When It’s Time for Elderly Drivers to Stop
After his elderly father-in-law had three car accidents, Gerald Mermelstein knew it was time to take the car keys.
“We weren’t very nice about it,” Mermelstein said. “We just said we’re taking them away.”
Now Mermelstein, 75, may face an erosion of his own driving skills as he ages.
“I hope I’ll be intelligent enough to know when it’s too much,” he said. “I hope I understand.”
To help seniors keep track of their driving ability, the American Automobile Assn. has developed a diagnostic tool that measures eight physical and mental aptitudes crucial to operating a vehicle.
“Roadwise Review: A Tool to Help Seniors Drive Safely Longer” is an interactive CD-ROM that tests eyesight, leg strength and memory, among other skills.
People 65 and older are the fastest-growing population group in the United States, and by 2020 the number of licensed drivers in that age bracket will exceed 40 million, according to AAA statistics.
Given the same driving conditions, older drivers are more likely than drivers in their 30s, 40s and 50s to be involved in traffic accidents and killed in collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Statistically, however, older drivers tend to be safer because they drive less frequently than younger motorists.
Medical conditions, medications and slower reflexes are some of the risk factors that can endanger an elderly motorist, experts said.
“Roadwise Review” points out weaknesses in a senior’s driving and suggests ways to improve, AAA officials said.
The aptitudes include:
* Leg strength and general mobility, for acceleration and braking under regular conditions and responding to emergencies.
* Head and neck flexibility, required for checking blind spots when backing up, changing lanes and merging into traffic.
* High-contrast visual acuity, important for detecting pavement markings, reading road signs and spotting hazards.
* Low-contrast visual acuity, important for driving safely in rain, dusk, haze and fog.
* Memory of directions and traffic rules.
* Ability to quickly process visual information.
“You are rated with a pass or rated with a mild or serious impairment,” said Patrice Frazier, managing director of community programs for the Automobile Club of Southern California. “The program also may recommend you get glasses, physical therapy, and gradual and reasonable exercise.”
The death of 10 people after an 87-year-old man lost control of his car and plowed through the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market in 2003 underscores the program’s importance, said Marie Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the Automobile Club.
“Because they have been driving for so long, sometimes they don’t know when it’s time to stop,” Montgomery said.
A senior’s decision to stop driving can be difficult, Frazier said, because it means relinquishing a measure of independence.
“It’s a lifestyle choice,” she said. “You still need to go shopping, you still need to get around. I think that the tool will help seniors stay on the road as long as they can safely do it.”
Mermelstein, a retired telecommunications engineer from Laguna Woods, was part of a focus group that tested “Roadwise Review.”
The test, which ran about two hours, presented a series of questions and physical tasks.
“If you conscientiously go through this program, you’ll know when it’s time to hang it up,” he said.
The test was a humbling experience, Mermelstein said, but it did offer suggestions on how to correct problems. He learned that it might be time to have his vision checked, he said, and that he is knowledgeable about the rules of the road.
Seniors can take the test in their homes, he said.
“It can be done privately, and no one knows the results unless the seniors want them to, which will encourage seniors to take it,” Mermelstein said. “A lot of seniors are concerned that their licenses will be taken away, and that would leave them with no means of getting around.”
In the Southland, the disc is available at AAA offices, priced at $5 for members and $7 for nonmembers. Some libraries and senior centers offer the program for free, and more have plans to offer it soon.
