Lindsey Smith

Ms. Cools- Stephens

November 2012

Should Elderly be on the Roads?

Taking a left onto Flamingo Drive off of U.S. 41, Howard DeMask's 2003 Buick Century

collided with a motorcycle, driven by Timothy Mohammed Soliman, age 22, sending Soliman to

the hospital in critical condition. DeMask didn't see him coming. "It happened so fast," he said.

"I looked out on the street and there was a fella laying there. I thought, 'how did this guy get

here?' Howard DeMask is a 100 year old man; his family doesn't worry about him navigating the

area's familiar roads because his driving record in Florida is spotless. The last time he took a

vision test, he passed it on the first try. He had never had any problems before. But that Tuesday

afternoon, that changed. (Valentine)

Because Florida has a lot of seniors, it has maintained a high rate of senior crash deaths.

State statistics from the most recent records in 2010, show that 442 crash fatalities of all ages

involved drivers aged 65 and older - about 15 percent of all fatal crashes. (Turnbell) So the

question arises, should elderly be allowed to drive? What limits should there be for the allowance

of seniors to drive? Elderly driving has become a safety hazard because of some of the

medication or handicaps found in many older drivers, causing more risk for themselves and other

drivers by being on the road. So, there needs to be a cut off where it is decided when elderly

should “hang up their keys”.

There has been much debate over this topic for many years because there are so many

different qualifications and exceptions to the terms, but for the sake of this argument, the two

sides will be mainly for those that either absolutely should not drive and those who are totally

fine to drive.

For the latter, there are many people who believe that the elderly should certainly be

allowed to drive on their own. The arguments that they put forth include: that driving will keep

their minds active, that loss transportation can make it much harder for them and that for the

issue of vision, there are some measures, such as corrective lenses or cataract surgery, that can be

taken that will improve the driving skills and allow them to be on the road.

Some say that driving helps older adults stay mobile and independent. Keeping an active

mind suggests that the elderly can help delay the onset of degenerative diseases, such as

Alzheimer’s and dementia. Maintaining a certain level of mental stimulation is important to the

elderly because it allows them to exercise their minds and pursue their interest in particular

activities.

They would also argue that an issue with taking away the elders licenses is that they

would have no way to get around. If there is no public transportation available, or if they do not

feel comfortable with public transit, they can find rides in other ways, such as taxis, private

elderly buses, or family members. But though they can find alternative means of transportation,

these alternatives may be more limiting than one's own car. The operation of a private vehicle is

essential to life in many places, especially to one's independence. After the loss of their license,

an elderly person may be forced to make major lifestyle changes. Catram on Studymode.com

says: Many elderly drivers make up for their deficits by limiting their driving in order to avoid

intensive traffic patterns, by driving fewer miles, limiting trips to cover shorter distances and by

avoiding driving during twilight or bad weather. Likewise, they are more cautious, drive slower

and take fewer risks.

They would also argue against the case of vision. Seeing as how vision is a key part to

being able to drive, this has become part of the debate as to how this can be properly tested. As is

shown in the beginning though, the 100 year old man, who had passed all of the vision tests had

unfortunately not seen the motorcyclist and wound up ending a life. But for some to most of the

elderly, corrective lenses will improve the ability of the individual to safely operate a motor

vehicle, which can tremendously advance the problem.

However, many would argue that the majority of elderly people should not be on the

road. As the body gets older, certain functions that used to be crystal clear start to weaken and

become harder to manage, such as vision, hearing, reaction time, and overall brain function.

Vision, the ability to see, is probably one of the main utilities needed to be able to drive

properly. Vision declines with age, so depth perception and the ability to judge the speed of

oncoming traffic becomes more difficult. Also, as the eyes begin to degenerate, they gradually

lose the ability to process light, which makes night vision worse and causes more sensitivity to

bright sunlight. It has been predicted that by age 60, to be expected to drive safely when it is

dark, the average person needs to have about three times the amount of light to see properly, than

what they needed to have at age 20. (TBNweekly) After vision, another major debate issue is

hearing loss. This can seriously affect driving patterns. Approximately one-third of adults over

age 65 are “hearing-impaired”. Hearing loss that comes with age happens progressively, so it is

very possible that a senior may not recognize that they are missing important alarms when

driving, including honking or emergency sirens. (Montesi)

It is also argued that limited mobility and increased reaction time greatly affect elderly

driving. A full range of motion is crucial on the road. In addition, chronic conditions can limit

mobility, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's disease, sleep apnea, heart disease, or

diabetes. Mary Thatcher, a freelance writer with a BA from the University of Arizona stated:

Ever since moving to Florida, one thing I have discovered on the roads

down here, is that the reflexes of the elderly are not as quick as when they

were young, compounded to the fact that many times, they cannot pull off

the roads quickly enough, around a corner, into a parking lot, or anywhere

else.

What she is saying here is that, from moving down here to Florida from Arizona,

she has seen the increase of seniors – because of the desire to locate here for retirement –

and has noticed how unaware or incapable many of them are to be driving on the roads

with so many other people.

After limited mobility, comes the area of medication. Doctors even admit that

medications can cause serious impediment while driving. Even if the brain is healthy and the

heart is steady, medications can alter these functions along with others that may cause damage

and even fatalities while driving. People often take more medications as they age. Certain

medications, as well as a combination of medications and alcohol, can increase driving risk.

Elderly need to be aware and cautious about medication side-effects and interactions between

medications. In addition, certain prescription drugs cause drowsiness.

Drowsiness is affected both by medications, as well as, when aging, sleeping can become

more difficult, resulting in daytime tiredness and an increased tendency to doze off during the

day – while driving. Mental impairment, although can be very affected by medication, can also

be affected by dementia or brain impairment. Mental impairment or dementia makes driving

more dangerous and more frustrating. Brain impairment may cause delayed reactions to sudden

or confusing situations on the road. Dementia causes serious memory, personality, and

behavioral problems that the person often cannot recognize. Someone with dementia may at first

remember how to operate the car and how to travel to familiar places but at some point, as the

disease progresses, their driving abilities do become impaired. Unfortunately, people with

dementia often cannot recognize when they should no longer drive.

Elderly drivers are at higher risk of injury and death when involved in a crash because

they are least likely to withstand trauma. An average of 500 older adults are injured every day in

crashes. In two-vehicle fatal crashes involving an older driver and a younger driver, the vehicle

driven by the older person was nearly twice as likely to be the one that was struck – 58% and

35%, respectively (Older Population).

However, with both sides of this argument, there are some similar qualities. On both

sides there is an obvious extreme to the claims and cases, so there needs to be a place in the

middle that provides the necessary tests to either claim that the elder is still healthy and allowed

to drive or to say that there is a major issue that makes driving unsafe.

Deficit screening should be given to all drivers that have age-related decline.

They’re actions must be suspected and their performance must be viewed as a safety concern for

themselves and other motorists. If there is cause for concern, in any way, there should be

administered a test that goes through each heath area: vision, hearing, critical thinking, reaction

time, etc. Health professionals and others who work with older populations could administer the

tests. As part of the screening and testing, if there is any question that there should be further

measures, they could be administered to the safety classes for older drivers that AARP provides.

Screening could become a part of the regular process of license renewal.

Another safety precaution that would be helpful is more updated crash statistics. The stats

can be noted by the Department of Motor Vehicles, and insurance company records can help

identify high-risk older drivers. In addition to crash counts, the details of the crash including the

roadway condition, the time of day, the location, and the fault, are important. Some crash

patterns may be better predictors of future crashes than others. Given that many older drivers

involved in crashes have never had a crash before and may not have another one during the

following year, crash records will identify only a few high-risk older drivers. Crash statistics are

an important part of the solution to identify high-risk older drivers.

The pros and cons of elderly driving are both very reasonable arguments. But it is

important to weigh the penalties that might happen if nothing is done to change the standards of

today’s licensing. If nothing is done, then there will be more unsafe elderly drivers that might

cause many more pointless deaths and could be avoided.

CITATIONS

"Older Adult Drivers: Get the Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, 14 Mar. 2011. Web. Dec. 2012.

<http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Older_Adult_Drivers/adult-

drivers_factsheet.html>.

"Older Population: Driving Facts." Traffic Safety Facts. NHTSA, n.d. Web. <http://www-

nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov>.

Turnbell, Michael, Diane C. Lade, and Dana Williams. "Fatal Crashes Involving Senior Drivers

Renew Debate over Licensing, Testing Requirements." Sun Sentinel. N.p., 20 Mar. 2012.

Web. <http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-03-20/news/fl-older-driver-retesting-

20120320_1_report-risky-drivers-older-drivers-senior-drivers>.

Lade, Diane C. "Florida Leads Nation in Number of Senior Citizens Killed in Traffic Accidents."

Sun Sentinel. N.p., 23 Feb. 2012. Web.

<http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-02-23/news/fl-senior-driver-deaths-report-

20120223_1_senior-drivers-older-driver-fran-carlin-rogers>.

Catram. "Should the Elderly Be Allowed to Drive?" StudyMode.com. 12 2005. 12 2005

<http://www.studymode.com/essays/Elderly-Allowed-Drive-75342.html>.

Montesi, Sue. “Driving Miss Daisy” Is Not like Driving Yourself. Www.delta.edu. Dean of

Learning Centers and Innovative Programs, n.d. Web.

<http://www.delta.edu/PDFFiles/LifeLongLearning/50/Driving%20Yourself.pdf>.

"Senior Citizen Driving New Port Richey FL." TBNweekly. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

<http://local.tbnweekly.com/Senior_Citizen_Driving_New_Port_Richey_FL-r1283851-

New_Port_Richey_FL.html>.

Valentine, Danny. "Motorcyclist, 100-year-old Driver Collide." Tampa Bay Times. N.p., n.d.

Web. Dec. 2012. <http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/motorcyclist-100-year-

old-driver-collide/1223456>.

"To Drive Or Not To Drive - Senior Health, Aging, Elder Care, and Health Conditions on

MedicineNet.com." MedicineNet. MedicineNet, n.d. Web. Dec. 2012.

<http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23071>.

"Older Drivers, Elderly Driving, Seniors at the Wheel." Older Drivers, Elderly Driving, Seniors

at the Wheel. SmartMotorist, n.d. Web. Dec. 2012.

<http://www.smartmotorist.com/traffic-and-safety-guideline/older-drivers-elderly-

driving-seniors-at-the-wheel.html>.