Controversy
surrounds senior drivers
By
Danielle Lagana
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
The
day 86-year-old Russell Weller plowed through
Farmer's Market in Santa Monica a great
debate among the citizens of California
began, calling senior citizens' driving
privileges into question.
"We
are concerned that an entire group of people
are being painted as questionable drivers
over one tragic incident," said Ray
Mastalish, executive director, California
Commission on Aging. "We don't tend
to become critical of any other age group
of drivers when they are involved in a similar
type of incident, so we hope this does not
happen with the senior community either."
According
to the Task Force on Older Adults and Traffic
Safety (OATS), age-related impairment often
reduces a person's ability to drive safely
and people age 65 and older have the highest
traffic-related pedestrian death rates of
any age in California.
The
DMV doesn't require seniors to retake their
vision and written exams until the age of
70.
"I
think seniors should be required to take
the DMV tests at age 60," said Kaye
Buhrig, a caretaker of seniors for the past
20 years. "Mobility slows down, reactions
are a little slower and they are a little
more panicky. They don't think as quick.
It's like they are stuck in what happens
and aren't able to clearly think the way
we would normally."
The
Santa Monica tragedy is not the first incident
of a senior hitting the gas instead of the
brake. Aside from the grandmother that was
recently on the news for accelerating instead
of braking at a childcare center where she
was to pick up her granddaughter, Buhrig
said she witnessed an incident such as this
in a K-mart parking lot.
"I
saw an 80-year-old woman back out and accidentally
put it in drive, hitting the car in front
of her and then she put it in reverse and
hit the car behind her," Buhrig said.
"When
she got out of the car she said she couldn't
figure out which on was the break."
Student
Nancy Perez said, "I think they should
get tested every year to every two years.
They should have limits."
To
encourage safety among senior drivers insurance,
companies offer discounts each year for
attending approved driver courses.
"The
class they go through is like a remedial
driver training. A classroom review of the
rules, like stopping distance, slow down
after dark, breaking distance and the like,"
says Bob Fields, Farmers Insurance agent.
"I
don't think age should be a factor for driving.
There are 35-year-olds who shouldn't be
driving," Fields said. "If a guy
is 100 he shouldn't be driving, I guess
100 should be the cut off."
Many
are asking if the elderly are being treated
justly. "The elderly are no different
than anyone else; they wish to maintain
their freedom, which requires access to
an automobile in our society," said
Cal State Long Beach sociology instructor,
Dr. Gary Hytrek. "We value youth and
de-value the elderly; we treat the elderly
as burdens and our society reflects these
feelings."
The
National Center for Injury Prevention and
Control reports drivers over the age 65
have higher crash-death rates per mile driven
other than teen drivers.
During
the year 2000, most traffic deaths that
seniors were involved in the daytime. The
NCIPC also reported, "age-related declines
in vision, hearing, cognitive functions,
and physical impairments may affect some
older people's driving ability."
However,
older drivers are more likely to wear seatbelts
than younger drivers, they often drive when
it's safe, and are less likely to drink
and drive.
Before
the Santa Monica incident the Department
of Health and Human Services started a national
goal of reducing motor vehicle-related deaths
among people of all ages.
"I
believe there are solutions, but not easy
ones. I believe that for any solutions to
be workable it will require us to fundamentally
re-think the very structures of our culture
and society," Hytrek said.
Some
feel the controversy does not lie in growing
older rather it stems in the lack of mobility
offered to the seniors of our society.
"To
me, the lesson we could learn from this
terrible tragedy is that we in the greater
metropolitan area of Los Angeles ought to
think about creating a more effective public
transportation system than we now have,"
said assistant sociology professor, Marc
Flacks.
"The
rebirth of Metro rail is great, but we need
more of these kinds of public transportation
options."
Flacks
referred to an LA Times letter to the editor
which encouraged young drivers to stop criticizing
the elders and consider volunteering to
drive vans that could transport at-risk
elders to their appointments and shopping.
Dr. Hytrek said we have built cities and
towns that are car friendly but pedestrian
hostile and the programs that take seniors
around are limited to business hours that
aren't always convenient for those in need.
"The
concern over whether or not the elderly
have the basic capabilities to drive safely
are misplaced; rather it misses the broader
issues," Hytrek said.
Safe
driving among senior citizens has been an
ongoing concern. In April, OATS recommended
the DMV institute an effective driver assessment
and licensing practice as well as establish
roadway infrastructure and land uses that
practice and promote safety.
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