Risk factors of aging that affect safe driving

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Because everyone ages differently, some drivers are safe behind the wheel well into their eighth or ninth decade, while others need to find other sources of transportation much earlier. Some key risk factors for senior drivers follow.

Risk Factors of Aging That Can Affect Driving Ability
Visual decline	Vision declines with age, which means depth perception and judging the speed of oncoming traffic become more difficult. The eyes also lose the ability to process light, which makes night vision worse and causes more sensitivity to bright sunlight and glare. By age 60, you need three times the amount of light that you did at age 20 in order to drive safely after nightfall
Hearing loss	Approximately one-third of adults over age 65 are hearing-impaired. Because hearing loss happens gradually, a senior may not realize they are missing important cues when driving, such as honking, emergency sirens, or a child’s bicycle bell.
Limited mobility and increased reaction time	With age, flexibility may decrease as response time increases. A full range of motion is crucial on the road. In addition, chronic conditions can limit mobility (rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, sleep apnea, heart disease, or diabetes).
Medications	People often take more medications as they age. Certain medications, as well as a combination of medications and alcohol, can increase driving risk. Be particularly careful about medication side-effects and interactions between medications.
Drowsiness	Aging can make sleeping more difficult, resulting in daytime tiredness and an increased tendency to doze off during the day (or while driving). In addition, certain prescription drugs cause drowsiness.
Dementia or brain impairment	Mental impairment or dementia makes driving more dangerous and more frustrating. Brain impairment may cause delayed reactions to sudden or confusing situations on the road.

In addition, numerous environmental factors that affect people of all ages can magnify a senior’s diminished ability to drive safely:

• signs and road markings that are difficult to see or to read
• complex and confusing intersections
• older vehicles that lack automatic safety features
• newer dashboard instrument panels with multiple displays