10 Best Car For Elderly Parents

Best Car For Elderly Parents in 2023

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The Elderly and Their Driving Habits

An article about elderly drivers and the risks associated with them.

Elderly drivers have been getting increasingly more dangerous in society these days. Accidents caused by these drivers range from as little as hitting fixed objects to as dangerous and deadly as hitting pedestrians. A few years ago, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators and writers of the hit Comedy Central cartoon show South Park, took a comedic approach in one of their episodes to make people aware of the dangers of elderly drivers. The idea of the episode came after an incident on the Santa Monica Pier where an elderly driver killed 10 people and injured more than 70 others. In the episode titled "Grey Dawn," the town of South Park was struck with numerous accidents involving elderly drivers. With response to these accidents, the town felt it would be safer if elderly people were kept off the roads. This prompted a law that was passed in the town in which all senior citizens must forfeit their licenses. This did not sit so kindly with the senior citizens of South Park.

In a recent interview with Jim Otto from a local auto insurance company, he agreed with the fact that there should be an age requirement for elderly drivers, just as there is an age requirement for younger drivers. " We are recognizing the danger of elderly drivers and I'm sure other insurance companies are as well." Jim Otto created a sample person as an example to show the similarities between elderly drivers and younger drivers. "Someone who is 16 years old, their premium is about $350. Someone who is 82 years old, his or her premium is about $358. We understand that these two types of drivers have very similar driving risks." This is a perfect example of a reverse bell curve where the claims and premiums are higher for younger and older drivers but are low for the middle age drivers.

According to Jim Otto, out of the 3,000 customers his office deals with, 65% - 70% of their claims deal with older drivers above the age of 65 and younger drivers between the ages of 16 - 25. "Of that 65 to 70 percentage range, it may be slightly weighted more towards older drivers rather then younger drivers." Elderly drivers mainly cause property damage and hit fixed objects such as parked cars or telephone poles. "We are absolutely shocked at some of the things we see. We sit back and think how were they able to get themselves in this position in the first place?"

Elderly drivers cause many different types of accidents and situations. Josh Block, who works at a local Pharmacy, explained the odd experiences he's had with elderly drivers. "This elderly woman was pulling out of a spot and was shifted in drive rather than reverse. She then accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the break and drove over the car stop, over the curb and into the store's brick wall." Josh also explains another experience, which happened during one of the hottest days of the year in 2020. "This old man parked between two handicap spots. He had a walker and couldn't use the ramp because he blocked it with his car. He tried climbing up onto the sidewalk but fell down and cut his hands. He was on blood thinners so we had to call the ambulance. He refused to go to the hospital and couldn't remember where he lived." It is sad to say but people like this should not be driving. They are a major risk on the road not only to themselves, but to everyone else as well. "When I see some of these people walking around the store when I'm working, I can't help but think that they are an accident waiting to happen. Some of these people should clearly not be driving."

Lee Harman, a local resident, had her car parked on top of while she was shopping in a super market. Christine, her granddaughter, witnessed the result of the event. "As we were paying for our stuff, we noticed police cars, an ambulance and a fire truck outside in the parking lot. We started walking towards the area where the car was parked and found an SUV's front tires on top of the hood of my grandmother's car." The woman driving the car was an elderly woman who appeared to be in her late 80's or early 90's according to Christine. "I have no idea how she got her car up there? And apparently neither did the woman who did it."

Some of these types of accidents can be caused by age related and medical conditions. Slower reaction time increases someone's chances of going through a red light or stop sign. Alzheimer's Disease, Macular Degeneration and risks of sudden heart attack or stroke puts these drivers at a greater risk. As people get older, their vision and hearing can suffer. Being aware of your surroundings at all times while driving makes for a better driver.

Jim Otto believes that there should be a requirement to have licenses updated every few years. "Just like when teenagers have to drive around for a few minutes with an instructor and parallel park to get their licenses, senior citizens should take the same test every few years after the age of 65." This sounds like a logical approach to help with the driving risks of elderly drivers, but most states do not require this. "The states that do require some sort of license renewal program, such as California, Florida, and New Hampshire, require a successful passing of a vision test provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles," (Danger: Elderly Drivers Ahead). Some states bypass this test and just require mail-in renewals.

Nintendo released a game for their popular hand held gaming system, Nintendo DS, in 2020 called Brain Age. This game is supposed to train the brain in just a few minutes a day. It's the equivalent of going to a gym, except it's the mind that is working. Some insurance companies have taken a similar approach to Brain Age. The software is called Posit Science Insight. This is very similar to Brain Age in which it helps to sharpen the brain. This program is supposed to help people drive safer. This software helps improve visual and mental sharpness. Some insurance companies give discounts in premium to drivers over 55 who use the software. Considering how well the results have been, this program proves that there may be a way to help elderly drivers with driving safely. "During a random study of 487 participants, all over the age of 65, 88% of the people who completed the program reached processing speeds typical of people under the age of 40," (Posit Science Cortex with Insight). This software also helped improve memory, focus and complex thinking. These results prove that this software is a major asset to helping elderly drivers become more aware and active while they are behind the wheel. Participating and completing the Posit Science Insight software and taking safety-driving course should be incentives for elderly drivers to stay safe and be rewarded with a discounted premium.

There are many good elderly drivers out there, but it is coming to a point where they may have to suffer because of so many others. There are many other options made available to older people so they do not have to drive. Products, food and medicine can be delivered to homes of the elderly. Public transportation and shuttling services are another option to keep the road a little safer. With these services set in place, elderly people should be able to get what they need and get to where they need to go without driving themselves. With elderly drivers becoming more dangerous on the road, and the baby boomers slowly approaching that age, precautions need to be taken. If elderly drivers are causing many problems already, it is just going to get worse if nothing is done to avoid the risky older drivers.

Sources:

"Danger: Elderly Drivers Ahead." Danger: Elderly Driver Ahead. 14 Feb. 2020. The Boston Globe. 2 Mar. 2020

"Older, dangerous drivers a growing problem." Older, dangerous drivers a growing problem. 2 May 2020. USA Today. 2 Mar. 2020

Posit Science. Posit Science Cortex with Insight. 3 Mar. 2020 .