‘Driving was something I pretty much took for granted. But as I age, I notice slight discomforts’

This past July, as this 70-year-old made a 1,000-mile driving trek to see my brother in West Virginia and my son and his family in South Carolina, I thought how fortunate I was to be able to drive long distances without any major consequences or hassles. Most of us equate the open road with independence — the idea that we can go and come as we please.

Those who can’t drive any more because of age-related disabilities or reaction-time issues must either rely on others to get them from point A to point B or, basically, stay at home. Some are fortunate enough to live near a Centro bus route, and a few others might have the wherewithal to summon a taxi. Of course, if the destination is within walking distance, that might be an option, too.

Like most of you, I started driving when I was 16. When I first got my license, I cruised down the main drag of my hometown — often with friends sitting on peach baskets in my father’s 1951 Chevy panel truck that he used to deliver goods to our grocery store customers. When my dad was in a really good mood, he handed over the keys to his pride-and-joy: our 1955 red-and-white Buick Roadmaster.

The automobile was my passport to exploring new communities, new states and cool sites and getting chicks. It was something I pretty much took for granted. But as I age, I notice slight discomforts. I have to stop more often (if only to pee). Depending on the time of day, I can get really tired. It is not uncommon for me on the four-hour trip from Central New York to Pennsylvania, where children and grandchildren live, to pull into a rest stop for a 15-minute power nap. If I don’t put down the windows and blast the Bose, I find myself nodding off.

The wave of older drivers and high profile accidents involving this age group have caught the attention of law-enforcement and state officials, prompting both to call for programs that would aim to allow seniors to keep driving if they can do so without endangering others and themselves.

According to USA Today quoting U.S. Census projections, the number of Americans 65 and older will jump from 39 million in 2010 to 69 million in 2030. Today, about 15 percent of all drivers on the road are 65 or older, and that number will jump to 25 percent by 2025, according to Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

More and more, states are implementing additional and more frequent testing of seniors, particularly those who are 80 and older. In Maryland, state law allows doctors, police and residents, especially relatives, to refer suspected unfit drivers to the Motor Vehicle Administration’s Medical Advisory Board. Police have been referring about 700 drivers a year — about 60 percent of them 65 and over. In some cases, drivers are re-tested.

A 2004 Florida law requiring older drivers to pass a vision test before getting a license renewal has helped cut the death toll among drivers 80 or older by 17 percent, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

In New York state, no bills have been introduced recently to address the issue of unsafe driving among seniors. One might have the accidental consequence of providing for a shorter period of licensing for those 70 and older, although its intent is not to limit seniors from getting tested and re-licensed more frequently.
Rep. Jim Hayes, a Republican who represents Niagara and Erie counties, introduced a bill earlier this year that allows those 70 and older to apply for a license every two years instead of every eight, but it’s strictly voluntary. Its intent, says Hayes, is to give a break to older New Yorkers who might pay for an eight-year license but not be able to use it for its full term. If the bill passes, the cost would be pro-rated to reflect the shorter duration. The bill is under consideration in the Assembly Transportation Committee.

The New York Department of Motor Vehicles requires anyone — regardless of age — who has three accidents in a three-month period to undergo a mandatory road re-test. It also requires those between the ages of 25 and 65 who have had three accidents in a nine-month period to fill out a re-examination questionnaire. Based on its findings, the department will decide whether a re-test is needed. Those under 25 and over 65 who have three accidents in a nine-month period must take a re-examination.

The state DMV also has a program to re-test suspect drivers who are referred by relatives or others if there is mitigating evidence to support the need for such a re-test. The problem in trying to come up with a solution to this touchy issue is that people age so differently that it’s impossible to devise a single standard for ending driving privileges. One 80-year-old may be perfectly fine and responsible behind the wheel; another 80-year-old can be a menace on the highway.

“The same can be said for two 20-year-olds,” says James Renaldi, a spokesperson for a seniors group in Binghamton.

Gerontologists caution against stereotyping older drivers. Thomas Meuser, a gerontologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, told USA Today that most older Americans are safe and cautious drivers. “The challenge is older drivers with subtle but progressive health issues that affect them without their knowledge,” he told the newspaper.

Mental health practitioners who deal with the elderly caution that driving is important for seniors, particularly for their sense of independence and worth. Seniors passionately resist wanting to become a burden on others. Several studies have shown that grounding seniors who have no other available transportation depresses them, makes them inactive and causes them to lose access to health care, resulting in some cases in an earlier death.

Massachusetts has become the latest battleground for this issue. A recent series of incidents involved elderly drivers, including a June 13 crash in which an 89-year-old woman struck and killed a 4-year-old girl crossing the street with her grandfather and two siblings.

Massachusetts State Sen. Brian Joyce backs a bill that requires drivers 85 and older to pass a vision and road test every five years. Now, Massachusetts requires just a vision test every 10 years. According to Joyce, the state road-tests 16 ½-year-olds when they seek an initial license and never tests them again. “This is simply inadequate,” Joyce says.