Drugs: Prescription or Over-the-Counter (OTC), may be
potential dangers for aging drivers. Make your mature driver aware of the
dangers involved when prescription and/or OTC drugs are taken. Driving
skills are greatly impaired.
Some medicines prescribed by a physician may jeopardize driving skills.
Law enforcement officers and others have described some drivers (when
under the influence of prescription medicines) as "zombies," dangerously
lethargic, and lacking control of the vehicle.
Every driver, especially the mature driver, must know the effects that
medications can have. Drugs prescribed for the relief of age-associated
conditions such as high blood pressure, heart ailments, and painful joints
may all affect driving skills. Be sure the mature driver asks his or her
physician and pharmacist about the effects of the prescribed and OTC drugs
on driving ability. The mature driver must be able to understand and
follow label instructions care-fully. You should know the effects also.
Help your mature driver to make a plan to separate the time for taking
pills from driving times.
Combining prescription or OTC drugs and alcohol is always a dangerous
combination. Alcohol is a drug. Alcohol alone, or combined with other
drugs, and driving can be fatal.
A vision examination is critical to safe driving. Every
mature driver should have regular eye examinations which include tests for
visual acuity (sharpness), astigmatism, and field of vision.
The eye doctor should be aware of the main purpose of the
examination identifying and explaining any conditions which might
interfere with your driver's ability to drive safely. If you notice that
your senior friend or relative is having trouble seeing, especially when
driving, encourage him or her to have a comprehensive eye exam.
The eye doctor should also test for the most common eye conditions
(diseases) associated with aging:
- Glaucoma
- Cataracts
- Diabetic retinopathy
Glaucoma causes the person's eye lens to become hard and when this happens
a person may go blind if untreated.
Cataracts cause a film to cover the lens of the eye which then prevents
light from entering the eye. Light is important for good vision.
Diabetic retinopathy can result in detachment of the retina. The retina is
the light sensitive layer inside the back of the eye which allows you to
see images. If this condition is not corrected, blindness can occur.
As people get older, their ability to see things to the side (peripheral
vision) may decrease. Side vision is important because it helps you see
movement or hazards on either side of your car while you are looking
straight ahead.
Older people may also have trouble telling different colors apart
(green-red color blindness is the most common; yellow-blue color
blindness is more rare).
Their eyes are more sensitive to bright light and it takes longer for
their eyes to adjust when they are in bright sunlight or at night because
of headlight glare.
Driving at night can be especially difficult for a mature driver. As the
eye ages, the retina receives only about half of the light it did at an
earlier age because the size of the pupil decreases with age. As a result
of having less light, the driver has difficulty seeing well enough to
drive safely.
It is possible to compensate for the loss of light admitted into the eye
by increasing the outside lighting. For this reason, mature drivers should
choose well-lighted highways and surface streets when they drive at night.
If your mature driver is not concerned about his or her vision, and you
are, then explain why an eye exam is so important. Encourage your driver
to have the exam for his or her safety and that of others. Also take the
steps necessary to get your mature driver to go voluntarily.
If your concern and encouragement helps your mature driver to improve both
eye sight and driving, then you will have done him or her and other
drivers an invaluable service.
A comprehensive medical examination should be scheduled
for the driver if he or she seems to show symptoms of some ailment or
physical limitation that may interfere with driving performance. During
the exam, the physician should test for:
- Any disease that might produce loss of consciousness (such as
insulin-dependent diabetes), inattention, or loss of recognition (such as
Alzheimer's), along with possible remedies.
- Loss of range of motion in the neck, spine, and limbs (usually due to
arthritis associated with aging). Your driver should be able to turn his
or her head to check to the sides and to the rear when backing, turning,
or changing lanes. This is important to avoid collisions or panic
braking.
- Weakness in arms and legs that can interfere with steering, braking,
and accelerating.
- Reflexes, including strength and speed of response which are needed
for normal traffic demands.
- Eye-hand-foot coordination.
Make sure the physician talks about fatigue and its effect on attention
span and vision. Reduced attention span and vision will also reduce
driving performance.
The physician is required to report and explain findings that relate to
driving skills to the DMV, Office of Driver Safety. These can include
symptoms such as a lapse of consciousness or an episode of marked
confusion resulting from a neurological disorder, senility, diabetes
mellitus, cardiovascular disease, alcoholism, or excessive use of alcohol
sufficient to bring about blackouts. This list is not all inclusive. The
mature driver will be contacted by a Driver Safety representative who will
talk to your mature driver.
Physical fitness is important, too. The physician should
discuss physical therapy or some other ways to improve flexibility, muscle
strength, and eye-hand-foot coordination.
A pamphlet, A Flexibility Fitness Training Package for Improving Older
Driver Performance, is available free of charge from the AAA
Foundation for Traffic Safety or the AAA office serving your area. This
pamphlet describes an at-home exercise program which will help improve the
mature driver's range of body movements.
