Keeping our senior drivers safer on the roads
There comes a time within each family when a senior member of their family becomes a concern whether their driving is safe enough. Cognitively speaking, they may still be sharp enough to have wonderful conversations and things throughout the day, but as they drive, they will occasionally perform actions which can place them at risk of a collision. There’s no question our reaction time, vision and co-ordination worsens over the years, but is that enough to stop driving? Maybe…maybe not.
The first thing we need to do is understand where the senior driver’s thoughts are coming from. The senior may have had their driver’s license for so many years that it’s a common event to drive to get their own groceries, run errands or visit friends. It’s about their mobility and their independence. In many cases, they are not traveling very far, but they are still traveling on public roads. For respect of them, let’s do whatever we can to help them keep their driver’s license and remain safe behind the wheel.
In many jurisdictions, a medical doctor is obligated by law to have someone’s driver’s license removed if the doctor feels the individual is incapable to drive safely any longer. If the doctor is a little aggressive, that’s it for your senior’s driving career. In some cases, that may be the safest choice, but that decision should also be a family decision prior to discussing with the family doctor and not just the doctor’s decision. There has to be other ways to keep them safe. There are also cognitive training programs for seniors. It helps to train their brain to be more effective while driving.
Scheduling a driving assessment from a reputable driving school is a good start. Get the impression from a professional with suggestions of improvement. We can’t really label the senior as a poor driver just because of age of if they don’t drive as well as we do. If the professional instructor still feels they are safe and can remain safe with just a few adjustments that may be just what they need. But what if it isn’t?
With all of the technology our vehicles are now having, perhaps the vehicle itself can be the change they need to help keep them safe. Newer vehicles have technology such as Lane-Departure Warning or Lane-Keep Assist. This alerts the driver if they are drifting out of their lane. With Lane-keep Assist, it uses the steering to bring the vehicle to the proper side of the road. If you have a concern regarding their ability to remain in their lane, these systems can help. Blind Spot Monitoring is another example of technology helping the driver see things they may not, perhaps if there is a mobility issue with turning their head. It warns the driver if another vehicle is in their blind spot prior to them wanting to change lanes.
There is also Reverse Brake Assist which senses if an object is behind the vehicle while backing up. If you have a concern whether they look well enough while backing, reverse brake assist can use Automatic Emergency Braking to stop the vehicle before hitting anything or anyone. Automatic Emergency Braking will also slow the vehicle down tremendously if the driver is approaching a stationary object without reducing speed. In many cases it will not stop the vehicle but it does slow it down dramatically to avoid serious collisions.
These are just a few examples of what is out there in modern vehicles. So perhaps if we really want to keep our seniors safe, we may need to convince them to update their vehicle. That, combined with a professional assessment, may help to keep them safe on the roads for a few more years. That should also help to keep everyone happy.
Thank you so much for this article; good hearted and practical pieces such as this should be posted far and wide on the interwebs, rather than the usual divisive claptrap. I will do my part to share.