Assessing the Impact of Senior Drivers

On Highway Safety

BS Press Intl. Copyright 1997
 

When was the last time you were behind an old person going too slow in traffic, hitting the brakes too often and causing you to miss a light? Probably not long ago. It was annoying, to be sure, but at least it wasn't deadly. Or was it?

If the only threat from Seniors-behind-the-wheel was a test of our collective patience, one could argue that more seniors should be on the road - that we, as a society, need to learn how to slow down and be patient. But that's not the reality of the situation. Old folks are Death On Four Wheels.

In a study Published in the Journal of Accidental Homicide earlier this year, after drunk driving, Old Driving was the leading cause of Highway Fatalities. A study in the works right now is investigating the percentage of Seniors behind the wheel who are drunk or whose medication causes them to experience narcotic-like effects while on the road. The mix of advanced age and many common medications given to the aged is a suspected contributing factor in Senior Citizen Auto Accidents. "But even without outside factors like drugs and alcohol," reports David Lyzalot, Senior Editor of JAH, "old folks just aren't as quick-witted as they used to be." The main thesis of the report centers around the idea that as one ages, the senses become dulled - peripheral vision becomes diminished, sight and hearing gradually fade, alertness becomes a factor -- reaction time can increase, judgment can be impaired, and tragedy can ensue when a senior gets behind the wheel.

"It's not that I have anything against Old People" said a motorist held up in traffic after an aged driver crossed the median strip, jumped into oncoming traffic, and hit twelve other cars in an apparent attempt to make a left turn, "it's just that they don't seem to have control any more." Eleven other motorists in Central Florida felt the same way after that accident.

According to Blood on the Highway, a Highway Safety group based in Boca Raton, Florida, home to many retired seniors, the main problems with Old Driving are not attributable to aggressiveness, but to innattentiveness. With younger drivers, many accidents are caused by people in a hurry, but with old folks accidents are generally caused by people who are almost comatose. 90 per cent of all automobile accidents in the State of Florida involve people of 65 years or older. Of those accidents, 97 per cent are the fault of the senior. In over half of those accidents, the senior died either from direct inures from the collision, or from heart attacks immediately following them. 45 per cent of those accidents were caused by someone leaving too much room between themselves and the car in front of them, leaving the unsuspecting (younger) driver behind them dangling out onto railroad tracks or oncoming traffic. Other common scenarios include turning before they actually get to their turnoff, failure to stop for a signal, suddenly stopping in the middle of the road, and swerving for the gremlins popping into existence all around them.

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Bibliography

Old People Crash Cars. Pan, Dead.  Journal of Accidental Homicide, Issue 1, Vol. 1, Dec. 31, 2001.

Studying Aging and Driving. Bogus, Phoney, and Shinanagan, Tricky.  Blood On The Highway Weekly, Issue 1, V.1. Dec. 31, 1999.

Unpublished Study, University of Caca, Luxembourg.  1911, Luxemburg City.

© Zane Phipps, 1997 & 1999.