There's no way to put it gently: People over 75 are about the most dangerous drivers on the road.
"From age 65 to age 75, people are statistically very good drivers," says Barbara Caracci, a trainer with the National Safety Council. "But when they hit 75, that's the highest of all age groups in accidents per mile driven, except teen-agers. If you graph out accident rates by age, it's like the letter U. The very young and the very old are disproportionately involved in fatal accidents and accidents in general."
Not that all older drivers pose an automatic hazard. For one thing, "most mature drivers self-police," Caracci says. "Unlike the kids, you don't have to tell them to avoid unsafe situations. They know they can't see as well, so they stop driving at night. Instead of taking the freeway, they use arterial roads."
Mark Edwards, managing director of traffic safety programs for the American Automobile Association, agrees: "Older drivers often quit driving long before they need to."
But not always. And that creates an agonizing dilemma for their relatives. "Every family has somebody who shouldn't be on the road," sighs Mike Seaton, manager of the American Association of Retired Persons 55 ALIVE/Mature Driving program. "But when you talk about taking away the car keys, you might as well throw a Molotov cocktail into the living room."
"The car is their freedom," adds Caracci. "To take that away is to ask them to die."
There are many reasons it's harder for the elderly to drive. Many older people have trouble seeing in the dark and recovering from glare. Their field of view can be reduced - "they have trouble turning their head, and their scan pattern isn't as wide," Edwards explains. They get confused at busy intersections.
Those problems don't necessarily mean it's time to sell the car. "Do everything first before you talk about taking away the keys," Edwards urges. "Make that the last resort."
First, the person should sign up for a course for older drivers. Such classes are given all over the country. In 34 states and the District of Columbia, they qualify drivers over 55 for a discount on auto-insurance premiums.
The courses work, Caracci says. They emphasize driving difficulties related to aging and offer solutions. When arthritis makes it painful to turn the head for changing lanes or checking an intersection, for example, the older driver needs to learn new techniques. "We stress that they have to use mirrors more frequently," she says. "We teach drivers to twist from the waist to look over their shoulder."
Then the person can eliminate or mitigate difficult driving conditions: Use extreme caution at intersections. Stop driving at night, on freeways and during rush hour. Cut out long-distance hauls and drive only on familiar routes close to home. Take along a navigator.
These steps require the family's cooperation, Edwards warns. "Don't plan activities involving your older parents that require them to drive in unfamiliar settings or involve risky driving."
But in many cases, the older person needs to be off the road, period. Adult children should ride along with their parents occasionally, looking out for such problems as inability to keep up with traffic or extreme confusion at intersections.
Any driver can have an accident. But an incident that clearly involves impaired faculties - such as shifting into "drive" and lurching forward when trying to back out of a parking space - signals extreme danger.
In AARP's 55 ALIVE courses, participants are encouraged to evaluate their own ability, Seaton says, using techniques that adult children could adopt. "The only way to get older adults off the road when it's time is to encourage them to self-assess," he points out. "We get them discussing their peers' driving instead of talking about their own failings, and ask whom they would turn to for advice if they were concerned about their own driving. It's all done in a non-threatening setting."
Finding a way to appeal to the senior's better instincts can be the key.
"Older people have been around a long time," Caracci says, "and the last thing they want to do is hurt somebody."
For more information on Mature Driving courses:
