As more motorists age, ODOT trying to keep them safe

Drusanne Shaulis says roads, cars and traffic look very different from when she first started driving nearly 70 years ago. But that certainly doesn’t keep the 83-year-old Bexley resident off the streets.

It just requires a little extra preparation and education on her part.

Her 2000 Toyota Camry just passed a mechanic’s safety inspection before winter strikes. She recently took a refresher driving course with AAA Ohio. The

Camry’s trunk is filled with emergency supplies — antifreeze, oil, a firstaid kit, jumper cables, blankets, food and a mixture of kitty litter and sand for traction in snow.

If she can, Shaulis avoids congested highways and dangerous intersections.

Safe habits, not your age, are what makes you a responsible driver, she said.

“Some reckless drivers are 80 or 90 and some are in their 20s,” Shaulis said.

The Ohio Department of Transportation, faced with a rapidly growing number of senior-citizen drivers like Shaulis, is taking a similar approach to keeping them safe and independent.

As part of its Strategic Highway Safety Plan, the department recently formed committees to address the topic. Members come from senior advocacy groups, state agencies, hospitals, planning commissions and other groups.

In 2016, 20 percent of all Ohio drivers were 65 or older.

The group has grown by more than 13 percent over the past five years, from about 1.45 million to about 1.64 million, according to a Dispatch analysis of data from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

By 2025, national projections indicate they’ll account for onefourth of all drivers in the country.

Michelle May, who is managing ODOT’s safety plan, said the group will focus on four key areas: evaluating state infrastructure; creating educational opportunities; assessing licensing practices; and addressing what alternative transportation options are needed for older adults who can no longer drive safely.

This fall, the group offered its first series of educational forums featuring speaker Elin Schold Davis, the head of American Occupational Therapy Association’s older driver initiative.

Davis hopes to encourage positive, proactive conversations about aging drivers.

“Our knee-jerk response is, ‘Old people are dangerous, we need to get them off the road,’” Davis said. “That’s a destructive message. It doesn’t empower anybody, it’s not helpful, and it’s actually not true.”

Because of their fragility, older drivers are twice as likely to die as younger drivers when they’re involved in a car crash, she said.

But statistically, they have a low crash rate in Ohio.

Though they comprised 20 percent of all drivers last year, seniors caused 15 percent of fatal crashes — 154 of 1,054 — and 9 percent of crashes that caused injury — 7,038 of 77,513 — according to data from the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

That figure has remained fairly consistent over the past five years.

There is no onesize-fits-all answer for keeping it low as more drivers age, so the transportation department plans to address an array of issues in the next year or so, May said.

For some drivers, improving infrastructure — larger signs, simpler intersections and wider road stripes — may be the most helpful. The transportation department has already begun implementing some of these suggestions, such as increasing rural roadway edge lines from 4 to 6 inches, she said.

Others may benefit from educational programs and inspections that ensure their cars are a proper fit.

Mary Lou Gallimore, who manages AAA Ohio’s adult safety programs, said she once helped a driver who could only see through a hole in his steering wheel. A padded seat cushion fixed the problem.

“He was so happy because, for the first time, he could see over the hood of his car,” she said.

For others, increased screening may detect age-related physical impairments or medical conditions.

Ohio is not among the nearly 30 states that require more-frequent driver’s license renewals or eye exams for older drivers. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles does have a procedure, however, for investigating complaints about people who may not be fit to drive because of age or physical condition, which can lead to a driver being retested.

Identifying problems sooner may offer opportunities to find a solution, Davis said.

For example, a driver with diabetes who has trouble using his feet to push pedals may be able to install adaptive hand controls or other driving aids in his vehicle.

Other low-cost adaptive devices, such as steering wheel covers, seat belt extenders and push-start ignitions would help older drivers with limited mobility, but about 90 percent aren’t using them, according to a study the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released Wednesday.

“The fact that more people are living longer is a great thing,” Davis said.

“Now, we need to figure out how our world can better accommodate a greater array of people’s abilities.”

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is considering recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a highly charged declaration that risks inflaming tensions across the Middle East, officials said Thursday.

The announcement would be a way to offset a likely decision delaying his campaign promise to move the U. S. Embassy to the holy city from Tel Aviv.

Trump’s announcement is expected next week and follows months of internal deliberations that grew particularly intense in recent days, according to officials familiar with the talks.