[M II A II R II K]

Driving Miss Daisy: Society needs to help seniors who should stop driving


March 16th, 2010

By Helen Branswell Medical Reporter

Read More: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hFGpCAVmribMdSCvAK0FV9_2chrg

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TORONTO — Society needs to do a better job helping seniors drive for as long as is safe and helping them adapt when the time comes to stop, says a new editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The journal suggested the already pressing problem is going to become even more difficult in the coming decade or two as the massive baby boom generation hits this stage in life. By 2025, one in every four Canadians will be 65 or older, noted the editorial, published in Tuesday's issue of the journal.

In addition to finding ways to get seniors who can no longer drive safely off the roads, communities and governments need to put in place programs that help seniors who give up their licences to continue to live independently if they are able. "Solutions to the dilemma of who will drive our seniors - and eventually us - must be found. The status quo leaves too many seniors isolated and puts too many people at risk," Dr. Paul Hebert, editor-in-chief, and Dr. Noni MacDonald, public health section editor, wrote in the editorial.

They suggested society should plan for driving retirement the way it plans for job retirement. The aim, they and others said, is not to get all older drivers off the road, but to find a way to identify those who need to stop driving and put in place systems to help them cope once they do. That goal is harder to meet than one might expect, said Jonathan King, program director for driving research at the U.S. National Institute of Aging. "We do not know as we would like to know about what would be predicting better or worse driving, driving cessation or the effects of driving cessation on people's well-being," he said from Bethesda, Md.

"We really need more on that."

King said so far researchers have not found a valid way to predict which drivers are going to be able to drive safely well into their older years and which will suffer from health or other problems that erode their driving skills. King said the criteria used by motor vehicle departments - vision tests, for instance - are "surprisingly less effective than you would think." The challenge of figuring out when seniors are getting to the point where they can no longer drive safely is complicated by a defence mechanism older drivers commonly use. Researchers call it "self-restricting."

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[afransen]

Sounds like a job for PRT. Wheel-trans-style transit would be incredibly expensive for people who are merely old and not disabled.

 

[W. K. Lis]

The elderly in the 905 will be worse off than the elderly in the 416. The sprawl of the 905 usually means either one needs to have a automobile, or be able to have relatives, friends, or organizations chauffeur them around for errands. In the 416, they can walk or use a stroller to do their errands if the destination is close by, or use public transit to get to destinations further apart. Not so much in the 905, unless they are able to replace the sprawl with more multi-use, denser development.

 

[The Mad Navigator]

Well, considering I don't have a car, my folks are on their own! hehe

 

[ITcomputer]

its okay, cars that drive themselves will be comign soon.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25571683/ns/business-businessweekcom/

 

[afransen]

Who is going to accept liability for them?

And on the guided car front: even if you deal with the safety/liability problem, there remains the energy consumption (cars are inherently heavy for crash-worthiness), expensive infrastructure (multiple lane roads all needing to be built to bear fifty tonne vehicles), storage/utilization (cars are not in use 90% of the time, and need to be stored somewhere), and capacity (even with guided vehicles, with short headways, you're still constrained by moving in a plane) problems. In other words, I fear guided cars are a huge waste of time and money. They could be useful, but I suspect PRT has fewer of these inherent faults, and would be cheaper to roll out and operate.

 

[Observer Walt]

The elderly in the 905 will be worse off than the elderly in the 416. The sprawl of the 905 usually means either one needs to have a automobile, or be able to have relatives, friends, or organizations chauffeur them around for errands. In the 416, they can walk or use a stroller to do their errands if the destination is close by, or use public transit to get to destinations further apart. Not so much in the 905, unless they are able to replace the sprawl with more multi-use, denser development.

I think what will evolve, probably sooner than later, are retirement communities which will be more than just a building with a party room, etc. They will have to be built around a series of facilities including perhaps a small plaza with a food store, definitely a doctor's office, coffee shop, and a few other amenties (public library? small community centre?) Municipalities should be looking at this in terms of zoning, etc.

 

[nfitz]

I think what will evolve, probably sooner than later, are retirement communities which will be more than just a building with a party room, etc. They will have to be built around a series of facilities including perhaps a small plaza with a food store, definitely a doctor's office, coffee shop, and a few other amenties (public library? small community centre?) Municipalities should be looking at this in terms of zoning, etc.

Isn't that what we call cities?

This is part of the reason I purchased a house steps away from a frequent 24-hour route in a more dense urban area ... so when the day comes, I can do groceries, medical appointments, head to the library, etc., without any hassle. Though apart from the big grocery shops, I do it all now by transit.

I don't really see much justification for 75-year old retirees needing to drive vehicles in 416.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Re: thread title - All Miss Daisy Werthan did was back her car off a short retaining wall on her ackwardly shaped driveway, resulting in no injury and little damage to the underbelly of her car (though the original script/play suggested much more damage and a much longer fall down the hill, which explains Boolie's line that she "demolished that Chrysler" and why he insisted she was incapable). About as serious as backing into the ditch along some rural concession. Anyway, Hoke was at least 60 when he was hired to drive Daisy around, and kept driving until he was *older* than she was when Boolie determined she was too old. And I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time.

 

[The Mad Navigator]

If safety does become a serious issue, impose an upper age limit to drivers, say 75? Force seniors onto public transit. We should think of this issue similarly to someone handling a firearm or operating heavy machinery.

 

[M II A II R II K]

And what of those baby boomers in rural areas....

True automated driving everywhere would probably take place after all the baby boomers are dead. Most forumers here may not have to worry about losing their independence due to lack of driving privileges taken away.

 

[bleeepbluuup]

I think what will evolve, probably sooner than later, are retirement communities which will be more than just a building with a party room, etc. They will have to be built around a series of facilities including perhaps a small plaza with a food store, definitely a doctor's office, coffee shop, and a few other amenties (public library? small community centre?) Municipalities should be looking at this in terms of zoning, etc.

Two of my relatives are in a community like this. There are 5 or 6 residential towers and a nursing home on the grounds, and there's a small shop/cafeteria, hair salon there as well. Kind of nice because if you live in the residential section, you can get into the nursing home should you need it. It's not easy finding a place in a nursing home.

 

[spider]

If safety does become a serious issue, impose an upper age limit to drivers, say 75? Force seniors onto public transit. We should think of this issue similarly to someone handling a firearm or operating heavy machinery.

Let's be extra cautious and make that arbitrary age limit 45 or maybe 35. Lots of bad drivers in those age groups just take a look around, think of the savings available in less traffic congestion and more ridership for transit. These former drivers won't mind being "stored" in silos because, unlike you, they have no life or need to really go anywhere but a grocery store or library do they?

Here's a radical thought. How about a rigorous on the road test for all drivers every 10 years or so, it could winnow out some those assholes who cut you off or tailgate you every day.

As you have probably guessed I am one of those dreaded seniors but not the one who can't find the turn signals or lollygaggs along at 20 below the speed limit in the left lane. I am also not the one whose music is turned up so loud that the car behind them is in danger af losing their windshield, nor am I the one who unbolted the front seats so he can drive from the back looking kind of like he is in a bob sled which is his fantasy I guess considering the speed he seems to need --- wait a minute that's not a senior is it.

 

[nfitz]

Let's be extra cautious and make that arbitrary age limit 45 or maybe 35.

If I were to sort all the people I know who have had to permanently stop driving for medical reasons, none were in this age bracket, and virtually all were over 65 - neglecting a few who were never able to be permitted in the first place.

If you were, to say, draw a line at 75, I really can't think why anyone in a major urban area would need to drive - except perhaps to leave that area - presuming one has had the sense to live somewhere appropriate.

 

[spider]

I really can't think why anyone in a major urban area would need to drive

A brilliant solution to a non problem. Just deny driving privileges to everyone, no need to think or make any awkward judgements.

permanently stop driving for medical reasons

Who said anything about medical reasons, Seniors would be deprived of their right to drive on the basis of their age and nothing else. I contend that I and many drivers older than I are better drivers than 30% or more of the idiots we have to contend with everyday. I have driven professionally and understand what it takes to get from A to B without endangering anyone including you. Years of watching bad drivers make all the mistakes and learning how not to make them myself is priceless experience gained only with years of driving. My eyesight is likely as good or better than the average driver, my reflexs have slowed but I understand this and compensate accordling.

Bottom line is that I deeply resent being discarded at the age of 75 just because I am 75. I am not happy being told to get off your road even though my tax money continues to pay for it.