AAA Study: Changes needed to deal with increase in elderly drivers

July 13, 2008 - 10:53am

By 2025, people 65 and older will account for about 25 percent of U.S. drivers, up from 15 percent in 2005, according to a report released Thursday by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

As the number of America's aging baby boomers who drive increases, states will have to streamline licensing procedures for the elderly, while family members will have to confront a growing lack of mobility, the report suggests.

Ragina Averella, manager of public and government affairs at AAA Mid-Atlantic, said a growing population of aging drivers presents some challenges. That doesn't mean because people reach a certain age they should have the viability of their driver's license re-examined, Averella said.

In fact, the elderly are one of the safest driving groups. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2006 there were 62 passenger-vehicle driver deaths, out of a population of 650,568 people 65 and older, in Maryland.

The elderly are also involved in fewer car crashes in general, have the lowest rate of driving under the influence of alcohol and the highest rate of seat belt use, Averella said.

The idea of the AAA study is to raise awareness for seniors, while working with transport officials and health experts to improve the licensing system, Averella said. Maryland's five-year license renewal cycle is the same length for any age group.

Age alone is not grounds for re-examination of drivers. However, Maryland does require a vision test at age 40 and older at every renewal.

Averella said the AAA Foundation strongly supports this testing and other types of in-person screening to reinstate or receive a license.

For instance, in Maryland, applicants for an initial license who are 70 or older must provide proof of previous driving ability or a physician's certificate of fitness.

Also, Maryland is one of 36 states that has some form of a medical advisory board. This board reviews a driver's health situation based on medical records and may take a variety of actions, including suspending driving privileges. A driver's name may be given to this board by private physicians, hospitals or health care providers.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety also offers two programs for seniors to gauge their driving levels in private. CarFit is a free program that offers a 12-point checklist to make sure seniors sit properly and adjust, among other things, their seat, seat belt, mirrors and steering wheels.

Carolyn True, director of the Frederick County Department of Aging, said family members who have noticed erratic driving behaviors in elderly relatives often call with their concerns.

True advises many people to contact a family physician or occupational therapist to do some type of assessment. Some people are perfectly fine, while others may no longer be safe to drive.

Besides streamlining the advisory process, True said the community should take proactive measures to help with an aging population of drivers. These include placing road signs with larger fonts, increasing signage and improving lighting on roads.

The other side of this issue, which will only become more prevalent as Frederick County's population ages, is the loss of independence that older drivers will face, True said.

"As soon as you take the license you take so much of their independence," she said.

Improving affordable public transportation, or supporting different nonprofit organizations that transport people to do their shopping, or run everyday errands, will become necessary to keep the elderly a vital part of the community, True said.

True mentioned an Annapolis based nonprofit organization with a chapter in Frederick called Partners in Care, Inc. The organization works as a sort of service exchange, in which a person banks hours by sharing skills or helping with tasks.

Later, when the volunteer needs it, they can call on Partners in Care to take them to somewhere they need to go.

Another option for Frederick County residents is to use TransIT's fixed route or paratransit (TransIT-plus) services, Dotty Dalphon, community relations manager for TransIT Services of Frederick County wrote in an e-mail.

TransIT-plus is a countywide shared-ride, curb-to-curb weekly transportation service, designed for senior citizens and people with mobility disabilities, she said.