FAMILY MEDICINE® COLUMN
By John C. Wolf, D.O.
Associate Professor of Family Medicine®
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO DRIVE

Question: I recently had an accident while driving my pickup truck. I was approaching a red light and tromped on the gas instead of the brake. I realized what happened, but I "froze" and collided with the other car. No one was hurt, fortunately. I didn't feel dizzy or sick. I take no alcohol or drugs. So why did I "freeze?" I'm 75 and my family thinks I'm getting too old to drive. What do you think?

Answer: The experience of freezing in a moment of crisis can be quite unnerving. It is a fairly common reaction when a person is placed in a situation perceived as potentially life-threatening. Under these circumstances, the mind races between options of action or inaction with such rapidity that you can't do anything! That is what happened to you. Once you realized that you had your foot on the wrong pedal, you couldn't get it off the gas and on to the break. You just kept going until you crashed. You experienced one of the options in a panic situation the option of "no action."

An individual's age has little to do with his or her ability to manage the complex tasks involved in driving. However, traffic accident statistics do show that certain age groups have greater problems managing these complex skills than others.

Young drivers often make errors in judgment that ultimately result in a serious accident. Those over 75 often do the same, but their errors are more often compounded by problems from vision, hearing, and/or mobility. One would think that as one develops infirmities that he or she would voluntarily stop driving. The statistics clearly show that this isn't so. Drivers 80 and older have accident death rates greater than teenagers!

A license can be suspended when the driver has been shown to be suffering from a physical or mental disability or disease which prevents the person from exercising reasonable and ordinary control over a motor vehicle on the highway. Unfortunately, some of us develop these problems without realizing it, and this happens more frequently with advancing age. Age by itself, however, is not a reason to stop driving. If your family suspects that your driving skills are deteriorating, then there is reason for concern.

Some states take the risk of older individuals driving quite seriously. They provide special driver education classes and periodic retesting. I think that's a good idea! Talk to the Highway Patrol or the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in your state. Hopefully you will be able to satisfy your family that it is safe for you to continue driving.

Family Medicine® is a weekly column. To submit questions, write to John C. Wolf, D.O., Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Grosvenor Hall, Athens, Ohio 45701.