TOO MANY OLDER DRIVERS

WRECK-LESS DRIVING©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist

TOO MANY OLDER DRIVERS
CHOCORUA, NH: JoeyC@nhu.net, age 32, e-mailed the belief that there are too many older drivers clogging the highways. He says that it is not a problem back in the "boonies" where he lives but becomes so on the main roads all across the Country. More so in retirement communities. He wants to know what the authorities can do about it.
Yes, Joey, there are many drivers now over 65 and because most are retired you do see them all day long. But many fewer at night because they are mature enough and care enough about your safety to accept that they are less confident and competent driving in the dark. There are, also, a lot of younger drivers who do poorly behind the wheel. But most of that is over confidence rather than less than perfect hearing, vision, mobility, and reaction time.
Recent medical findings are that the human brain is not fully developed until age 26. Thus the youngest licensed drivers do not make the best safe driving decisions or are slower to make them. So, they may not be careless but just too immature to handle a killing machine with adult carefulness.
Drivers age 65 plus are generally safe and careful. They are about 14% of all licensed drivers and are involved in only 8% of crashes reported to authorities and in 11% of fatal collisions. Whereas younger drivers (age 16 to 24) are also about 14% of all licensed drivers but involved in 26% of reported crashes and in 26% of fatals.
65 plus age drivers have a lower collision rate per 1,000 drivers than any other age group. Further, they drive fewer miles per year than any other age group. Sadly, at about age 70 and older they have more crashes per miles driven than any other age group. And due to their frailty they are more severely injured and take longer to heal, if ever.
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