Topics of Interest: The Debate Over Senior Drivers
From the desk of Audrey Zabin, M.Ed., CMC, LSW
A series of recent accidents involving senior drivers has sparked efforts by the Massachusetts state legislature to impose tougher rules on older drivers. On March 2nd, the Massachusetts Senate passed a driving safety bill that would impose new mental and physical fitness screening on older drivers who seek to renew their licenses. The House passed a similar bill last month. However, the two bills are quite different in terms of their recommendations for older drivers. Currently, Massachusetts drivers are required to renew their licenses every 5 years, regardless of age, but must do so in person every 10, when they are required to take a vision test. The House bill requires older drivers to renew their licenses in person every 5 years and pass a vision test. The Senate version goes much further, requiring mental and physical acuity screening for those 75 and older in addition to the 5-year in-person renewal with vision test. Before the Governor can sign either bill into law, however, the two chambers have to resolve the differences in their approaches.
There are good arguments both for and against the more rigorous bill the Senate is proposing.
Advocates for this more stringent regulation might argue that:
· As the population ages, there will be more older drivers on the road. The number of licensed drivers over 65 is projected to double to nearly 57 million by 2030. Older people now keep their licenses longer and drive more miles than prior generations. This rapid increase in the older driver population has led to concerns about the potential effects on traffic safety associated with the trend.
· Older drivers are more likely to be involved in crashes that are fatal. In 2008, nearly 8% of the 451 fatal crashes in Massachusetts involved drivers age 75 or older, compared with less than 4 % of the more than 57,000 nonfatal crashes and the 142,000 crashes that resulted in property damage.
· Compared with younger drivers, senior drivers are over-involved in certain types of collisions such as angle crashes, overtaking and merging crashes, and especially intersection crashes. Seniors are also more likely than younger drivers to be cited for failing to yield the right of way.
· Physical, cognitive, and visual abilities decline with advancing age. Many older drivers take medications that can impair driving ability at any age, but that can be especially impairing for an older person.
· It is very likely that this type of legislation can reduce fatal crash rates for older drivers. Several studies also show that vision testing and in-person renewals among seniors are associated with lower fatal crash rates per population and per licensed driver.
Opponents of the proposed rules might argue:
· Senior drivers are being unfairly discriminated against. Although some abilities may decline with advancing age, there are large individual differences in the onset and degree of functional impairments. Therefore, age alone is not sufficient information to judge driving ability.
· Statistics on older drivers need to be taken in context. A review of state and national data showed that elderly drivers account for a smaller percentage of accidents than other age groups. In 2008, while Massachusetts drivers age 75 or older constituted more than 7% of those holding licenses, they accounted for 3.6% of all crashes.
· Although fatal crash rates are high for drivers age 75 and older, they are not as high as those for drivers 16-19 years old. Additionally, the higher likelihood of fatal crashes in older drivers may have more to do with increased frailty rather than driving ability.
· Despite growing numbers of drivers on the road, fewer older drivers died in crashes and fewer were involved in fatal collisions during 1997-2008 than in prior years.
· Infrastructure and other roadway changes could be made to reduce the probability of crashes in intersections. Improvements such as better visibility of road signs and pavement markings and dedicated left-turn lanes and signals could be made to improve roadway safety for seniors who may have visual impairments due to macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts or other health factors. Another approach might be to reconfigure existing or new intersections or rotaries, which could reduce vehicle speed and eliminate some of the most complicated aspects of traditional intersections.
· Older drivers may have safer driving habits. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab reports that most older drivers have some safer habits, including more constant use of seat belts and fewer instances of speeding, reckless driving, and alcohol-related incidents. The AgeLab also found that seniors tend to be more cautious about when they drive, foregoing outings in bad weather or at night.
· This type of legislation has not proven universally effective in reducing fatal crash rates. Several studies have shown that vision testing among seniors was associated with lower fatal crash rates. However, other studies have shown that fatality rates did not differ for states with and without laws for vision testing, road testing, or shortened renewal periods.
Folks on both sides are likely to agree that every person will face a decline in functional ability with age. However, correctly identifying at-risk drivers and providing remediation are important. The goal of driver screening is to identify people at high risk of crash involvement without falsely identifying drivers who are not at risk. So far, there are no tests that accomplish this goal with sufficient accuracy. Until there are, it is likely that this debate will remain a hot topic for those of us in the eldercare industry as well as for those on Beacon Hill.
In our practice, we frequently deal with the issue of when to stop driving. This is a sensitive issue for many seniors and one that requires compassion and understanding. If you or a senior you know needs help making this difficult decision, there are several “Shifting Gears” programs listed below that might be helpful. The programs focus on how age affects one’s driving ability, how to avoid collisions, how to assess your own driving skills, when or/if an elder should surrender his/her license, and the benefits of not driving a vehicle.
3/24/10 8:00am 1340 Centre Street, Newton (617) 244-4373 x 10
3/30/10 10:00am Holliston Council on Aging 150 Goulding Street, Holliston (508) 429-2624
3/31/10 7:30am 1340 Centre Street, Newton (617) 244-4373 x 10
________________________________________________________________________________
Sources and Resources:
Schworm, P.; Elderly Drivers don’t live test-free in N.H.: Mass. studies program’s results. The Boston Globe. August 4, 2009.
Bierman, N.; Senate approves testing for elderly drivers, ban on texting while driving, The Boston Globe, March 2, 2010.
Shishkin, P. ; Crashes Fuel Debate on Rules for Older Drivers. The Wall Street Journal, July 14, 2009.
“Q&As: Older People.” Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. April 2009. http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/older_people.html
Elderly Driving Statistics and Motor Vehicle Operation Laws: A comparison between age groups and the effectiveness of age-based laws. http://www.senatormoore.com/issues/indepth/seniors/resources/Elderly%20Drivers%20Research.pdf
Abel, D.; Elderly drivers in fewer accidents than others: Statistics don’t discourage push to change law. Boston Globe, July 19, 2009.
Levy, D.T.; Vernick. J.S.; and Howard, K.A. 1995. Relationship between driver’s license renewal and fatal crashes involving drivers 70 years or older. Journal of the America Medical Associates 274: 1026-30.
Nelson, D.E.; Sacks, J.J.; and Chorba, T.L. 1992. Required vision testing for older drivers. New England Journal of Medicine 326: 1784-85.
Grabowski, D.C.; Campbell, C.M.; and Morrisey, M.A. 2004. Elderly licensure laws and motor vehicle fatalities. Journal of the American Medical Association 291: 2840-46.
Colarossi, A.; Seniors’ low car-accident rates dispel myths about age and driving. Orlando Sentinel, 2010.
