Older-driver safety poses growing challenge

With more older drivers than ever on the roads, it’s time lawmakers seriously weigh the possibility of mandating driver retesting for those older than a set age, perhaps 79.

G iving up the car keys is a painful life decision, as anyone with an aging parent, friend or other loved one will attest. Yet this individual freedom vs. public safety decision also is essential when elderly drivers have vision, health and mobility issues that compromise their ability to safely control a motor vehicle.

This important decision is most often left up to family members already distraught or conflicted about their aging loved one’s abilities. This is a burden they should not have to bear. With more older drivers than ever on the roads, it’s time lawmakers seriously weigh the possibility of mandating driver retesting for those older than a set age, perhaps 79.

Statistics compiled by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show the number of licensed drivers age 70 and older increased by 38 percent between 1997 and 2014. While crash rates for older drivers remain below that of the youngest drivers, the number of crashes and fatal crashes per mile traveled increases dramatically for drivers age 79 and older, IIHS data shows.

Mature driver safety courses, such as those sponsored by AARP and regularly offered at the East Lyme Senior Center, are a great service to older drivers who select to take advantage of them. Still, the IIHS data shows little evidence such courses actually help reduce motor vehicle accidents.

Infinitely more beneficial would be offering more transportation alternatives for the elderly. Giving up the car keys can be a solitary confinement sentence for the elderly living in this region that lacks ample public transportation. Even when older drivers understand they should no longer be controlling a motor vehicle, this lack of options may lead them to struggle to keep driving. While senior centers and community agencies offer some transportation for seniors, it is extremely limited. Removing a person’s ability to drive without offering them any alternative ways to fill basic needs such as grocery shopping and doctor’s appointments is a cruel punishment indeed.

“It’s an enormous challenge,” State Commissioner on Aging Elizabeth Ritter of Waterford said about the need for more public transportation, especially of the type that can accommodate seniors with walkers, wheelchairs or other mobility limitations.

One promising initiative is UberASSIST, a specialized service provided by the online ride-hire folks. UberASSIST drivers are specially trained to provide ride services to the elderly and others with mobility challenges. They drive cars that are easier to access and understand how to handle wheelchairs, walkers and other devices. The town of Greenwich currently is working to make this service more available for its seniors and while Greenwich may have the financial resources many towns do not, the program demonstrates there are options available.

Looking into the not-so-distant future, self-driving cars could be a game changer. When perfected — and it now seems highly likely this will happen — self-driving cars will allow seniors to maintain independence despite the decline in physical ability.

While offering transportation options presents one set of challenges — and technological advances offer hope for the future — a prime part of the discussion over older drivers should rightfully focus on public safety. This could best be ensured with laws that systematically review older drivers’ abilities.

Many states already require such reviews, which range from testing older drivers’ vision to having shorter time periods between license renewals to requiring older drivers to renew licenses in person to allow for better evaluation of mental and physical abilities to requiring complete road driving re-tests.

Connecticut has no such requirements, although drivers older than 65 can opt to renew their licenses for just two years rather than six. The state does offer a process to request retesting for individuals whose ability to drive is suspected of being compromised. Request forms can be submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles and after re-testing, a variety of driving restrictions could be imposed. These include limiting driving to daylight hours or prohibiting driving on limited access highways.

This system is a good first step, but it leaves a lot to chance. Systematic retesting would leave able older drivers behind the wheel, and also help protect public safety. It’s time the legislature give serious consideration to this option, while also searching for more ample and appropriate transportation alternatives to ensure even non-driving seniors can continue to be as active as they are able to be.