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Elderly Drivers, State At Crossroads Over Safety
By Michael Reed, Daytona Beach News-Journal
July 11, 2004
PALM COAST -- An 81-year-old driver strikes a woman at the busy Flagler Beach farmers market, leaving her comatose for two weeks. A 74-year-old driver crashes into the baggage claim of the Tampa International Airport, shattering glass doors and injuring another 74-year-old man.
Many people voice concern about elderly drivers when they hear about accidents like these in late May and mid-June.
Elderly drivers are involved in fewer crashes than people younger than 25. But as Florida's elderly population grows, along with the number of people older than 60 who have a driver's license, the state is scrambling to address what it calls a critical situation.
A recent Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles report recommended three steps:
· Educating older drivers to compensate for waning abilities and recognize when it's time to give up the keys.
· Assessing drivers for debilitating declines in vision, hearing, thinking and physical skills so that dangerous drivers can be taken off the road.
· Providing alternative transportation for people who can no longer drive.
However, whether voluntarily or involuntary, and regardless of whether there's another way to get around, older people and their advocates say surrendering the independence a driver's license brings can be a deep emotional blow.
"I would be totally lost if I wasn't able to drive," said 75-year-old Dee Werdermann of Palm Coast, who got a taste of what it's like to rely on other people when she needed surgery last year. She spent a couple of months in physical therapy and couldn't drive.
Werdermann said she considers herself a safe driver. Robert Bourne, 80, of Palm Coast, though, said he will stop driving when it's time for him to renew his license next May. He already limits himself to daytime driving, and with his waning vision he wants to turn in his keys before it's too late, he said.
"I have decided it would be a boon to other drivers to get off of the road at that time," Bourne said.
Many people drive who probably shouldn't, said Joanne Hinkel, Flagler County Senior Services' program coordinator.
"Having to give that up is a very emotional and upsetting event," Hinkel said.
The National Institute on Aging predicted that in 2020, one in five Americans will be older than 65, and most will be licensed to drive. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported that almost 250,000 people in the state are older than 85, and at least 20 percent are drivers with dementia.
The report also said that crash rates for drivers with cognitive dementia are 7.6 times higher than other drivers. But drivers with dementia may not be aware of their condition, which makes it important to identify people with failing abilities, according to the department.
A state law took effect this year requiring vision tests for drivers older than 79 when they renew their licenses. The law also directed the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to study the effects of aging on the ability to drive.
The department reported that age isn't the only factor that determines someone's ability to drive, but elderly people can develop debilitating conditions that put them at risk.
The recommendations for driver education, assessment and alternative transportation were included in that report. Pilot programs for testing drivers' vision, cognitive abilities and functional skills are under way, said Robert Sanchez, spokesman for the department.
Today law enforcement officers, doctors and family members often refer seniors to the department for assessment, he said. Then the department sends a letter to drivers asking for an interview, and their physician may have to fill out a form assessing their ability to drive.
"It triggers a process designed to be fair to the person who is referred to us," Sanchez said.
Seniors who no longer drive are faced with a lack of alternative transportation. Taxis are costly for people on a fixed income, and elderly people turn to friends, family or public transportation.
Though Flagler County has no regularly scheduled bus service, it does offer government-run bus service that picks up elderly and disabled people. Flagler County Transportation Director Gary Willoughby said social workers often make referrals for people who need rides.
"A lot of the times they've been prescreened before they come to us," Willoughby said.
The transportation program receives funds from federal, state and local sources, and it's averaging 1,560 trips and 12,000 miles a week, Willoughby said. The program isn't turning people away, but one day the county will probably need a more regular bus service, he said.
The county took over public transportation March 1.
Volusia County's Votran Gold is a similar service for the elderly and disabled. But the situation in Volusia County is different because it's not as rural as Flagler, said Gail Camputaro, executive director of the Council on Aging of Volusia County. Regular public transportation is more extensive, and many elderly people live near a main road, she said.
She also recommended a driver safety course offered by the AARP and advised seniors to prepare for the day when they won't be able to drive.
"We all have a personal responsibility to be planning for out future as we go through the aging process," Camputaro said.
Hinkel said Flagler County tries to encourage seniors to use the county bus service, but many will continue to drive if they don't have alternatives.
"About all we can do now is help as many as we can as we know they need it," Hinkel said.
Age and Accidents:
The number of drivers older than 60 is increasing rapidly in Florida. Through March, the state says there were more than 3.3 million compared to just less than 3 million in 2000. In Volusia County, the number jumped from 106,763 to 117,967 in the same period while Flagler County's total climbed from 15,685 to 20,301. An analysis of statewide crash statistics from 2002 (the most recent available) reveals that 19-year-old drivers are involved in the most crashes. Seniors' rates of crashes are lower, but once drivers turn 78, risk increases greatly and grow higher after turning 85.
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