Elderly Driving Situation

Elderly Behind Driving Wheels

In a family, there is always a errand runner and everyone were taught to drive for some reasons, most teenagers were taught to fetch or get their other family member who doesn't know how to drive if necessary. Some families who have a active elderly (ages at 65 and above) that can efficiently drive and has the highest defensive driving techniques out there. 

Though, their vision, hearing, reaction time, coordination and motor skills deteriorate due to age, and thus the increase of chances of an accident to occur. There are many reported cases of car accidents in which involves senior citizens as a driver and even as a passenger. Here's the retrospect of involvement of elderly to car accidents sustaining injuries and even fatalities: 

• According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2012, there were 5,560 senior citizens (aging 65 and above) were killed and 214,000 sustained injuries in vehicle crashes.
  
  
• 17% of total traffic deaths and 9% of traffic injuries were accounted to the numbers of elderly above in the same year. 
  
  
• Fast foward, in 2018, an estimated 7,700 elderly were killed and more than 250,000 were injured significantly as they were immediately treated in emergency rooms due to crash injuries a significant increase from the 6 years observation.
  
  
• In 2018, more than 20 senior citizen were killed and almost 700 are injured in the crashes that they were involved. 
  
  
• In the same year, there were more than 45 million elderly that are licensed drivers in the United States which explains the proportional increase in accidents involving them. 
  
  
• In retrospect, drivers aging 65 and above have higher crash death rates compared to middle-aged drivers aging 35-54.

Despite these horrifiying numbers, car crashes are still preventable especially for older drivers. With the technology we have right now is pretty powerful, it has been also stipulated in car as well where there is only for the older drivers need to do - adapt advanced vehicles. As some recent cars has convenient and safety driving features that can easily be utilized by older drivers when instructed well, age-related issues are also aided and covered by these cars such as swiveling seats for better mobility for older drivers, contactless radio and navigation is also possible because of bluetooth for physically handicapped drivers and to avoid to much distractions while driving, and lastly, cars with zoom in side mirrors are also available for installation in aftermarkets. All of these are provided sometimes by your insurer or by nonprofit organizations as they pay for installation costs, just for their client driver's safety and freedom especially elder ones and to aid their problems facing all alone as the cause of these tendencies such as:

• slower reaction time due to age and degenerated car experience 
  
  
• impaired vision and hearing which can cause miscommunication with other driver's signal and has tendency to oversee dangers along the road
  
  
• elderly tend to have smaller attention span due to age 
  
  
• degenerated cognitive skills and thus slower simultaneous judgement and decision making while on road 
  
  
• age-related health conditions can drastically impact one's ability to drive such as Parokinson's 

As a family of an elderly driver, it is your duty to do things that he/she isn't unable to do that is necessary before, during and after driving a car. Such as checking and maintenance of car's road-worthiness that the elder driver uses when he'she is driving to avoid mechanical errors and related problems when traveling as well as checking the senior family member who drives health and well-being to assess one's standing and ability to drive to give him/her permission to do so for own safety as these factors may affect the senior driver drastically as he'she has chances to cause the accident, injuries to other persons as well as himself, and as a consequence, he/she might be filed against an injury claim by his/her victim. 

Ryan LLP

If ever you were involved in an accident as a fallen victim due to an elder driver who have been negligent or has fell victim to his own condition or tendencies, you can always file an injury claim. 

Ryan LLP is an Ohio based injury lawyer that represents victims of personal injury caused by car accidents, medical malpractice due to medical professional's negligence, and even wrongful death against large companies, agencies and even individuals. We have 40 years of experience doing our service in this field and evidently successful with our civil litigations. Call our office now for free legal consultation.