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Elderly Drivers: Safe or Non-Safe

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Elderly Drivers: Safe or Non-Safe
Proposed Solution for Elderly Drivers
Rhyen Eugenio
ENG100T
Professor Hayashi How would it feel to lose your ability to drive due to a natural cause such as age? At some point in everyone’s life, they will become old. A lot of the things that people do at the younger ages become harder as they become older. A growing problem nowadays is being able drive during later years of people’s lives. From the article “Older, dangerous drivers a growing problem” written by Robert Davis and Anthony DeBarrows on the USA Today website explains a growing problem in the United States. Once all of the baby boomers have reached 65, they will account for 25% of the fatal car accidents that will take place in the United States. Statistics from the Research and Innovative Technology Administration website (RITA) shows that as of 2009, there were over two-hundred million licensed drivers in the United States. Of that number, thirty three million of those licensed drivers are 65 years of age and older. Because of the increase in elderly drivers every year, they have become a growing problem in the United States.
There is a necessary solution to the problem that can accurately point out whether or not a driver of the older population should be on the road. Since in-license renewal is the best judgment for whether someone is capable of driving or not, a tougher licensing process should be put into place for seniors over the age of 65 that begin to show a deterioration of their driving skill through their driving records (these are held by a state’s DMV and the driver’s insurance company). Reasons why the licensing process should be tougher for elderly drivers is because aging affects a person’s ability to drive, elderly drivers are becoming traffic safety concerns, and services such as physical examinations and driver safety courses can be added to the licensing process for the benefit of the unstable elderly drivers.
The first reason why elderly drivers should have a tougher



Cited: "Accident Analysis of Older Drivers at Intersections." - FHWA-RD-94-021. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, Feb. 1995. Web. 08 May 2012. . "Accident Analysis of Older Drivers on Freeways." , August 1996. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, Aug. 1996. Web. 08 May 2012. . Davis, Robert, and Anthony DeBarros. "Older, Dangerous Drivers a Growing Problem." USA Today. Gannett, 02 May 2007. Web. 08 May 2012. . "Driver Safety Course (AARP)." AARP Driver Safety Online -. AARP. Web. 08 May 2012. . Kosinski, Catherine J. "Table of Contents." Physician 's Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers-. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2003. Web. 08 May 2012. . "Older Adult Drivers: Get the Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 Mar. 2011. Web. 08 May 2012. . "RITA | BTS | Table 4-2: Licensed Drivers: 2009." RITA | BTS | Table 4-2: Licensed Drivers: 2009. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Jan. 2009. Web. 08 May 2012. .

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