12 · SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2017 STAYING SAFE BEHIND THE WHEEL Age can diminish driving skills, posing challenges for seniors and caregivers Ask someone on the street to picture an older driver, and he or she is likely to describe a little old lady who can barely see over the steering wheel, creeping along at 15 mph below the speed limit with a turn signal blinking away. Or maybe it’s blind-as-a- bat Mr. Magoo, who drives across railroad tracks, through a barn, over a fire hydrant, onto rollercoaster tracks and finally along high voltage wires as the 1960s cartoon’s opening theme song plays. Clearly not all older driv-ers are little old ladies or Mr. Magoo, but with aging comes various physical and cognitive impairments that can impact a person’s ability to drive safely. With more than 40 million li-censed drivers age 65 and older in the United States, a number which will increase as the Baby Boomers age, caregivers more and more are facing difficult situa-tions with regards to loved ones driving. How can you help older loved ones stay safe on the road? What are the warn-ing signs that a loved one might be endangering him or herself or others? How and when do you broach the subject? One thing to keep in mind is that everyone ages differently, said AAA East Central safety advisor J.J. Miller. There is no arbitrary cutoff age when an individual should stop driving. “A lot of seniors are good drivers,” she said. “Just because you’re getting older doesn’t mean you’re declin-ing so much that you’re uncertain what’s going on.” According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra-tion, the population of people age 65 and older in-creased by 26 percent from 2005 to 2014, but driver fatalities in the age group declined by 10 percent during the same time. Still, there were 5,709 deaths of people 65 and older killed in traffic crashes in the U.S. in 2015, accounting for 17 percent of all traffic fatalities. The 65 and older age group had the third-highest traffic fatality rate per 100,000 people behind 21- to 34-year-olds and 16- to 20-year olds. Miller said that their goal at AAA is to keep drivers on the road safely for as long as possible, and they of-fer a number of resources to help. For starters, their website, seniordriving.aaa. com, has a section where seniors can evaluate their driving ability. Their bro-chure, Drivers 65 Plus, has 15 questions that drivers can answer to self-assess their strengths and weak-nesses and get tips on how to improve. The site also features a GETTY IMAGES Various conditions related to aging can affect a person’s ability to drive, which makes it important for elderly drivers to be aware of anything that could diminish their capability behind the wheel.
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