|
When drivers over 65 are involved in crashes, the situations
and reasons are generally different from those associated with crashes involving
younger drivers. For older drivers, the situations in which crashes occur most
frequently are when they are turning left, whereas for younger drivers, crashes
occur most often while they are driving on a straight road or highway. The
errors most often involved in older driver crashes are failing to yield right of
way or not responding properly to stop signs and traffic lights. By comparison,
the errors most frequently made by younger drivers are related to speed or to
following too close.
Among all drivers age 65 and older, it is the oldest drivers who pose more risk
to themselves and to public safety. For all adults age 25 to 64, and for adults
age 65 to 69, the rate of crashes per miles driven is relatively constant. The
rate begins to rise at age 70, and increases rapidly at age 80.
In addition, the risk of the oldest drivers dying if they are in an accident is
substantially greater than it is for those age 65 to 69. In 1996, drivers age 80
to 84 who were involved in a crash were more than four times as likely to die as
drivers age 65 to 69 who were involved in a crash. Drivers age 85+ were six
times as likely to die in a crash as drivers age 65 to 69. When compared to
crash-involved drivers of any age group under 65, the difference in the fatality
rate is much more dramatic. For instance, drivers age 85+ are more than 11 times
as likely to die in crashes than drivers age 40 to 49. Traffic safety experts
attribute this large difference in part to the increased physical fragility of
the oldest old.
Why Are Older Drivers at Greater Risk When They Drive?
Aging Process
As one ages, specific functions related to driving skills may be impaired. These
functions include vision, hearing, sensation, and cognitive and motor abilities.
For example, a decline in peripheral vision may affect the ability to pass
approaching vehicles safely, and the decreased range of motion in an older
person's neck may impair the ability to look behind when backing up. In
addition, reaction time decreases by almost 40 percent on average from age 35 to
65.
The aging process may also affect cognitive skills. Short-term memory loss, for
instance, can impair driving skills by interfering with a person's ability to
process information efficiently when merging with traffic or changing lanes.
Such difficulties are magnified when the older driver performs these driving
skills under stressful conditions. The higher incidence of cognitive impairment,
particularly dementia, among older adults produces an increased risk of accident
involvement.
Environmental Barriers to Safe Driving
The surrounding driving environment may also interfere with the safety of older
persons when they drive. For instance, the design and location of modern
roadways can be intimidating to older drivers. Transportation planners have
given little consideration to designing roads in ways that accommodate the
increasing number of drivers with reduced vision or reaction time. Highways
separate residential areas from commercial areas, thereby increasing both the
complexity and distance involved in reaching necessary services.
Many traffic signs have not been designed for an aging population. Lettering is
often small, signs with a large amount of information may be confusing, and the
spacing of the letters may create a reading problem even for a person with a
mild vision impairment.
Furthermore, the vehicles in which older persons find themselves may also impede
extended years of safe driving. Modern instrument panels may provide a confusing
array of information. Airbags may need fine-tuning so the force of inflation
does not break older persons' more fragile bones.
Reducing the Risk for Older Drivers
There are several approaches to increasing safety for people who rely on the
automobile as their major source of mobility. Transportation experts are seeking
ways to improve the driver, the vehicle, and the driving environment.
Improving the Driver
Transportation experts at universities and in state and federal offices are
conducting research and developing ways to improve driver assessment, so that
impairments of driving skills can be accurately identified. A 1996 study shows
that simulators can both identify impaired skills and teach the driver how to
compensate for the impairment. Other research is attempting to develop
predictive screening methods using both performance in skills tests and driving
records.
In addition, driver retraining courses are available. AARP has developed a
driver education program, the 55 ALIVE/Mature Driving program, which is
completed by about 640,000 older drivers annually. Thirty-four states and the
District of Columbia have laws that require insurance premium discounts or
reductions in infraction points for older people who take an approved driving
course like 55 ALIVE.
State licensing policies can also extend the period during which a person with
minor limitations can drive safely. Sixteen states have enacted graduated
licensing laws. These laws enable the state to identify driving conditions under
which a particular driver might be unsafe and then to issue a graduated license
that restricts the person from driving under those unsafe conditions. Holders of
graduated licenses might be licensed to drive only under specific conditions
relating, for example, to time of day, destination, or type of vehicle.
Some state licensing laws focus on physical or medical conditions. As of 1992,
seven states had licensing laws that required physicians to report physical or
medical conditions that might impair driving skills to the state licensing
bureau.
Some states have enacted laws that use age as a screening tool to identify risky
drivers. These states require special testing for renewal such as knowledge
tests, vision tests, or road tests. However, researchers do not currently know
whether age-based requirements result in removing unsafe drivers from the roads
or in simply reducing the number of older drivers, whether they are safe drivers
or not.
Older persons may also regulate their own driving behavior. They may stop
driving or limit driving to accommodate their individual declining capabilities.
On average, persons age 65 and older drive substantially fewer miles than
drivers in any younger age group.
In addition, older drivers often adopt different travel patterns, driving
shorter distances, driving less at night, and avoiding rush hours, major
highways, and bad weather conditions.
Improving the Vehicle
Safety experts are giving special consideration to enhancing the safety of
vehicles for older drivers. These changes can benefit all drivers. For instance,
automobiles are being designed with special adaptations to make driving easier,
such as wide-angle rear-view mirrors. In addition, new technologies such as
crash avoidance alarms and night vision enhancement systems are being developed
to supplement functions needed for driving.
Improving the Driving Environment
The driving environment can also be modified. The Federal Highway Administration
has developed a handbook for state traffic officials on road design and
management that improve the safety of the driving environment for older persons.
The lettering, color, size, and location of traffic signs can be changed to
significantly improve visibility and communication with the driver. Traffic and
road design can enhance driver safety by including left-turn lanes or traffic
signals that show who goes first. "Traffic calming" - slowing the speed of
traffic through neighborhoods with special road design and planning - can
enhance safety both for drivers and pedestrians. One example of traffic calming
design is the traffic bump.
|
