elderly drivers
...roblem cannot be solved simply by banning these individuals from driving. Some years ago, there was an award-winning movie called “Driving Miss Daisy”, about a son dealing with his elderly mother who was no longer a safe driver. She tried public transportation, but it was not a satisfactory alternative in her small town. After that, her son hired a chauffeur to solve the problem. But hiring a chauffeur it is not an option for most elderly people. How can society address this epidemic of traffic injuries and deaths as our population continues to age? The solution must include an understanding of the psychological and practical effects of losing the privilege to drive. Driving represents freedom and independence for seniors. Telling an elderly relative that it is time to stop driving is a very difficult task for an adult child. It is also quite difficult for other authorities, such as doctors, to get their elderly patients to give up the keys. In addition, it is a very emotional issue for the elderly. Many different agencies and states are addressing this problem in novel ways. The first step in the solution is recognition that there is a problem. The statistics quoted earlier in this paper clearly demonstrate this. The next step is education. In a state like Florida, where every year the number of old people increases; there is a need to help aging individuals to recognize their changing abilities and adapt their driving practices appropriately. A number of organizations recognize this and offer courses for older drivers to sharpen their skills and learn different ways to cope with traffic challenges such as avoiding left turns and leaving a greater distance between cars. , . While it is important to realize that much of the literature counts elderly drivers as those who have reached 70 years of age, the AARP course is for those 55 years and older—when reaction times first begin to slow down under stressful circumstances. A third important part of a solution to this problem is periodic reevaluation of an individual’s ability to drive. This starts out by self-monitoring—which ties back to the need for education in this area. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety distributes a booklet designed to allow older drivers to assess their own skills, and encourages them to do this frequently. Beyond self-monitoring is external monitoring—family, physician and the state’s requirements for driver’s license renewal. Imposing driving restrictions based on age is politically difficult and an age-limited driver’s license is not an option. In fact, when a proposal to require individuals over the age of 70 to renew their driver’s license by visual and road test rather than a telephone call came before the Florida legislature several years ago, it was defeated on the grounds that it was age discrimination. The opponents conceded that elderly individuals had more accidents than any group except the novice teenage drivers, but felt that they should not be “singled out” for retest. The obvious answer to this political “hot potato” is to require all drivers to renew their license by retest periodically; as is done in England, Germany, Spain, and many other countries. Unfortunately, this would have to be a national change in order to be effective. The graying of the driving population is not just a Florida problem, and requiring Florida drivers to take a test for driver’s license renewal will not solve the problem of our large “snowbird” population. However, the National Conference of State Legislature counts at least 19 states that call for more frequent license renewals, restrictions, and retesting after a driver reaches a certain age.2 Florida should be a leader in periodic retesting for driver’s license renewals rather than a follower. This solution, while important, is politically unlikely to occur in the near future. . A fourth component of the solution is to improve the roads, and take the special needs of elderly drivers into consideration. Some states have special programs for road enhancements to prevent common driving infractions and accidents. The Elder Roadway Use Program in Florida is using reflective pavement markers to better illuminate roads when it is dark or rainy, while Wisconsin is designing intersections and road curvatures for easier navigation by older individuals.2 These changes and others will lead to safer driving for younger drivers as well. A fifth component of the answer to the problem of elderly drivers is to provide acceptable alternatives, such as mass transportation, car pooling, and safer walking. One reason that loss of a driver’s license is so devastating is that there are few good alternatives for travel. Mass transit is not very good in most cities, and individuals find it burdensome that they must rely on somebody else to visit friends, shop, go to the movies, or simply go to a doctor’s appointment. In an effort to address this, Miami has recently removed all fees from public buses in an effort to decrease the total volume of cars on the road and lure older individuals out of their cars by providing a free alternative transportation. . Many urban areas are improving mass transportation vehicles and their routes for the elderly; often using smaller vans with fewer steep steps that trip older feet. These smaller vehicles have routes designed for the needs of the senior citizen—to the shopping center, medical center and mall. Old age should not mean isolation and immobility. Anyone who lives long enough will need some other transportation than the automobile. Programs that assist the elderly nondriver are vital. This includes the recognition t...