How Aging Affects Older Drivers and the Warning Signs to Look For

Everyone ages differently, so there is no arbitrary cutoff as to when someone should stop driving. However, older adults are more likely to receive traffic citations and get into accidents than younger drivers. In fact, fatal crash rates rise significantly after a driver has reached the age of 65 and worsen after age 75. What causes this increase? As we age, factors such as decreased vision, impaired hearing, or slowed motor reflexes may become a problem. You may have a chronic condition that gradually worsens with time such as dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease, or you may have to adjust to a sudden change, such as a stroke. Aging tends to result in a reduction of strength, coordination and flexibility which can have a major impact on your ability to safely control a car.

Health problems don’t always mean that driving needs to be stopped but they do require extra vigilance, awareness, and willingness to correct any problems. Some health problems include:
• Conflicting Medications. Certain medications or combinations of medications can affect senses and reflexes. Always check the label on medications and double check with your doctor if you are taking several medications or notice any differences after starting a new medication.
• Eyesight problems. Some eye conditions or medications can interfere with your ability to focus your peripheral vision, or cause you to experience extra sensitivity to light, trouble seeing in the dark, or even blurred vision. Whether or not you can see traffic lights and signs as well as your ability to react to oncoming traffic; from all directions, would be great questions to ask yourself.
• Hearing problems. If your hearing is decreasing, you may not realize you’re missing out on important cues; such as a horn or emergency vehicles, this would prohibit you from driving safely.
• Problems with reflexes and range of motion. Can you react quickly enough if you need to brake suddenly or quickly look back? Is it comfortable to look back over your shoulder or does it take extra effort?
• Problems with memory. Do you find yourself missing exits that used to be second nature or find yourself getting lost frequently? While everyone has an occasional lapse in memory, if there’s a pattern that is increasing, it’s time to get evaluated by a doctor to decide if it is still safe for you to be driving.

If you do in fact make the decision to stop driving there are many things to keep in mind. Adjusting to life without a car may be challenging at first. Most likely, you’ve been driving your whole life and it may feel like quite a shock at first. It’s normal to be frustrated, angry, or irritable. You may even feel ashamed or worry that you are losing your independence. However, it takes a lot of courage to stop driving and put the safety of yourself and others first. You may also find there are many benefits to living without a car that you may not have considered before. For example, you may:
• Save money on the cost of car ownership: including car insurance, maintenance, registration, and gas.
• Improve your health: Giving up the car keys often means you manage the symptoms of illness and pain, maintain your independence, and even reverse some of the signs of aging. And not only may you exercise more which is good for your body—it’s good for your mind, mood, and memory.
• Expand your social circle: While many people have difficulty accepting offers of rides from others, this can be a good time to reach out and connect to new people. Such as neighbors, family, caregivers and friends.
• Appreciate the change of pace: For many seniors, to stop driving means slowing down. While that may not sound appealing to everyone, many seniors find that they actually enjoy life far more when they live it at a slower pace. It can also have a beneficial effect on mental health by placing less stress on your nervous system.

The warning signs that it may be time for you or your loved one to hand over the keys…
1. Getting lost in familiar places. HUGE RED FLAG
2. Decreased confidence while driving
3. Difficulty turning to see when to change lanes or backing up
4. Riding the brakes
5. Easily distracted while driving
6. Other drivers often honk their horn at you
7. Incorrect signaling
8. Parking inappropriately
9. Hitting curbs or other objects
10. Increased agitation or irritation while driving
11. Failure to notice traffic lights or signs
12. Failure to notice important activity on the side of the road
13. Trouble navigating turns, also bad judgment when making left hand turns
14. Driving at inappropriate speeds
15. Inability to anticipate potentially dangerous situations
16. Uses a “copilot” all the time
17. Delayed responses to unexpected situations
18. Moving into wrong lane or even difficulty maintaining the position in one lane
19. Confusion at exits
20. Car accidents or traffic citations
21. Confusing the gas and brake pedals
22. Stopping in the middle of traffic for no apparent reason.

These are just some of the signs you should look for when you are trying to determine if it is still safe for yourself or a loved one to continue to drive. If these don’t help you, there are Driving Assessment Program and Tests that you or your elderly loved one can participate in to help with the decision process. There are two components to a typical Driving Assessment Program:
1.Comprehensive skills evaluation which is conducted by an Occupational Therapist
2.On-The-Road Assessment which is also conducted by an Occupational Therapist in conjunction with a Professional Driving Instructor.
The Occupational Therapist and Driving Instructor will evaluate your sensory skills, physical skills and your cognitive skills in these assessments.

AAASeniors.com AAA has programs and online courses as well as a search engine to help you find a Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist (CDRS) in your area. You can also conduct your own search for a convenient CDRS that works for you.