.G > Feature TheReview Wednesday, May 23,1990 — B27 Major study on elderly drivers released “It comes as no surprise that in westem society, the automobile is king. It provides mobility, social- ity, economic gain, existential meaning and social status,” For the elderly, the vehicle is the enhancer of lifestyle,” said Dr. Peter Rothe, manager of research and evaluation for ICBC, in a new book entitled The Safety of Elderly Drivers - Yesterday’s extfa patience and caution can compensate for these deficiencies. Elderly motorists feel their age Makes them targets for younger, impatient motorists. They also feel that an elderly driver is more likely to be blamed for an acci- dent. In fact, the accident data clearly show that they are more often judged responsible in crashes than middle-aged drivers. believe that poor social health leads to physical health problems. Thus the loss of driving privileges could create mental/social diffi- culties that could result in greater physical health problems. When asked, most elderly motorists believed that there should be some kind of retesting (especially an eye test and a road test) as a prerequisite to licence ducted regularly from about age 55 onwards, because this age represents a point beyond which any decrement in vision may be more measurable. In addition to the results of re-examinations, licence renewal decisions should be based on the individual driving record of each elderly person. The family doctor and a doctor appointed by the no longer drive. The study shows that most older motorists do not look upon current alternate trans- portation choices as especially viable. Thus, he says social and service agencies and community interest groups should consider more volunteer chauffeur pro- grams so that the elderly can engage in activities free of trans- portation worries. @ Young in Today’s Traffic. Their pet peeves are people who _— renewal. However many said they motor vehicles department should His book, The Safety of Elderly Rothe’s three-year study of are mde or who cut in and out of _- would feel ervous or threatened do separate physical examinations Drivers - Yesterday’s Young in elderly motorists seeks to explain traffic without signalling, and at being fetested. and decide with the elderly person Today’s Traffic, will soon be avail- . fot only the nature of their pedestrians who disobey traffic Half of this group thought those the extent to which he or she is able in major book stores and involvement in traffic accidents, ules. They also dislike road sig- 65 or 70 and older should be still able to drive safely. public libraries across B.C. but also the reality of life and nage placed too close to points retested. The other half said all If the doctors cannot agree, _ driving for people 55 years and where driving decisions must be _ motorist, regardless of age, should Rothe says the Superintendent of Help Wanted » older made, the poor visibility of street re-qualify themselves to drive, as Motor Vehicles should consult the Gardner Today, 25 per cent of drivers on signs and the lack of left turn anything else would be prejudice medical findings and, after an WADDLING DOG INN the road are 55 or older. By 2050 _ lanes. on basis of age. Those 75 or older, interview with family members, requires full time gardener for the that figure will grow to 39 per Elderly motorists occasionally who were more often opposed to makea final decision on licensing. summer, to maintain garden cut cent. Rothe cautions that the deci- perceive a need to be on the road __retesting, felt strongly that rctest- Rothe also says that we must do_ |] 9fass etc. $7.00 per/hr. experience sions we make today on elderly at times they would otherwise ing on the basis of age was a more to assist the elderly who can [22 BSS elo VanspetSon. driving issues will be ours to live avoid. In many cases, a trip to a__- violation of their human rights. with tomorrow. medical facility, an urgent favor for The elderly feel that the deci- Accident sausics in B@) show 2 friend or a family responsibility sion to stop driving should be RENT ME! RENT ME! eS are cited as reasons. shared between their doctor (the : s eae 9 that the elderly are less likely than Al : Spee : : Looking for 900 sq. ft. right in Sidney? : ong with the problems of individual with the greatest per Hay OEE 239 BON) So TNO TEE sp analtighs ahve, etn, toys ested eedlipility), Memsalves and JUS! On Sin Neel Bozleon. a in a motor vehicle accident. How- "~“° 18i' Siare, Tain, tog and slip Y)> | B ever, their rate of accidents per kilometre driven is higher than average and they are more likely to be responsible for the accident. In gathering research data, Rothe analyzed past research, con- ducted a questionnaire survey of 904 motorists aged 55 and over and held focus group interviews with another 162 elderly motor- Isis. He also studied 1986 B.C. acci- dent data and interviewed a further 130 elderly motorists involved in injury-producing accidents that - year. Combined, this data provided an interesting look at the changing lifestyle of the elderly, the role of the automobile in that lifestyle, the nature of and reasons for the driving that is done, and the cir- cumstances surrounding their accidents. More important, Rothe believes that the information collected pro- vides important direction to improve traffic safety for the elderly and to handle the delicate and offen traumatic issue of license renewals, driving and med- ical tests, and cessation of driving. - Most elderly motorists learned to drive before or during the 1920s, by themselves or with friends in Model Ts on dirt roads. Now, they're driving high-tech vehicles on congested multi-lane highways coping with different laws and different driver attitudes. The automobile is a tremen- dously important lifeline that con- pery road conditions, the study also indicates that intersections are troublesome spots for elderly driv- ers, especially left turns. Poorer vision and depth perception result in a failure to judge gaps in on-coming traffic. Failure to yield is a common charge against motorists over 55 in accidents. Whenever they are involved in accidents they tend to assign responsibility or cause to other drivers, the weather and road con- ditions, and to distant profession- als such as road engineers or city planners. : -Rothe’s study notes that acci- dents are more likely to take place on the way home, when the motor- ist’s thoughts may dwell on the anticipation of getting home and the recap of the outing which often concludes the trip. From their comments to researchers, three major fears haunt the elderly drivers: the loss of personal attributes — such as failing vision or the onset of arthritis — the loss of driving privileges, and involvement in an accident. Health is both a reason for and a reason for not driving. That is, vehicles provide access to the health care system, but failing health can result in the loss of driving privileges. Most doctors their families. It is no understatement that the loss of driving privileges have a great impact on the elderly. Faced with the prospect, many who were able said they would have to move closer to public transit routes: Others said they would have to spend more time closer to home. Rothe states emphatically that society cannot solve a serious problem by fixating on a single cause. He says there is a reality behind the appearances and that accident statistics for the elderly that need to be appreciated before we can develop meaningful impro- vements. He suggests that an educational traffic safety/driving program be developed that focuses on defen- sive driving, myths about the elderly driver and self esteem. The physical nature of aging must be better understood, as must traffic laws and automobile technology. Rothe says the media and organ- izations Or institutions involving the elderly can play a vital role in delivering \honest, simple and direct messages about driving and traffic safety. Re-examination is a policy deci- sion that should be carefully reviewed by motor vehicle depart- ments. Rothe suggests that vision and co-ordination tests be con- 7 VP Vian dbkv VY < I’m clean, perfect for storage area orsasmall repair shop, import/export business and — best of all — I’m only $600 per month including taxes. For more information phone Dan 656-7278 GOOD BOOKS | ON THE GO With summer just around the corner, people have vacations on their minds. Some may already have picked out their destination, while others are still undecided. The Map Room at Tanners has information galore on all areas of the world. Four books that just may - help you with your travel plans are the subject of this week’s review. The first two books are produced by a division of the Automobile Association and come in the handy soft-covered format, “Essential Londen” by Susan Grossman and “Essential Greek Islands” by Arthur Eperon are only two from the long list of destinations in this series. Both books are quite practical and list sightseeing points in terms of time available on the tourists’ itinerary. Topics cover background information, accommodation, dining, shopping, enter- tainment and more. Readers are treated to a beautiful collection of color photographs plus an ample supply of maps. “Essential Greek Islands” also includes a brief section on the language. The second half of this review looks at what would be classified as language dictionaries. However, | found them to be much more. “Barron's Chinese at a Glance” and “Berlitz Latin-American Spanish for Travellers” contained enough tips that they could almost be considered mini-guides. 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