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Driving age research paper
An essay on elderly drivers
An essay on elderly drivers
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It’s normal that as we age, our driving abilities tend to change. Adjusting to life changes such as retirement, different schedules, and new activities also affect where and when they drive. Most older adults drive safely because they have a lot of experience behind the wheel. They are often hurt more seriously than younger drivers when they are involved in crashes (Older Drivers , 2012). There are many factors that affect older adults when driving such as arthritis, memory loss, and spine problems, which make drivers lose height and become shorter behind the wheel, diminishing visual range (Older Drivers , 2012). Driving skills can be affected by age-related declines in vision, hearing, cognitive functioning, ability to reason and remember, and other abilities, as well as certain health conditions and medications. It’s important to note , adults tend to take more medications as they age, and even if they’re not developing dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, the medications can cause cognitive changes and confusion, which in turn can affect they’re driving abilities (Older Drivers , 2012).
Changes in Driving Habits
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So they tend to start new activities, visiting family and friends more often, and taking more vacations. Driving is an important part of staying independent do things such as goes shopping, do errands, and visit the doctor (Older Drivers , 2012). Older adults 70 and older have driver’s licenses and they tend to drive fewer miles than younger drivers. Yet, they are driving more miles than in the past and keeping their licenses for a longer period of time. There will be more elderly drivers on the road as the overall population ages (Older Drivers ,
Statistics show 16- to 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger, which is due to distracted driving. Taking your eyes off the road for 2 (two) seconds, at 60 mph, means you have driven blindly for half the length of a football field. The risk of fatality is 3.6 times higher, when they are driving with passengers than when alone. For many years, the correlation between driving behavior and age has interested highway safety researchers and administrators. It is general knowledge that the greatest risk of motor vehicle crash...
New drivers at the age of sixteen tend to take driving for granted rather then as a privilege. With limitations on young new drivers it will help them have a clear mind while driving. A sixteen year old with other peers in the car, music pumped up, and so forth tend to get distracted easily. With such distraction it may cause the new sixteen-year-old driver to have a better judgment while driving.
According to Carnegie Mellon University the casualties’ rate for drivers 85 years and older is 4 times more higher than it is for teenagers who are considered are most reckless drivers. Penndot statistics shows that the number of crashes involving drivers age 65 and older in 2013 was up 12 percent from five years before. Voanews indicates that in a lot of elderly drivers accidents they mistaken the gas pedal for the brakes or vice versa. One fatality crash can affect and impact people for their whole lives. These crashes can occur in seconds. According to cdc.gov there were nearly 5,700 elderly drivers that were killed. Police are already busy enough the more we can reduce their work the more it will help keep our community safer; not only in crashes but the police can also focus more on preventing drug deals and gang fights. To put it another way we don’t want families to be stressed out on their elderly parents safety we want them to feel like their parents are safe, so they can go help other issues in this
Defensive driving can save lives. It can turn a nonchalant call home into a terrifying call home. It is making the choice between stopping at a stop sign or stopping someone’s life. Defensive driving should be a part of everyone’s daily driving routine. If you practice defensive driving you can save yourself time, money, and a lot of headaches. It also benefits you in more ways than one.
Again, it makes the headlines; an older driver causes a dangerous automobile crash. As the amount of elderly driving has increased in the past decade, the risk for others to be out on the road has increased. In 2012, there were 36 million licensed older drivers in the United States. (Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US)) As a 34% increase from 1999, it has been noted that seniors are driving past their ability by an average of 10 years. (Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US)). Elderly continue to drive despite the prominent physiological changes that worsen as they age. The amount of automobile collisions suggests that prevention must occur in order to make the roads safer. By examining older drivers’ medical complications, older drivers must be retested to be able to drive a vehicle.
Getting behind the wheel, may seem simple and easy to learn, but can have life changing results if one is not careful.Everyday a teen learns how to drive. Many people think that teens are simply not ready or do not have the capabilities to handle driving.“In 2012, 60 percent of deaths among passenger vehicle occupants ages 16-19 were drivers.” (Teen Driving Statistics) The teen driving age should be increased in all 50 states. Additionally, as older adults begin to grow in age they begin to become dangerous. Older adults age 60 and up should have to retake their driving test to prove that they still acquire the skills needed to drive.
“The body atrophies without physical activity to build or maintain agility, coordination or strength” (Larsen, para #4). This means that elderly people may not have the physical ability to complete required tasks to drive safely. The elderly face problems that younger drivers don't such as problems with awareness.
Starting at my early childhood I was forced to walk, crawl or ride a bike to get to where I needed to go, the next step was driving. I wasn 't sure if I was ready to drive, but I knew it was the next step towards adulthood. Driving is an essential tool that many adults in the real world cannot live without. Learning from my mistakes when I first started to drive helped shape me as a woman, but it was not easy at first trying to adjust. Driving meant that I was becoming an adult and that I had to take responsibility for all my actions. Thinking about that really gave me a hard time, because I was no longer my mommy and daddy’s little girl anymore. It was a bumpy experience but I was ready for the ride.
Drivers are aging rapidly, are nearing
The license to drive is one of the most crucial aspects of any teenager or adults life. Every year, millions die while on the road for several different reasons. As most may think texting or alcohol is the reason for traffic crashes, you may be overlooking one very important factor: age. Elderly drivers, much like teenagers, can create just as much risk to the roads, if not more. Many elderly do not understand their diminishing abilities to do certain tasks.
Driving a car and obtaining a driver’s license does, perhaps, seem to provide people with a great sense of independence and freedom. Teenagers need to feel independent in order to learn to become successful on their own as well as realize how to handle life situations on their own, and having a license seems the perfect start and most effective way to do so. When teenagers feel this independence, they tend to act more mature, knowing the responsibilities they must now carry on their own (More4Kids). Teenagers often look forward to the freedom that driving offers as well. Teenagers are able to take drives to escape from life’s stresses, and leave any troubles at home behind without rebelling against their loved ones.
So, using the car's computer systems require a level of sophistication and savvy that elderly people lack, either due to degradation of their mental states or through their unwillingness to learn. Lastly, elderly people suffer from physical problems that cause them to get into accidents when they drive, such as deteriorating vision. Good vision is one of the most important things required for driving safely, but is also something that gets worse as people get older. Glaucoma is a condition that hinders eyesight, and it is most common among elderly
After decades of driving, your senior parent may be unwilling to hand over his keys, independence and autonomy. However, most seniors reach a point where they can no longer drive safely. Look for several physical and mental health signs that indicate it’s time for your parents to stop driving. Then discover tips that help you talk with your parents about making this necessary but difficult life change. Physical and Mental Health Signs of Unsafe Driving
Learning to drive is an experience many people go through at usually a young age. The responsibility of learning is big because it can mean life or death to yourself and others. Being a male it is expected you can drive well under pressure and think out your plan of action when in danger. To drive a car with manual transmission is a different journey and it requires more skills and the ability to multitask at any given second. Every driving experience starts off with learning to drive but everybody’s experience is different.
This essay is to inform you about certain aspects of driving. In this letter I am going to talk about the effect of response time, a safe following distance, how the stopping distance depends on speed, how to decide what to do at a yellow light and how you have to change your speed around a curve. In the next following paragraphs I will explain each of the topics that I have listed and I will give you a better knowledge of how to be a safer driver.