Aging Driver Safety
Researching ways to help aging drivers stay safe
Johnell Brooks was a passenger when her grandmother ran two red lights in quick succession. When Johnell spoke up, her grandmother replied: "Honey, I haven't been able to see stoplights in years. If the car in front goes, so do I." Brooks forced her family to face the fact that her grandmother, who suffered from macular degeneration, was going to hurt herself or kill someone else. When her grandmother lost her driving privileges and, thus, her independence, she blamed Johnell.
Today, years later, Dr. Johnell Brooks is working on a research project that aims to help seniors drive safer and to help them stay behind the wheel as long as they remain capable. The program is a combined effort of Clemson University and the Greenville (S.C.) Hospital System University Medical Center.
Today, millions face dual driving dangers of elderly parents and teenage children: "Aging parents to the left of me, teens to the right," is their motto. Meanwhile, seniors are petrified of the prospective loss of self-sufficiency that accompanies surrendering the car keys.
A 1996 government study said the death rate for drivers over 80 was roughly the same as that for notoriously hazardous 16 year olds, whether measured by miles driven or number of licensed drivers. The study also said those between 75 and 80 are roughly as dangerous as 17-year-olds. Other studies say that drivers over age 65 are involved in more than 6,000 fatal accidents each year. The problem will only get worse: Those over 85 are one of the fastest-growing age groups in the country. In 20 years there will be about 70 million senior citizens in the U.S. God willing, I'll be one.
A key to the research conducted by Clemson and the Greenville Hospital System is an advanced driving simulator. It assesses seniors' safety behind the wheel. However, creating a pass/fail test is far from the goal of the project. That's because pulling Granny's starter fuse or hiding Grandpa's keys is no solution. In rural areas, the lack of the ability to drive is life-threatening and even in suburbia a round trip to the grocery store may require a four-mile hike. (In our area, there are no sidewalks or smooth road shoulders, so walking is out of the question.) And public transportation is limited in either situation. Rather, the research is designed develop a program that physicians—geriatricians in particular—can use to help seniors keep driving as long as they can do it safely.
"The goal is to the help people live healthier, longer," said Dr. William Logan, a geriatrician and clinical director of Greenville Hospital System's Department of Geriatrics. "Losing the ability to drive means losing independence and the ability to live at home. This can lead to early mortality."
Relatives often look to the senior's physician to force the older person to stop driving. "That's an uncomfortable position to be in, especially since currently there's no objective way to make that assessment in the physician's office," said Dr. Logan.
Before getting behind the wheel of Clemson's driving simulator, those participating in the research receive a full medical exam. Then they are observed performing daily tasks: making a bed, washing dishes, climbing stairs, taking a stroll and more. "We must understand how to work with the whole person to correct deficit," said Logan.
Without being forced to wash dishes, I was allowed a turn in the driving simulator. The simulator employs the driver's compartment of an actual automobile. Closing a real car door and sliding behind a real wheel eases the transition into the virtual world. The "car" is surrounded more than 270 degrees by screens that display simulated driving environments. Push on the brake, turn on the key, select Drive, and reality is suspended. At first, I spent a bit too much time trying to figure out where I was: Utah? Oregon? But soon I was focused on driving just as if I was in a real car.
The simulator can be programmed to display almost any driving situation—rural two-lanes, rainy city streets, nighttime suburban freeways. It presents real world, everyday challenges completely unlike those found in chase-and-crash computer games. For this research, it’s more important to see if a senior can maintain a constant speed, adjust to changing speed limits and notice stop signs than it is to win a faux race or elude computer-generated cops. There are moderate challenges: I encountered tailgaters, pedestrians, a dog dashing across the road and changing traffic lights. But none were emergencies or required evasive driving.
When the research is complete, the result will be a detailed program that can offer specific recommendations on how the senior can continue to drive safely.
"The answer could be something as simple as providing a booster seat and pedal extensions for an older woman who is having trouble seeing over the steering wheel," said Brooks. "It could require determining if the person's combination of medications is causing problems then getting their physicians to meet and change prescriptions." Another simple solution: Changing eyeglasses. Often seniors are lax about updating their prescriptions and blended-style bi- or tri-focals may not provide a field of vision adequate for driving.
Brooks, who holds a doctorate in psychology, says observations during the research indicate that age alone has little to do with driving skill or safety. "Some 90-year olds drive better than some 60-year olds," she said. Indeed, at 70 Paul Newman co-drove to a class win in the '95 24 Hours of Daytona. At 72, James Hylton nearly qualified for the '07 NASCAR Daytona 500.
Another benefit of the research: The information gained can help engineers develop auto-safety devices specifically designed to aid seniors. This is made more significant by Clemson's International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), which is attracting a number of corporations to locate R&D departments on its campus in Greenville, S.C.
Until the research becomes reality, aging drivers can participate in programs such as AARP's 55 ALIVE Driver Safety Program (www.aarp.org/55alive) or AAA's Safe Driving for Mature Operators Program (www.aaa.com). Relatives should regularly check seniors' vehicles for unexplained damage, ride as a passenger to assess their driving, and make sure their eyeglass prescription is up to date.
And know this: If you take a senior's keys, you've just volunteered to be his chauffeur.
About the Author
As a race driver, Mac Demere competed in the NASCAR Southwest Tour and finished 47 places behind the then-70-year-old Newman in the '95 Daytona 24 Hours.
About the Photo
The driver's compartment of a real car forms the basis of the Clemson University Institute for Engaged Aging's driving simulator. Sitting in a portion of an actual automobile helps ease the transition into the virtual world. (Photo by Craig Mahaffey, courtesy of Clemson University.)
send them straight to your Inbox so
you can stay up to date and not
miss a thing!
Get price quotes from dealers
near you... get ready to SAVE!
