequently, it's
usually time to start thinking about relinquishing their keys.
Also, when seniors
become frustrated or scared in normal driving conditions, it could be a
sign that they are ready to hand in their keys.
When a senior's
mobility is seriously impaired it would also serve as a way to revoke the
keys. Telling a loved one that they shouldn't be driving can be hard, so
having a police officer or family doctor tell them to give up on driving
would be a wise idea. It's also important to show there are alternatives
that are not only safer but better for the environment than more individual
vehicles on the road — such as the Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation
(COAST) buses and trolleys that offer multiple stops throughout Rockingham
and Strafford County, N.H., and Berwick, Maine.
"We ask seniors
how they've changed the most since they started driving," said Vaccaro.
"And keep in mind, some of these people have been driving for 50 years.
They all say that they've mellowed out, and they are defensive drivers.
The older they get, the more they mellow out."
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Copyright
2007 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
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