Driving allows older adults to remain mobile, active and independent. However, senior drivers are at an increased risk of crashes due to cognitive decline, physical impairment, slower reaction times and an increase in underlying health problems such as dementia, hearing impairment, vision issues, heart disease and sleep disorders. Additionally, some medications can also affect driving safety.

The CDC reports that drivers over the age of 75 have higher crash rates than middle-aged drivers aged 35-54. However, there are many things that seniors and their loved ones can do to improve the driving safety of older adults.

Safe Driving Tips for Seniors

For Older Driver Safety Awareness Week, we offer some helpful tips seniors can utilize to ensure they keep themselves and others safe on the road.

Stay on top of health issues

Visit the doctor annually for vision and hearing checkups. Use glasses or hearing aids if they become necessary, especially when driving. Additionally, talk to your doctor about current medications and whether they may cause drowsiness or other side effects. Get plenty of rest and avoid driving while sleepy or tired.

Understand the basics of defensive driving

Driving defensively is one of the top ways to stay safe behind the wheel. Defensive driving tips for seniors include leaving ample room from the car ahead for braking purposes, staying alert at intersections, driving consistently with the flow of traffic and checking blind spots before switching lanes.

Avoid distracted driving

There are more distractions than ever in vehicles today. Adjusting stereo channels, tinkering with the vehicle’s controls and features, using a cell phone, eating a snack – these are all tasks that take one’s focus off the road. Avoid them.

Make the necessary changes to driving practices

Certain situations can make driving uncomfortable for older adults. For instance, driving at night or in inclement weather conditions. When in doubt, trust your gut and avoid driving in any situation that makes you feel unsafe. Run errands during daylight hours or plan alternate routes if driving at high speeds on the freeway makes you nervous.

Utilize modifications to vehicles as needed

AAA offers some suggestions for seniors that include utilizing assistive accessories that can help make driving easier. Basic modifications include adjusting the seat to ensure that you can see out the windshield with a full range of vision while still being able to properly reach the gas and brake pedals. There are also some custom adjustments such as extra-large mirrors, seat boosters and hand controls that can be added to further aid the senior driver.

Have a Professional Driving Evaluation

AAA recommends seniors consider getting a professional driving assessment completed regularly. These evaluations can help older adults recognize how their driving abilities may have changed ways that they may be unaware of.

Wondering if a driving evaluation is worth your time? Here are some signs you should consider allowing a professional to assess your abilities:

• You’re taking daily medications that have the potential side effect of drowsiness or affecting your reaction time.
• You have been feeling more anxious about driving at night.
• You were recently diagnosed with a new medical condition, such as diabetes, impaired vision, early-stage dementia, or you have a sleep disorder or have recently suffered a stroke, all of which could impact your driving abilities.
• You were in an accident, a near-miss accident or a minor crash like a fender bender recently.
• You’ve begun to get traffic tickets or warnings after going ticket-free for years.
• Friends and family members are starting to suggest you seek other forms of transportation, or are offering to drive you to appointments and errands.

A professional driving evaluation can help you determine your current skill level and note areas you may need to improve. DriveTeam is pleased to offer Senior Evaluations with a course fee discount available for couples. This three-phase evaluation will help determine cognitive skills, vehicle dynamic skills and on-street performance to help ensure that older adults are confident, safe drivers. Contact us for more information.

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For many aging adults, giving up driving means a loss of freedom and independence. This is why so many seniors keep driving well into their later years, even when certain physical and cognitive changes can make hitting the open road not only challenging, but dangerous to themselves and others.

However, the Insurance Information Institute (III) reports that drivers over the age of 55 are generally more courteous, safer drivers who obey speed limits and the rules of the road. They are also less likely to drive in bad weather conditions or late at night, when driving can be especially hazardous, and they tend to trade highway driving for safer back roads.

Seniors Driving: Staying Safe Behind the Wheel with a Senior Evaluation

According to the CDC, in 2017 there were 44 million licensed drivers ages 65 and older, an increase of 63% since 1999. The CDC also reports that drivers over the age of 75 have higher crash rates than middle-aged drivers aged 35-54. As we age, we face physical changes like deteriorating eyesight and diminished hearing, plus slower reaction times. These factors can play a large role in our ability to stay safe when we get behind the wheel.

AAA recommends seniors consider getting a professional driving assessment completed regularly. Why? The most basic reason is safety. These evaluations can help older adults recognize where they may be experiencing difficulties that could make driving dangerous as the days go by.

If you are curious as to whether a driving evaluation is worth your time, here are a few things to consider:

• You notice lately you haven’t felt very confident behind the wheel and have been feeling more anxious about driving at night.
• You were recently diagnosed with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, impaired vision, early stage dementia, have a sleep disorder or recently suffered a stroke, all which could impact driving abilities.
• You’re taking daily medications that make you drowsy or affect your reaction time.
• You were in an accident, a near-miss accident or a minor crash like a fender bender recently.
• You’ve gotten traffic tickets or warnings after going ticket-free for years.
• Friends or family members are starting to suggest you seek other forms of transportation, or offer to drive you to appointments and errands.

A senior driving evaluation or assessment will help you understand the impact any of the above factors could have on your ability to safely drive a vehicle. These evaluations can also help you determine your current skill levels and note areas you may need to improve by taking a driver improvement course, such as AAA’s Roadwise Driver™ program.

Senior Evaluations from DriveTeam

DriveTeam is pleased to offer Senior Evaluations with a course fee discount available for couples. This three-phase evaluation will help determine cognitive skills, vehicle dynamic skills and on-street performance to help ensure older adults are confident, safe drivers. Contact us for more information.

The post Reasons Seniors Should Evaluate Their Driving Skills appeared first on DriveTeam, Inc..

Driving a car has always been a symbol of that independence and freedom. However, the physical and cognitive changes mentioned above can make getting behind the wheel challenging. It’s not only important that seniors remember the rules of the road to keep themselves and others safe, but they should also be able to react quickly in a hazardous situation.

The first week of December is known as Older Driver Safety Awareness Week, created by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) to promote “importance of mobility and transportation to ensuring older adults remain active in the community—shopping, working or volunteering—with the confidence that transportation will not be the barrier to strand them at home.”

Safe Driving Tips for Seniors

Reducing some of the risk factors seniors face as well as understanding any physical limitations can help them continue to remain safe drivers in their years ahead. In the spirit of Older Driver Safety Awareness Week, we offer some helpful driving tips seniors can utilize to ensure they can keep themselves and others safe on the road.

Stay on top of health issues

Visit the doctor annually for vision and hearing checkups. Use glasses or hearing aids should they become necessary, especially when driving. Additionally, talk to the doctor about current medications and whether they may cause drowsiness or other side effects. Make sure to always get enough rest, too.

Understand the basics of defensive driving

Driving defensively is one of the top ways to stay safe behind the wheel. Defensive driving tips for seniors include leaving ample room from the car ahead for braking purposes, staying alert at intersections, driving consistently with the flow of traffic and checking blind spots before switching lanes.

Avoid distracted driving

There are more distractions than ever in vehicles today. Adjusting stereo channels, climate controls and navigation systems, reading incoming text messages or talking on cell phone, eating a snack – these are all tasks that take one’s focus off the task at hand, which is safely driving to one’s destination.

Make the necessary changes to driving practices

Certain situations can make driving uncomfortable for older adults. For instance, driving at night when seeing well in darkness is an issue or heading out into inclement weather conditions. When in doubt, avoid driving in any situation that could affect one’s safety behind the wheel. Run errands during daylight hours or plan alternate routes if driving at high speeds on the freeway is troublesome.

Utilize modifications to vehicles as needed

AAA offers some suggestions for seniors that include utilizing assistive accessories that can help make driving easier. Basic modifications include adjusting the seat to ensure the driver can see out the windshield with a full range of vision while still being able to properly reach the gas and brake pedals. However, there are also some custom adjustments such as broader mirrors, seat boosters and hand controls that can be provided to further aid the senior driver.

Senior Evaluations from DriveTeam

AOTA also recommends that senior drivers undergo a comprehensive driving evaluation to help further determine their skill level. DriveTeam is pleased to offer Senior Evaluations with a course fee discount available for couples. This three-phase evaluation will help determine cognitive skills, vehicle dynamic skills and on-street performance to help ensure older adults are confident, safe drivers. Contact us for more information.

The post Aging and Driving: Staying Safe Behind the Wheel appeared first on DriveTeam, Inc..

This initiative of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) was created to help to reduce the number of crashes, and ultimately, deaths and injuries due to unsafe driving behaviors involving large trucks, buses and passenger vehicles.

Some of the types of unsafe driving behaviors that enforcement personnel will be looking out for during Operation Safe Driver Week are distracted driving in any form, texting, speeding, following too closely, improper lane change, rolling stops through traffic lights and stop signs, not wearing a seatbelt, etc.

Every driver can easily prepare for Operation Safe Driver Week by being conscious of the following safe driving habits while behind the wheel:

• Follow all traffic laws.
• Wear your seatbelt.
• Obey posted speed limits.
• Do not use your cell phone.
• Do not drive impaired by alcohol or drugs.
• Practice safe driving habits at all times.

Here are a few additional ways commercial drivers can prepare for Operation Safe Driver Week:

• Monitor your hours of service documentation for violations.
• Track the expiration of your drivers’ medical cards.
• Train drivers how to respond to typical questions about their logs, trips, cargo, insurance, registration, license and their vehicle.
• Pre and Post-trip inspections of the vehicle.

Operation Safe Driver Week is sponsored by CVSA, in partnership with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and with support from industry and transportation safety organizations. The program aims to help improve the behavior of all drivers operating in an unsafe manner – either in or around commercial motor vehicles – through educational and traffic enforcement strategies to address individuals exhibiting high-risk driving behaviors.

Being prepared for Operation Safe Driver Week is simple: practice safe driving habits and follow all motor vehicle laws. And continue to do so all year long every time you are on the road.

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Senior Driving

Grannie, age 94, hasn’t driven a car since she was 20 years old. DriveTeam, Inc and their Senior division was able to help Grannie get back on the road!

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