For many of us, as we age, driving is a significant element of retaining our freedom. You will be able to continue driving safely well into your senior years by decreasing risk factors and adopting healthy driving habits. But it doesn't mean the end of your freedom, even if you learn that you need to limit your driving or give up the keys.
There is no arbitrary limit as to when someone can stop driving, so everyone ages differently. Older adults, however, are more likely than younger drivers to earn traffic tickets and get into accidents. What is causing the increase? Factors such as reduced vision, impaired hearing, sluggish motor reflexes, and declining health conditions can become a concern as we age.
Aging also appears to lead to a decline in power, coordination, and endurance, which may affect the ability to drive a car safely. For instance:
Pain in the neck or stiffness will make it more difficult to look over your shoulder.
Leg pain will make moving the foot from the gas to the brake pedal challenging.
Diminished arm strength can make it difficult to quickly and efficiently turn the steering wheel.
With age, the reaction times will slow down.
You will lose the capacity to split your concentration between various tasks effectively.
You may have driven your whole life and be very proud of your safety record, but it is important that you remember that your driving abilities will change as you age. You can feel surprised or frustrated at the possibility of losing some of your freedom, but without a car, you can still maintain an active, lively, and satisfying lifestyle by keeping your mind open to new possibilities.
Searching for alternative transportation options may provide health and social benefits, as well as a welcome shift in the pace of life. Other facets of your freedom can also be able to prolong you.
Tips on protection for older drivers
Aging does not equate to a complete loss of driving capacity immediately. To continue driving safely, there are many things you can do, including altering your vehicle, changing the way you drive, and fixing any physical conditions that can interfere with driving.
Remain on top of your fitness
To keep you in the best possible driving condition, routine check-ups are important.
Each year, get your eyes tested. Make sure the corrective lenses are up to date. Keep your windshield, mirrors, and headlights clean and turn up the brightness on your dashboard's instrument panel.
Each year, have your hearing tested. Be sure to wear them when driving if you need hearing aids. When opening car windows, however, be cautious, as drafts can often hinder the efficacy of a hearing aid.
The exercise. Regular strength and flexibility exercises can help strengthen your reflexes and mobility range, alleviate pain and stiffness, and help you retain adequate strength to handle a vehicle.
Speak to a doctor about how your driving ability can be affected by illnesses or drugs. If you have glaucoma, for instance, tinted eyeglasses will help to minimize glare.
Get plenty of sleep. To drive well, having enough sleep is important. Make sure you sleep well and speak to your doctor about the effect that sleep drugs can have on your driving actions.
Find the right vehicle and any necessary aids for safe driving
If needed, equipment to make it easier to steer your car or to control the foot pedals can be recommended by an occupational therapist or a licensed driving rehabilitation specialist. Otherwise: Otherwise:
Choose an automatic transmission vehicle with power steering and power braking.
With regularly scheduled repairs, keep your car in good working shape.
Make sure that there are always clean windows and headlights.
Defensively driving
Drivers are much more distracted than they used to be in the days of smartphones, GPS systems, audiobooks, and digital music players. This suggests that you may want to take additional precautions to drive safely:
Leaving enough space in front of you for the vehicle.
Paying special care at intersections.
Make sure that you drive in line with the flow of traffic.
Avoiding distractions such as talking on the phone, texting, or checking a map or GPS while driving.
Allowing a reasonable distance for braking. Note, the braking distance does not become twice as long if you double your speed, say from 30 mph to 60 mph, it becomes four times as long, and more so if the road is wet or icy.
Know your limits
Stop it if a driving situation makes you nervous. As we get older, many of us willingly begin to make improvements in our driving habits by:
If seeing well at night is an issue, driving only during daylight hours is a problem.
To stop fast-moving traffic, stay off the freeways and highways.
Not driving in poor weather conditions (rain, thunderstorms, snow, hail, ice).
In order to feel more secure and stop getting lost, prepare the route before leaving.
Listen to others' suggestions
It might be time to take a hard, honest look at your driving skill if family, acquaintances, or others raise questions about your driving. Have an occupational therapist administer a thorough driving assessment. By taking a refresher course, brush up on your driving skills. Chat about your ability to drive safely with your doctor
