Why Older Driver Safety Awareness Week Matters
December 4-8, 2023 is Older Driver Safety Awareness Week. It serves as a critical reminder of the importance of road safety for our aging population (NHTSA).
With longer life expectancies, older adults are more likely to continue driving into their 70s, 80s and beyond. Recognizing challenges such as slower reaction times and medical conditions is crucial to ensuring road safety (NHTSA).
Factors like increased vehicle ownership increase the difficulty to navigate complex traffic situations (NHTSA). Decisions about your ability to drive should never be based on age alone; however, changes in vision, physical fitness and reflexes may cause safety concerns. By accurately assessing age-related changes, you can adjust your driving habits to remain safe on the road (NHTSA).
Resources:
Driving Safely While Aging Gracefully is a resource developed by the USAA Educational Foundation, AARP and NHTSA to help you recognize warning signs and pick up useful tips on what you can do to remain a safe driver.
How to adapt a motor vehicle to accommodate the unique needs of an older driver and discussing it with your loved one.
Find out whether your state defines “Older Drivers” at a certain age, and what that means for driver’s license renewal and restrictions, including tests: KEY PROVISIONS OF STATE LAWS PERTAINING TO DRIVER LICENSING REQUIREMENTS
References
Keeping our older drivers safe on the road. NHTSA. (n.d.-a). https://www.nhtsa.gov/older-drivers/keeping-our-older-drivers-safe-road
Older drivers. NHTSA. (n.d.). https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/older-drivers