senior driver

Counteract the impact of aging on your ability to drive by boosting your reaction time and visual processing skills.

Getting older doesn't have to mean giving up your car.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—When my father, who turns 82 next month, learned he had to take a written driving exam and vision test to renew his license, the first thing he did was go online to the California DMV website and start studying. (More about that later.) Being able to keep driving is extremely important to him, as it is to many a senior driver.

The truth is, if you live into your 70s, 80s, or 90s, you may reach a point when it is no longer safe for you to drive. If you're a senior driver, or you have a loved one who has reached that point, you know how painful it can be to consider giving up your driver's license. For most of us, driving means independence, and we cherish it fiercely.

THE DETAILS: When I give older clients feedback on the memory and cognitive assessments they have done with me, one question we often discuss is whether they can safely continue to drive. The answer depends on the senior driver's ability to rapidly process and react to visual information. The drivers need to be able to quickly perceive and make decisions about a vast amount of visual data, including other vehicles, traffic signals, signs, and pedestrians. As brains age, one of the most common deficits is in speed of processing. A slow reaction to another car’s stopping or turning suddenly can spell disaster. Slower reaction times and higher rates of car crashes are seen in drivers starting at about 65 years of age. The rate of car crashes rises steeply for drivers over 70, and for those over 85, the crash rate is nine times higher than it is for drivers between the ages of 25 to 59. With over 30 million licensed drivers currently older than 65 years of age, and an expected 40 million in that age group by 2020, we are facing a growing public-safety issue.

Many U.S. states have programs to evaluate the abilities of the senior driver, and require written, vision, or driving tests at the time of license renewal. Some issue restricted licenses for drivers with physical or cognitive impairments, and offer safe-driving courses to enhance their driving skills.

One solution for the senior driver who wants to maintain the ability to drive safely is the computer program Drive Sharp, developed by the Posit Science Corporation. The program is like a video game that users can train on for 20 minutes a day for six weeks. Participants fix their gaze on a computer screen that displays a variety of moving objects they need to keep track of and react to. In a six-state study of 980 older drivers presented to the Transportation Research Board this year by Karlene Ball, PhD, a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, those who completed the Drive Sharp program were 50 percent less likely to crash over the next six years than those who did not take it. Program participants increased their visual field of attention by 200 percent, reduced unsafe driving maneuvers by 36 percent, and speeded up their reaction time—stopping 22 feet sooner when driving at 55 mph.