Elderly Drivers Research Paper

Superior Essays
Through research it is shown that people over the age of 65 have a reduction in functional activities, visuoperceptual abilities, and physiological function. The elderly also tend to reduce weekly driving distances, do not maintain the speed limit, and have more crashes compared to most other age groups. We are looking to create safer driving conditions for older drivers while also making roadways easier to travel on from the perspective of other drivers as well. By creating a separate traffic lane, this will allow older adults to concentrate more on their driving and be able to drive at the slower pace they tend to drive at without causing any kind of issue with other drivers.
Review of the Literature
In a study done by Freund et al. (2005),
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(2000), was conducted in order to “examine and quantify the association between potential risk factors and crash severity of motor vehicle traffic crashes involving elderly drivers” (Zang et al. 2000). This research used a cross sectional design to carry out the main purpose of their study. Canadian Traffic Accident Information Data bank was used to determine the severity of different vehicle accidents that occurred and by whom. The participants of this study were drivers from 65 years old and up. The results of this study showed a pattern for severe automobile accidents involving elderly drivers. It was also found that “crashes involving male elderly drivers were 1.4 times as likely to be fatal as those of female elderly drivers.” (Zang et al, 2000). The results showed statistical significance in the factors of the risk of fatal and major injury crashes with a p-value of <.05. Thus indicating that factors such as age and gender were associated with fatal motor vehicle traffic …show more content…
Not only would this lane potentially add a new found level of safety for all drivers but these new lanes would increase the rate at which elderly adults leave their homes. Transportation is a basic human need and is linked strongly to independence, autonomy, and most importantly; quality of life. As individuals decline through aging it is not uncommon for older adults to feel unsafe or lack confidence in their ability to transport themselves to desired destinations. Being able to safely transport to doctors appointments, grocery stores, friends homes, family homes, exercise facilities, and group meetings of any sort helps maintain/ increase a person’s quality of life. It is also known that living a sedentary life can lead to an increase in cognitive and physical decline. The longer individuals can stay independent the better off society will be as a whole. In a study conducted by Taylor and Tripodes (2001), the authors explored how loss of driving privileges and affects household and focused on the loss of one’s license due to Alzheimer’s and dementia. This is increasingly important because the number of individuals who will likely suffer from either of these diseases will increase drastically by the year 2030. Taylor and Tripodes collected data from nine hundred households using a survey in California of who house individuals with dementia and how people get to and from necessary destinations. The

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