Elderly drivers’ risk not clear-cut - The debate about when to take the keys away from the elderly flared up again when 86-year-old driver struck thre

Elderly drivers’ risk not clear-cut - The debate about when to take the keys away from the elderly flared up again when 86-year-old driver struck three teenage Chicago cyclists on March 24
By Erika Slife and Bonnie Miller Rubin
Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune
April 3, 2010
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-elderly-drivers-law-20100403,0,3708078,full.story


Alice Topping was in her convertible, soaking in one of fall's last nice days, when she came to a four-way stop in her Evanston neighborhood just as another car approached.

Assuming the other driver would stop at the sign, she began to drive through the intersection when she felt a hard crash.

"Look what you've done to my car!" the elderly driver cried as he got out of his vehicle. But as the drivers inspected the damage — her right rear side, his front — it was evident who was responsible, Topping said.

"It finally clicked in with him that he had hit my car," she said.

The memory of the 2009 crash came flooding back to Topping on March 24 after she heard that 17-year-old Faith Dremmer, a friend, had been killed when an 86-year-old driver veered across the center line, plowing into her as she biked in southern Illinois with two University of Chicago Laboratory School friends.

It made Topping and countless others wonder: Is enough being done to protect motorists from seniors who shouldn't be driving? When is it time to take the keys away?

"NO ONE over the age of 70 should be permitted to operate a motor vehicle. Period," one outraged reader opined online.

The reality is there are more than 20 million drivers age 70 and older on the roads today, compared with 18 million in 1997, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In Illinois, more than 796,000 residents over 70 have licenses, including one 106-year-old man, according to the secretary of state's office.

The oldest baby boomers will turn 65 next year, the start of an explosion of elderly drivers. By 2030, motorists 65 and older are projected to reach 57 million, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Despite the growing numbers, fewer seniors were involved in fatal collisions during 1997-2006 than in years past, according to a 2008 insurance institute study. More seniors are self-regulating, avoiding rush hour or night driving. And the health of seniors — which some experts say is more critical to driving skill than age — is improving dramatically.

"The conventional wisdom is that we should restrict elderly drivers or take them off the road, but if you really want to have a big effect on highway safety, you'd take the youngest drivers off the road," said Russ Rader, a spokesman for the insurance institute. "The picture for elderly drivers has been improving over the past decade."

Transportation officials say the difficulty is coming up with a test that can accurately screen out at-risk drivers. But with the rapid growth expected in this population, there is an urgency to improve license renewal policies. A recent study in Iowa suggested that restrictions — such as no driving when headlights are required — for applicable seniors may be an effective approach.

Still, it's a fact that drivers 80 and older have higher accident rates — and are more likely to die in a crash — than younger motorists (except for those 15 to 24), according to the Insurance Institute. And the perception exists that elderly drivers are more dangerous because of high-profile crashes, such as the accident involving Dremmer and a 2007 case in which a 94-year-old woman hit the accelerator and crashed into a Wilmette cafe.

Three teenagers were injured Friday morning in Cicero when an 86-year-old woman trying to park in front of a Cicero restaurant accidentally pressed on the accelerator and broke through concrete blocks, officials said. Citations were pending against the driver.

"How do we identify who is safe to drive and who isn't?" said Elinor Ginzler, an AARP senior vice president. "Illinois has one of the most stringent set of guidelines [for senior drivers] and even … that is not necessarily going to work to recognize an at-risk driver."

Indeed, Illinois has had one of the most rigid renewal cycles in the country since 1990, requiring 81- to 86-year-olds to renew their licenses every two years instead of the standard four — complete with vision and road tests. Those 87 and older have to renew annually. In Wisconsin, by contrast, all drivers, no matter the age, renew licenses every 8 years.

But officials agree that the most hard-nosed government regulations are no substitute for proactive drivers and their families.

After Bert Heiferman of Homewood got into a fender-bender in January, one of his sons suggested it was time for Dad to park his 2000 Mustang for good.

"I was angry," said the 80-year-old. "I thought he was being too overprotective ... and all I could think about was, 'How am I going to get where I need to go?' "

The elder Heiferman, who is still driving, understands this is an emotionally loaded topic for lawmakers and family members. As a pedestrian, he concedes that the thought of some of his peers behind the wheel makes him "fearful." Still, he opposes tightening restrictions.

"That's OK for other people, but not for me," he says, with tongue only partly in cheek. "I should be able to drive as long as I damn want."

Hedy Davis, director of resident services at Lincolnwood Place, a senior community, sees many incompetent motorists, and has alerted families when necessary. But few are willing to make the tough call, she said. "It's a thorny, complicated issue that can't be solved overnight."

Sometimes, a resolution presents itself. Marla Busch recalled how her late father's bad driving ended when the octogenarian jumped the curb, due to either a seizure or a loss of consciousness. He was taken to the emergency room, where the accident triggered a call to state authorities, who ultimately revoked the man's license.

"It was a real blessing … not just because no one got hurt, but because it took the responsibility out of our hands," said Busch, who often made the 100-mile round trip from her Flossmoor home to Arlington Heights to chauffeur her dad.

In a nod to the psychological fallout of this decision, many hospitals that offer driving evaluations, such as Alexian Rehabilitation Hospital in Elk Grove Village, include social workers and therapists on the team.

It's always easier to let someone else play the bad cop. Mark Rubert is a Lincolnwood banker, not a social worker, but the 61-year-old has carved out a unique specialty of confronting impaired drivers at the request of their children. He starts by showing elders how taxis can be cheaper than car ownership — and winds up with his most persuasive pitch.

"I ask if they can envision a day in the future when they are no longer able to drive. Once they agree, that leaves two choices: either too early or too late. Since none of us know exactly when that day will come, I say, ‘Let's do it today.' "

eslife@tribune.com

brubin@tribune.com

AARP's top 10 signs that it's time for older drivers to hand over the keys:

1. Frequent "close calls" (i.e. near-accidents).

2. Dents, scrapes on the car or on fences, mailboxes, garage doors, curbs etc.

3. Trouble judging gaps in traffic at intersections and on highway entrance/exit ramps.

4. Other drivers honking at you.

5. Getting lost.

6. Difficulty seeing the sides of the road when looking straight ahead.

7. Slower response time; trouble moving foot from gas to brake pedal or confusing the two.

8. Getting distracted easily or having trouble concentrating.

9. Difficulty turning your head to check over shoulder while backing up or changing lanes.

10. Traffic tickets or "warnings" by traffic or law enforcement officers in recent years.