Showing posts with label Senior safety and mobility. Show all posts
Shedding Light on Older Driver Licensing
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, GDL, older driver licensing, Senior safety and mobility on Friday, September 26, 2014
In an effort to learn more about this issue, we've recently completed one of the first studies of the relationship between various older driver license renewal policies and fatal crash rates. By examining 26 years of data from 46 states, we've been able to make several observations that may surprise you.The most significant finding pertains to state requirements for in-person license renewal (rather than by mail or online). For drivers ages 55 and older, in-person renewal policies are associated with a 9 percent reduction in fatal crash involvement rates. For drivers 85 and up, the decline is 25 percent.
Several policies, however, were not associated with a reduction in fatal crash rates. These included increasing renewal frequency, requiring drivers to pass an on-road or knowledge test, and mandating physician reporting of patients whose driving they have reason to be concerned about.
One of the more complicated patterns that emerged pertained to vision testing requirements. Older drivers had lower fatal crash rates in states that mandated vision testing than in those that did not, but changes in policy status (i.e., when policies were enacted or repealed in a state) didn't change fatal crash rates. This suggests that other factors besides the vision test requirement itself are at play, and we clearly have much more to learn.
Among the key questions the research raises is why mandatory in-person renewal is so effective. Is it because the screening process successfully identifies at-risk drivers? Or does the burden of having to appear in person preemptively dissuade or even frighten older drivers from going to the DMV in the first place? Of course, it is likely some combination of additional factors is at play.
Regardless of the specifics, it's useful to remember (especially when talk of older driver licensing reaches a fevered pitch) that older drivers are not the nation's most crash-prone motorists, nor are they the most likely to cause injury or death to other road users. Both of those distinctions are unique to teenagers, an age group about which licensing policies and procedures have been much more thoroughly studied.
As always, we'll continue to study issues related to teen and older drivers, and will keep you posted each step of the way at traffic-payout.org.
Driving through the Golden Years...and Beyond!
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, Driving and medications, Roadwise RX, Senior drivers, Senior safety and mobility on Thursday, May 8, 2014
Finding ways to help keep seniors safe and mobile is among the AAA Foundation's top research and education priorities. That's why we're initiating our largest-ever study of older drivers, in which we'll track several thousand seniors in various parts of the country over the course of many years. Along the way, this study will generate unique databases that will help us answer pressing questions about medical conditions, medication usage, travel habits, and mobility options for older Americans who can no longer drive.
For large scale, multiyear studies like this, it's always helpful to establish some baseline data and information about what is known at the outset. Therefore, we've just published an analysis of two existing national databases to get some insight into the medical conditions, medication usage, and travel patterns of today's older drivers. Our findings may surprise you.
First of all, older drivers are an active group. Over 75% of male drivers and 60% of female drivers over age 85 drive five or more days each week. Moreover, 84% of all Americans ages 65+ had a driver's license in 2010 (compared to barely half in the 1970s). In fact, every measure indicates increased automobility of older drivers: they take more trips, drive more miles, and spend more time driving now than they did 25 years ago.
Still, medical conditions and medication usage do appear to affect seniors' driving. Drivers 65-69 are twice as likely to report having a medical condition as drivers 24-64, and three-quarters of drivers 65+ who have a medical condition report reduced daily travel. Additionally, over 90% of senior drivers take prescription medications, and older drivers who do take medications avoid night driving at double the rate of drivers ages 24-64.
This report corroborates that seniors are among the nation's most responsible road users, and tend to self-regulate their driving. Still, many older Americans experience challenges that naturally accompany the aging process. To help, we offer Roadwise Rx, a free online tool that drivers can use to check the possible side effects and drug interactions of the medications they take which may affect safe driving ability. The results are personalized and confidential, and can serve as an excellent starting point for a conversation with your doctor.
As always, you can keep up to date on our ongoing senior safety study by visiting traffic-payout.org/current-projects. And, for detailed findings from this latest report, check out this fact sheet.
Exciting New Research Shows Value of Cognitive Training
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, brain training, DriveSharp, Senior safety and mobility on Tuesday, January 28, 2014
But did you know that there’s a proven way to train your brain and “earn" the extra milliseconds that you might need to avoid a bad crash? Not only that, but new federally-sponsored research has found significant long-term benefits of the cognitive exercises that help you do so!
Since 2009, the AAA Foundation has partnered with Posit Science, a leading developer of brain training software, to promote the DriveSharp program, which works by changing your brain’s ability to process what it sees. DriveSharp is not a driving simulation or education program; instead, you engage with interactive and challenging computer-based exercises that “re-train” the brain to process visual information faster and improve at tasks that require divided attention.
Taken together, we already knew that these benefits have been clinically shown to reduce stopping distance by up to 22 feet at 55 mph, improve your useful field of view by up to 200 percent, and, most remarkably, cut your risk of a crash by up to 50 percent. Earlier this month, however, new research was released which also points to significant long-term benefits of cognitive training with the core exercise of DriveSharp.
The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is the largest study of cognitive training ever conducted, and the first to measure long-term effects. Involving nearly 3,000 participants with an average age of 74 at the outset, the study found that improvements in processing speed persisted 10 years after just 10 hours of training with one of the two exercises in DriveSharp.
With 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day from now until 2030, senior safety and mobility is a critical issue for communities throughout the country. And at the AAA Foundation, one of our core beliefs is that safe mobility is a right for all. We are therefore very excited to see further evidence that DriveSharp can help older Americans more safely exercise the privilege of driving, and maintain independence.
Of course, even a cognitively-trained driver cannot be a safe one if he or she is not paying attention to the road. So remember: obey the speed limit, and keep your eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and mind on the driving task at all times. This, coupled with training, will help keep you and those around you as safe as possible out on the roads.
To learn more, visit www.drivesharpnow.com.
Popular Foundation Brochures Now Available in Spanish
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, AAAFTS, Aggressive driving, distracted driving, drivers education, drowsy driving, Road Rage, Senior safety and mobility on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Our mission at the Foundation is to “save lives through research and education,” and today we have taken an important step toward reaching a broader audience with our safety messaging. Our five most popular brochures are now available online in Spanish, and can be downloaded here free of charge.
Drawing upon the latest scientific findings of the Foundation’s research efforts, these brochures provide practical insights and tips for motorists and other road users in an effort to promote safety for all on the nation’s highways. The critical traffic safety topics addressed include:- Distractions in Everyday Driving
- How to Avoid Drowsy Driving
- How to Avoid Headlight Glare
- The Older and Wiser Driver
- Road Rage
We are very pleased to be able to expand our Spanish language offerings, and sincerely hope that these brochures will be valuable resources for driving schools, police departments, senior centers, community groups, and all of our safety partners who are trying to save lives and mitigate injuries on our roads.
Roadwise Rx: Your Prescription for Medication Information
Posted by Unknown in AAA Foundation, Driving and medications, Roadwise RX, Senior drivers, Senior safety and mobility on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
By 2020, one in six Americans will be aged 65 or older, and most will still have a driver’s license. Safer roads, safer vehicles, and a healthier, more active older population mean that seniors are driving more miles and later in life than was previously the case. And, despite what we often hear in the news, AAA Foundation analysis has shown that older drivers are, in general, a safe and responsible subset of motorists.
Aging does present its challenges, however, and among these tends to be an increased use of various medications. Whether over-the-counter or prescription drugs, these medicines may have side effects that can impact the ability to drive safely, or they may interact in ways that cause impairment. However, a recent AAA survey of older drivers found that while 82 percent take regular prescription or over-the-counter medications, only half of these drivers have talked with their doctor about possible safety issues related to driving.We are very pleased, therefore, to announce the launch of a new product developed by the AAA Foundation. Roadwise Rxis a free online tool that provides information about medication side effects and drug interactions that may be relevant to safe vehicle operation. Visitors to www.roadwiserx.com enter the names of any medications they are taking, and instantly receive confidential, personalized results. We encourage drivers of any age who use this tool to bring this feedback to their doctors and discuss options for mitigating crash risk.
Promoting senior safety and mobility is one of our key priority issues. We hope this new tool will raise general awareness of the possible impacts that various medications and drug combinations can have on driving, and offer a user-friendly way for motorists of all ages to receive information that is specifically relevant to them. As always, more information about the Foundation’s work in this area is available at www.traffic-payout.org, and additional AAA tools and resources can be found at www.SeniorDriving.AAA.com.
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