elderly drivers Essay examples

Submitted By feliciaprice327
Words: 1117
Pages: 5
Open Document
Elderly Behind the Wheel “Grimes drove through a red light. The car slammed into Katie Bolka, a seventeen year old high school junior who was driving to school to take an algebra test, five days later, Bolka died” (usatoday). The elderly are very independent, and they have a reason to be. The present day elderly have been through some of the hardest times of the American people; they have been through the ‘great depression’ and have fought in World War II. Although the elderlies have the right to drive, they should reconsider. Taking a license away from a veteran that failed their eye exam would probably not sit well. Although it is hard to except, this is what is best for the society. Growing old means, having mental health issues, physical health issues, and being much more fragile than they were at the age of eighteen. There is more elderly driving than ever before, because the baby boomers are now becoming elderly. According to Consumer Reports Magazine “Seventy eight percent of Americans seventy and older had drivers licenses in 2008. That’s up from seventy three percent in 1997. To keep our roads safe, and protect our love ones, it is very mandatory to have a second drivers test at the age of sixty five, unless a doctor recommends one even earlier. Some states have already enforced laws to retest the elderly more often. For example, in Rhode Island drivers over seventy have to renew their driver’s license every two years while the rest of the driving population has to renew their license every five years. Connecticut has including things such as only driving in daylight, only driving on roads that are not an access highway, only if vehicles have extra safety equipment, etc. Testing the new drivers is a smart decision which everyone would agree with, this is also how people need to treat the elderly. Even though they have been driving for longer and have more experience than the new drivers, are they really safer behind the wheel? When twenty eight states and the District of Columbia have made and passed laws in forcing better license renewal for the elderly, it is not a topic that should be avoided! As people get older things start not to work as well as they did before. Eyes stop focusing as well as they did, especially at night. Losing your eye sight is one of the most common signs of having to reconsider driving (aoa.org). This normal aging change in the eyes focusing ability, called presbyopia, will continue to progress over time. Loss of hearing is another health condition that affects most elderly drivers, beginning at the age of sixty. (nicdcd.nih.gov) One in three people older than sixty and half of those older than 85 have hearing loss. These are huge numbers considering that they take up about nine percent of the driving population. Signs of having to get checked early may be if you didn’t hear a car honking, or if you did not hear an emergency vehicle behind you that had their lights on. Many people also lose their memory which in some cases it is worse than others. Elderly often suffer from AL timer’s disease. Al timers are a disease that makes a person forgets what and who things are. If an elderly person doesn’t have family around there is no one to control their driving. This is dangerous because they could easily forget where they are going, how to get there, what exit to turn off on. Pains arise in everyone’s life but it is more common in people that’s bodies don’t work as well as others, the elderly. Most of the elderly people are on an abundance of pain medications and or health medications. Elderly most often take muscle relaxants, antidepressants, corticosteroids, over the counter analgesics, no steroidal ant inflammatory drugs, and opiates. These problems themselves could be a huge problem on the road, but the medicines they are prescribed probably are not much better. Older adults are at risk of inadequate pain management, with age related factors affecting pain management. Some
Show More

Related Documents: elderly drivers Essay examples

Elderly Drivers Research Paper

have been described in the media where an elderly driver had been driving and people passed away as a result of a car accident. According to the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety), elderly drivers have higher rates of fatal crashes, based on miles driven, than any other group except young drivers, the high death rate can be explained due to older people frail health- older people are less likely to survive an injury than younger people. Elderly driver’s accidents have started the discussion…

Words 1389 - Pages 6

Elderly Drivers Research Paper

Elderly Drivers Safety on the Road My Grandma lived with my family and I most of my life. She drove to the beauty salon every Saturday morning at 10 am for her weekly appointment. If she got in the car for anything else it was a rare and special occasion. So, even though she started having a few minor accidents no one felt the need to talk to her about giving up driving, or maybe they didn’t want to approach her about giving up her freedom. Then one day she had an accident. A really bad accident…

Words 1292 - Pages 6

Why Should Elderly Drivers Be Retested

intersection than at others. It is depressing to hear on the news the next day that a life had been lost in an accident because of an elderly driver pulling out in front of another car. Almost all of the accidents that happen at that intersection are related to elderly drivers. I do not wish to demean elderly drivers, I just want to make our roadways safer. Elderly drivers should be retested for several reasons. One reason is that as people get older their vision often starts to deteriorate. Another reason…

Words 1026 - Pages 5

Elderly Driving Research Paper

The Elderly and Their Driving Do you ever wonder what it's like to be old and driving? Or how about the technology not only in today's world, but the testing to see who is capable enough to drive and who isn't? What about those self driving cars that everyone has been waiting impatiently for? Well, as thrilling as it may sound, it has taken many long hours of research, testing, and tweaking to find all of the answers to the questions that are asked frequently. Many things are known, and have…

Words 1437 - Pages 6

Persuasive Speech Essay

there traffic but also you are stuck behind the world’s most terrible, slow and inadequate driver known to man. Who do you blame for being late to work that morning? You would likely blame that specific driver! Now, when imagining that scenario, there could be a few drivers that come to mind. For me, one specific driver stands out far beyond the rest. It is none other than the dreaded senior citizen driver. So today, I am here to argue that seniors - over the age of 70 - should not be allowed to…

Words 1468 - Pages 6

Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS)

safely, there are usually bad consequences. Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) main goal is to improve safety. ADAS protects the driver as well as the surroundings of the vehicle. A recent study found that automatic braking and sensors that keep the vehicle in its lane could prevent 10,000 U.S deaths a year and save 251 billion dollars (Naughton). This technology is new and is growing rapidly. The main purpose of ADAS is to eliminate driver error and have efficiency increase. Driving safety…

Words 251 - Pages 2

Senior Drivers Research Paper

Falls Can Make Senior Drivers More Susceptible to Motor Vehicle Accidents The leading cause of hospital admissions, injuries, and deaths among the elderly are falls. It is estimated that one in four senior citizens experience a fall each year. Every year, almost three million senior citizens are treated in emergency rooms for injuries sustained in a fall with over 800,000 patients being hospitalized for their injuries. Falls result in broken bones, fractures, head injuries, and back injuries. In…

Words 532 - Pages 3

Facebook Privacy

Facebook is one of many social networking sites created to keep friends in touch. Over the course of time Facebook has changed a lot. Facebook also is used by a number of businesses, organizations, and groups. Facebook has some positive and negative qualities replacing a lot of different websites with all of its many different things available to the consumer. From a privacy perspective Facebook would deter a lot of people from wanting to establish an account. You really do not have a lot of…

Words 1465 - Pages 6

Should Elderly Get Rides For Free

but they would tell you no every time because they didn’t like paying for the bus. Many elderly people can’t drive anymore because of certain conditions. Whether because their eyesight is going bad or because of certain health conditions, elderly people should be allowed to ride the bus for free, and I’ll explain why. Yes elderly should be allowed to get rides for free for a few reasons. One, retired elderly don’t make anymore money. Their just living on their savings. Which means that paying to…

Words 503 - Pages 3

ARGUMENT ESSAY

were of non-violating vehicles and the high rate of photographs was attributed to the improper placement of the loops, which caused left-turning vehicles to be photographed" ("Red-Light Camera Technology"). Unfortunately, red-light cameras cause drivers to panic slamming on breaks to prevent running through red lights causing more rear-end collisions. After much debate among citizens of Florida, driving vehicles over the white stop bar at traffic lights during a red light results in a fine sent in…

Words 1008 - Pages 5