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January 6, 2020
An older driver behind the wheel of a car has their share of strengths and some potential weaknesses when it comes to skill and safety. On the positive side, they can draw on hundreds of thousands of miles of experience from throughout their years. If they encounter it on the road, it’s likely not their first time experiencing it, so in a way, they’re ready for anything.
But when considering how age can negatively affect one’s ability to drive safely, there are some undeniable factors that can degrade driving skills. Vision inevitably dims with the years. Pupils and peripheral vision shrink as we age. Hearing loss in the high pitch range can make it easier to miss an emergency vehicle’s siren. Reaction time lengthens with age, and muscle and joint pain can make an older driver hesitate in emergency situations.
An older adult driver can bring strong skills to the road from their years of experience, but they must also be aware of any factors that may begin to degrade driving abilities.
While certainly not every aging driver experiences all or even any of these hindrances on their driving skills, all older adults can actively apply their robust years of driving expertise and put a bit of extra concerted effort into balancing any effects of the passing years.
Safe Driving Checklist The following is a safe driving checklist, with 10 questions to ask yourself before taking to the road.
“Is your vehicle older in 'car years' than you are in human years?”
Keep all drivers - including yourself - safe by minding the speed limit.
Have something to add to our checklist? Did you find this helpful? Leave us a comment below!
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