Older Drivers
19/01/19 03:32
I obtained my driver’s license on my 15th birthday. Since that time, I’ve continuously had a driver’s license. I’ve had licenses issued by four different states and for many years had a commercial driver’s license, though I have only an operator’s permit these days. I’ve driven in several different countries, including England and Australia where the traffic flows on the other side of the street than in our country. I’ve had a few fender-bender accidents, and have been fortunate to have never been in an accident where someone was injured. I’ve received tickets for three violations, all for speeding, the most recent being 35 years ago. My driving record is pretty clean.
The truth, however, is that to keep that clean driving record, the day will come when I have to stop driving. Right now, at this age, I’m comfortable driving a heavy duty pickup truck pulling a heavy trailer. I can maneuver trailers into parking and operate them in traffic without being dangerous. That skill, however, will only remain if it is practiced and as long as my mental acuity and physical abilities remain.
Over the years, I’ve collected a lot of stories about older drivers. There is the one about the grandmother who defended herself in court after an accident saying, “He’s lived in this town for 45 years, if he doesn’t know I go to get my mail at 10 every morning by now, he’s never going to learn it!” She still had to pay the fine for not yielding the right of way. There’s the story about the parent who ran a red light with her child in the car. When the child pointed it out she said, “I’ve been stopping at that light for years. I’m tired of it.”
Then there is my own mother, who frequently told us when she was younger that we should simply tell her when it was time for her to stop driving and she would willingly give up her keys. When the time came, there were no family arguments or problems. A few years later, however, she would tell several different versions of the story. Sometimes she would tell people that I took her car away from her. I did buy it, but I paid full book price for it.
I was thinking about how I will be able to make that decision, when the time comes, with my family. Part of me is hoping for increased automation to save the day. Perhaps driverless cars will be common enough that I won’t have to worry about it. Already there are cars with lane assist and adaptive cruise control that help avoid accidents and alert drivers when they are being inattentive. We recently rented a car that beeped a warning when crossing the lines on the highway and automatically slowed down to keep a safe distance from a car in front. It was easy to adapt to the new technology.
My thoughts about safe driving and how long to keep driving were stirred this week by the accident in England in which the 97-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II was driving. He was alone in the car. He has access to round-the-clock bodyguards and royal chauffeurs, but Prince Phillip prefers to drive himself. He drives an armor-plated Land Rover, and was uninjured even though the vehicle rolled onto its side. There were pictures in the British press of a new Land Rover being delivered to the royal residence, indicating that the Prince doesn’t intend to give up driving quite yet. There was a 9-month-boy in the other car involved in the accident. Fortunately he was protected by an infant seat and was uninjured. a passenger in that car suffered a broken wrist and the driver had knee cuts. The prince told police that he had been “dazzled by the sun.”
We have a minimum age for drivers, but the law does not specify a maximum age at which drivers must cease to operate vehicles. As our society ages, the number of older drivers is increasing. We baby boomers represent a large slice of the population and as we get older there will be more and more older drivers on the roads. Fortunately for us, the statistics aren’t too bad for older drivers. People older than 70 are half as likely to be involved in an injury accident than drivers 25 and younger. There re many cases of people being able to drive safely well into their 90’s.
Still, the story was big enough to distract at least some of the news media in Britain away from the Brexit story, which, given the chaos ensuing form Parliament, is saying quite a lot.
In my own case, I believe that I still have many years of safe driving ahead of me. I hope that I will have the foresight and ability to limit my use of larger vehicles as I age. I’m sure that the point will come when I’m safe driving a small car and it is time to stop driving trucks and pulling trailers. I hope that I will have the wisdom to make those decisions safely before any accidents occur. One of the keys, I believe, is keeping an open line of conversation with my family. I frequently ride when traveling with one of my children, but I try to also drive some of the time so that they witness my driving. Both of our children are very safe drivers and both drive in heavy traffic from time to time, so I respect their skills and their judgment. I value any feedback that they can give me. Still, I know that there is a curmudgeonly streak of independence in me. I can associate with the 97-year-old prince who just wants to get out and go for a drive by himself, without having to arrange for others to drive him.
On the other hand, I’m unlikely to have access to an armor-plated Land Rover, so I’ll need to be a bit more cautious when I’m 97.
The truth, however, is that to keep that clean driving record, the day will come when I have to stop driving. Right now, at this age, I’m comfortable driving a heavy duty pickup truck pulling a heavy trailer. I can maneuver trailers into parking and operate them in traffic without being dangerous. That skill, however, will only remain if it is practiced and as long as my mental acuity and physical abilities remain.
Over the years, I’ve collected a lot of stories about older drivers. There is the one about the grandmother who defended herself in court after an accident saying, “He’s lived in this town for 45 years, if he doesn’t know I go to get my mail at 10 every morning by now, he’s never going to learn it!” She still had to pay the fine for not yielding the right of way. There’s the story about the parent who ran a red light with her child in the car. When the child pointed it out she said, “I’ve been stopping at that light for years. I’m tired of it.”
Then there is my own mother, who frequently told us when she was younger that we should simply tell her when it was time for her to stop driving and she would willingly give up her keys. When the time came, there were no family arguments or problems. A few years later, however, she would tell several different versions of the story. Sometimes she would tell people that I took her car away from her. I did buy it, but I paid full book price for it.
I was thinking about how I will be able to make that decision, when the time comes, with my family. Part of me is hoping for increased automation to save the day. Perhaps driverless cars will be common enough that I won’t have to worry about it. Already there are cars with lane assist and adaptive cruise control that help avoid accidents and alert drivers when they are being inattentive. We recently rented a car that beeped a warning when crossing the lines on the highway and automatically slowed down to keep a safe distance from a car in front. It was easy to adapt to the new technology.
My thoughts about safe driving and how long to keep driving were stirred this week by the accident in England in which the 97-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II was driving. He was alone in the car. He has access to round-the-clock bodyguards and royal chauffeurs, but Prince Phillip prefers to drive himself. He drives an armor-plated Land Rover, and was uninjured even though the vehicle rolled onto its side. There were pictures in the British press of a new Land Rover being delivered to the royal residence, indicating that the Prince doesn’t intend to give up driving quite yet. There was a 9-month-boy in the other car involved in the accident. Fortunately he was protected by an infant seat and was uninjured. a passenger in that car suffered a broken wrist and the driver had knee cuts. The prince told police that he had been “dazzled by the sun.”
We have a minimum age for drivers, but the law does not specify a maximum age at which drivers must cease to operate vehicles. As our society ages, the number of older drivers is increasing. We baby boomers represent a large slice of the population and as we get older there will be more and more older drivers on the roads. Fortunately for us, the statistics aren’t too bad for older drivers. People older than 70 are half as likely to be involved in an injury accident than drivers 25 and younger. There re many cases of people being able to drive safely well into their 90’s.
Still, the story was big enough to distract at least some of the news media in Britain away from the Brexit story, which, given the chaos ensuing form Parliament, is saying quite a lot.
In my own case, I believe that I still have many years of safe driving ahead of me. I hope that I will have the foresight and ability to limit my use of larger vehicles as I age. I’m sure that the point will come when I’m safe driving a small car and it is time to stop driving trucks and pulling trailers. I hope that I will have the wisdom to make those decisions safely before any accidents occur. One of the keys, I believe, is keeping an open line of conversation with my family. I frequently ride when traveling with one of my children, but I try to also drive some of the time so that they witness my driving. Both of our children are very safe drivers and both drive in heavy traffic from time to time, so I respect their skills and their judgment. I value any feedback that they can give me. Still, I know that there is a curmudgeonly streak of independence in me. I can associate with the 97-year-old prince who just wants to get out and go for a drive by himself, without having to arrange for others to drive him.
On the other hand, I’m unlikely to have access to an armor-plated Land Rover, so I’ll need to be a bit more cautious when I’m 97.