When should the driving privileges of senior, elderly drivers be restricted or revoked?? It’s an age old question (pardon the pun), but it’s also a fiery debate that get’s reignited whenever a traffic calamity involving a senior driver at fault makes the news. Should it be when they turn 70?…maybe 80? Should any 100 year old drivers be allowed on the road?
The legitimate answer hinges on the health of the driver. Jake Nelson, director of traffic safety advocacy and research for AAA tells us that “Older drivers are actually the safest on the road…They’re often misrepresented.”…“If they’re hitting a group of people or crashing into a super market, clearly there’s an issue there but that does not mean that all older drivers are safety hazards. It’s just the opposite.”
The reality is, drivers 35 to 54 years old are the real problem on our roads. They cause over 17,000 fatalities a year. Finishing at a close second place… 21 to 34 years old…killing 15,057 people annually, according to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, a division of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- 55 to 85-plus years old — that’s a 30-year span — are responsible for roughly 11,260 fatal accidents a year.
- 16-year-olds to 20-year-olds have more than double the fatal traffic crashes of 70+ year olds: 5,729 vs. 2,656.
But it’s the real life drama of tragic stories that get our attention because they make the news.
Medical issues more important than age
Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab, Joseph Coughlin, says:
- 110 million Americans are taking medications for one chronic condition that could be as mundane as seasonal sniffles to as debilitating as diabetes, Coughlin said.
- 60 million Americans suffer from two chronic conditions while some
- 20 million log five chronic conditions that they are under a combination of doctors’ prescriptions and/or an over-the-counter drug…
But two-thirds of people 65 and older take five or more medications every day that can affect driving ability. The side effects of taking an antihistamine or antidepressant may not be noticeable to people in their 40s, who as they age may then ignore warning signs.
Even worse, older drivers tend to have the highest death rates in car crashes versus their more accident-prone younger counterparts. The rates steadily rise as drivers age…80+ year olds are almost four times more likely to be killed in a car crash than 50-year-olds. But the reason goes beyond drug issues: older, more feeble bodies with more brittle bones and weaker tissue.
Indications that something is wrong
Clearly, how to determine if and when an elderly driver you know…is no longer capable of safely controlling a car…is a sensitive and complicated issue. But they are conversations need to be engaged long before problems crop up.
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