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Driving Dangers
June 25, 2008 |
Right now in the United States there are more than ten million drivers over the
age of 75. As the baby boomer population ages the numbers will continue to
increase.
Dr. Michael Raab is a geriatrician for Older Adult Services at Lee Memorial
Hospital. He says Southwest Florida can serve as an example of what the
country’s population will look like in coming years. “Lee County area has the
percentage and population demographics in terms of aging that the nation will
have in about 20 years.” This means that Lee County has more elderly drivers
than most places in the U.S. It’s a statistic that also means there’s a greater
risk of the fatal accidents involving elderly drivers.
“As people get older they do have an increased risk of fatality from driving
number one or number two cause past the age of 65 death,” says Dr. Raab. So the
folks with Older Adult Services are putting on the Drive-Able program. It’s
funded mostly by state grants and its main goal is to educate elderly drivers
and their families about the risks of hitting the road. “We have people all over
the place on scooters who can’t walk but think nothing of getting behind the
wheel and using those same legs that can’t carry them to propel a 2000 pound
machine,” says Dr. Raab.
Steve Emerson is in his early fifties but the driving instructor and retired
police officer felt it was important to participate in the program. “The
importance of how complex and complicated driving is we take that for granted
oftentimes. How complicated and complex it might be for people with memory
problems or limited vision problems or hearing problems or other motor skill
problems.”
So how do you know when it’s time for you or maybe your aging parents or
grandparents to hang up the car keys? In next week’s Health Matters we’ll give
you some tips on how to best handle that delicate situation.
By the year 2030 people age 65 and older are expected to represent 25% of the
driving population and 25% of fatal crash involvement according to the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. |
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