Older Drivers

In many Americans’ minds, independence is firmly connected to being able to drive. Our cities—especially San Diego—rely heavily on personal transportation options. But for an aging population, our transportation system needs to be—in the near future—very different from todays.
Changes in our bodies partly ensure that driving will become more precarious. Apart from clinical issues that affect some older adults, other, normal changes—things like diminished physical capacities—affect our driving competence.
Visual acuity begins to diminish in normal older adults. Night vision and peripheral vision both decline with age. At the same time, older Americans take more prescription medicines than any other age group. Several types of medication can make driving harder because they affect perception and our senses. Drugs that might interfere with driving include sleep aids, medicine to treat depression, antihistamines for allergies and colds, strong painkillers, and diabetes medications. Changes in sleep patterns start to affect how well we can concentrate. These events combine in an overture driving difficulties that are likely to result in death.
Despite these changes, the percentage of older people who continue driving is growing. The concern is that there is very little debate on the implications of this transformation. We are not preparing for the inevitable.
Apart from the promotion of the trolley (train) service, and small pilot programs looking at volunteer drivers, there is no state or city-level discussion on how the aging of our drivers will radical effect our transportation system and what options we have.
Even if baby boomers drive at the same (modest) rates as the current older population, their sheer numbers means that total miles driven by those 65 and older will increase by 50 percent by 2020 and more than double by 2040.
Although older drivers drive far fewer miles than younger drivers they are more likely to be injured or die in a crash of the same severity—older adults are frailer and they tend to drive older and less safe cars. Older cars are less safe, but 26 percent of drivers over the age of 80 are driving pre-1988 vehicles, compared to 16 percent of drivers under 60.
For most older adults personal transportation is very much a necessity. We will be seeing more older drives, more older cars, frailer less responsive drivers, resulting in a higher susceptible to injury and therefore increase road fatalities.
An innovative program currently running in Lincoln City, CA shows some promise. They have developed Neighborhood Electric Vehicle friendly city, that allow older adults access to city services and to connect to train and bus services for long distance travel.
For now there are a number of things you can do to improve your driving and your chances of survival. Think about taking a driving refresher class. AARP sponsors “55 ALIVE/Mature Driving.” Call 1-888-227-7669 . While AAA has a number of classes including some by Posit Science called DriveSharp. Driving safely ensures that you continue to retain your license as well as your life.

Mario Garrett, Ph.D., is a professor of gerontology at San Diego State University and is currently on sabbatical at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He can be reached at mariusgarrett@yahoo.com