Although the process of aging sounds beautiful and relaxing, it can be quite stressful for drivers. They are often known as the “baby boomers” or the “Sunday drivers” due to their impaired driving.
However, it is because of the cognitive decline that they are unable to drive at a normal speed. This includes impaired vision, faulty memory, and low concentration levels, among several other issues.
By the end of this comprehensive guide, you will learn about the primary causes of elderly drivers’ accidents and the preventive measures for the same. So, let’s get started! Also, learn about Going to Court for a Pedestrian Accident Case by reading this article.
Primary Causes of Elderly Drivers’ Accidents
Unfortunately, accidents among elderly drivers are now common news that circulates among the public.
There are more than 46 million elderly people with licenses. As mentioned earlier, the rates of accidents among them have only risen with time.
Thus, pinpointing and understanding the areas of concern is a must to find the perfect solutions accordingly. They are as follows:
Misjudging the Distances
The failure to see the signs or signals can lead to misjudgments regarding the distances. It could also lead to inaccurate assumptions about the distance between the cars.
Thus, leading to crashes ranging from minor to fatal ones, which have been on a rise at an alarming rate of 42% in the US!
The elderly, due to their limited vision, miscalculate distances and sides, tend to drive inconveniently. It could also be due to dementia or several other health issues that could lead to such situations.
So, despite an increase of 29% in the aging population, we as a society continue to have increased death rates by 9.5% (1 death per 100,000 population).
DID YOU KNOW? A survey was conducted by the NSC Injury facts recently and the results were concerning. It indicated that the number of motor-vehicle deaths involving drivers and other road users aged 65 and older increased 5% in 2022, from 9,102 in 2021 to 9,547 in 2022!
Exceeding or Driving Far Below the Speed Limit
Although driving close to the speed limit is highly recommended for one’s own safety, it is not always possible, especially for elderly drivers.
Since their muscles and bones get weaker with time, it becomes harder for them to drive either at a fast or a rather normal pace.
With age, they also start fearing speed and wish to be much more conscious about their driving speed.
Due to this, they usually drive slowly, but it could end badly since it stops the traffic behind them. If the vehicles are coming too fast, it could lead to a severe crash!
Driving in the Nighttime
Odd time driving has always been risky for any age group, be it the youthful or the elderly population.
However, it is especially hazardous for the elderly driving population since driving during dusk, dawn, or nighttime makes the visibility a little poor.
Due to the reduced lighting, it becomes almost impossible for them to see the traffic signs and signals.
As a result, they can accidentally go in the wrong lane, side, or make a wrong turn, making them vulnerable to accidents.
Wrong Way Driving
Because of the misunderstandings, the elderly drivers are most likely to drive in the wrong direction.
It could happen on the roadways as well as in parking lots, leading to car crashes that could be fatal for them.
This is a major factor in one-third of the fatal crashes of elderly drivers at American intersections.
Safety Measures to Protect the Elderly Drivers
While reading about the causes of the high accident rates among elderly drivers, you must have understood that slowing down is normal as you age.
You gradually have low strength and energy levels as compared to the youth, making you even more susceptible to accidents. However, you can prevent them by following the preventive measures to protect elderly drivers.
Some of them are as follows:
Empowering the Older Drivers
To empower elderly drivers, you should not ignore the power of adaptation and education. This is required because, with time and age, the abilities of every individual can change.
After all, the elderly have to adapt to the changes for their safety on the roadways. Thus, providing them with educational programs and resources can be of significant help.
Here are some of the programs that you can conduct to help them out:
Vehicle modifications and adaptive types of equipment
Courses on traffic laws & regulations
Defensive driving courses
With the help of such programs, they will be well-versed, assured, and at ease behind the wheel.
Driving and Medical Assessments
There are health conditions that can hinder the ability to drive among the elderly. These could be dementia, diabetes, vision, or hearing-related conditions that could lead to impaired driving among elderly adults.
The elders could be distracted while driving due to these, because of which they are known to be nearly as dangerous drivers as teenagers.
Thus, they should regularly be assessed for medical analysis to ensure that they are capable enough to continue driving. Driving assessments also need to be conducted to determine whether they suffer from dementia or not.
With the reports of these assessments, you can always reassess the conditions of the elderly drivers. You will be able to determine whether they are capable of continuing driving or not.
Choosing the Right Vehicle
While considering some major aspects of elderly drivers, try to pick the most suitable vehicles for them.
Since the visibility of the elderly is essential, ensure that there are larger windows and rear-view cameras.
Apart from that, the design of the modern vehicles can create further issues for the elderly drivers due to the complex controls and smaller windows.
Thus, the choice really matters when it comes to purchasing a vehicle for them. In case there are some more additional features required, the retailers can always be requested to add it.
Final Thoughts
With reports indicating an alarming rate of accidents among elderly drivers, it is essential to know the causes of such mishaps.
However, we all know that while aging, we all lose strength and capability as compared to the youth, which could lead to multiple problems.
So, with an understanding of the causes of these accidents, try to implement prevention methods to help elderly drivers!
