OLDER DRIVERS

Older Drivers

Older road users include drivers, passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. NHTSA's mission with respect to older road users is to keep them safely mobile through programs directed toward reducing traffic-related injuries and fatalities among older people. Through research and outreach activities, NHTSA's programs help aging individuals recognize their changing abilities and adapt their transportation practices appropriately. Whether driving, walking or cycling, if unsafe choices are made, family, friends, physicians, other health-care providers, and licensing officials can be pivotal in providing older persons with options for maintaining safe mobility. These individuals can also identify drivers with functional limitations that impair driving performance and direct older drivers to safer transportation alternatives.

Older drivers have higher rates of fatal crashes, based on miles driven, than any other group except very young drivers, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The high death rate is due in large part to their frailty. They are less likely to survive an injury than a younger person. By 2030, people age 65 and older are expected to represent 25 percent of the driving population and 25 percent of fatal crash involvements. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 19.8 million, or 10 percent, of licensed drivers were age 70 and older in the United States in 2003 (latest data available).

There is a growing need to help older drivers sharpen their skills as well as recognize their changing abilities and adapt their driving practices appropriately. Insurers have partnered with state and local governments, and groups such as the American Association of Retired Persons, to create programs designed to address these needs. In addition, an increasing number of states routinely attempt to identify, assess and regulate older drivers with diminishing abilities who cannot or will not voluntarily modify their driving habits.

Some Conditions to drive



Medical conditions
You must notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of the onset or worsening of a medical condition that could affect your ability to drive safely, including heart problems, epilepsy and diabetes. If you are on prescribed medication, ask your doctor if it could affect your driving.

Your eyesight.
It's illegal to drive if you can't read a number plate from 20.5m (67 feet) away. Have your eyes tested regularly, as changes in your eyesight can happen slowly and without you realising it.
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