"Reading These Driving Tips Could Keep You Safe Behind the Wheel "

Have you been worried about your driving? Have your family or friends expressed business? Changes in your wellness may affect your driving skills over fourth dimension. Don't risk hurting yourself or others. Talk with your doctor about any concerns you lot have about your health and driving.

Stiff Joints and Muscles

Every bit you age, your joints may go stiff, and your muscles may weaken. Arthritis, which is common among older adults, might affect your ability to drive. These changes can make it harder to turn your head to await back, plough the steering wheel quickly, or brake safely.

Safe driving tips:

• Meet your physician if pain, stiffness, or arthritis seem to get in the way of your driving.
• If possible, bulldoze a car with automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, and big mirrors.
• Exist physically active or do to go along and even meliorate your strength and flexibility.
• Think nigh getting hand controls for both the gas and brake pedals if y'all take leg bug.

Problem Seeing

Your eyesight can change as you go older. It might be harder to see people, things, and movement outside your direct line of sight. It may accept longer to read street or traffic signs or fifty-fifty recognize familiar places. At nighttime, you may have trouble seeing things clearly. Glare from oncoming headlights or street lights can be a problem. Depending on the time of the day, the sun might be blinding.

Eye diseases, such as glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration, as well as some medicines, tin can besides crusade vision problems.

Prophylactic driving tips:

• If yous are 65 or older, see your middle doctor every year. Enquire if there are ways to improve your eyesight.
• If you need glasses or contact lenses to run across far away while driving, make certain your prescription is up-to-appointment and correct. Always wear them when you are driving.
• Cut back on or cease driving at night if you have trouble seeing in the dark. Try to avoid driving during sunrise and dusk, when the lord's day can be directly in your line of vision.

Trouble Hearing

Equally you get older, your hearing can modify, making information technology harder to detect horns, sirens, or even noises coming from your own car. Hearing loss tin be a problem because these sounds warn y'all when you may demand to pull over or go out of the way.

Safe driving tips:

• Have your hearing checked at least every iii years after age l.
• Hash out concerns you have about hearing with your doc. There may exist things that tin help.
• Try to go on the inside of the machine every bit quiet as possible while driving.

Slower Reaction Time and Reflexes

Every bit you get older, your reflexes might get slower, and yous might not react as quickly equally you lot could in the by. Yous might find that you accept a shorter attention span, making it harder to practise ii things at one time. Strong joints or weak muscles also can make it harder to move quickly. Loss of feeling or tingling in your fingers and feet can make it difficult to steer or utilize the pes pedals. Parkinson's affliction or limitations following a stroke can make it no longer safety to drive.

Prophylactic driving tips:

• Leave more space between you and the auto in front of you.
• Beginning braking early when you need to finish.
• Avoid heavy traffic areas or rush-60 minutes driving when you tin.
• If yous must drive on a fast-moving highway, drive in the right-hand lane. Traffic moves more than slowly there, giving you lot more than time to brand prophylactic driving decisions.

Medications Can Affect Driving

Do you take whatever medicines that make you feel drowsy, lightheaded, or less warning than usual? Practise medicines yous take accept a alert about driving? Many medications have side effects that can brand driving unsafe. Pay attending to how these drugs may bear upon your driving.

Safe driving tips:

• Read medicine labels carefully. Look for whatsoever warnings.
• Make a listing of all of your medicines, and talk with your doctor or pharmacist about how they can affect your driving.
• Don't drive if yous feel empty-headed or drowsy.

Be a Safety Driver

Maybe yous already know that driving at nighttime, on the highway, or in bad weather condition is a problem for you. Some older drivers also have problems when yielding the right of mode, turning (especially making left turns), irresolute lanes, passing, and using expressway ramps.

Safe driving tips:

• Have your driving skills checked by a driving rehabilitation specialist, occupational therapist, or other trained professional person.
• Take a defensive driving grade. Some auto insurance companies may lower your bill when you lot laissez passer this blazon of class. Organizations like AARP, American Car Association (AAA), or your car insurance company can help you detect a form nigh you lot.
• When in uncertainty, don't exit. Bad weather similar rain, ice, or snowfall can make information technology difficult for anyone to drive. Try to wait until the weather is improve, or employ buses, taxis, or other transportation services.
• Avoid areas where driving can be a trouble. For instance, choose a route that avoids highways or other high-speed roadways. Or, find a style to go that requires few or no left turns.
• Enquire your doctor if whatsoever of your health problems or medications might make it unsafe for you to drive. Together, you lot can make a plan to aid you keep driving and decide when it is no longer safe to drive.

Do You lot Have Concerns Virtually an Older Driver?

Read and share this infographic for tips if you are worried about a loved one's safety on the road.

Are you lot worried about an older family unit member or friend driving? Sometimes, it tin can be hard for an older person to realize that he or she is no longer a safe driver. Y'all might want to observe the person's driving skills.

If information technology's not possible to notice the older person driving, look out for these signs:

• Multiple vehicle crashes, "near misses," and/or new dents in the car
• Two or more than traffic tickets or warnings within the concluding two years; increases in car insurance premiums because of driving problems
• Comments from neighbors or friends about driving
• Feet most driving at night
• Health issues that might touch driving power, including problems with vision, hearing, and/or movement
• Complaints well-nigh the speed, sudden lane changes, or actions of other drivers
• Recommendations from a doctor to modify driving habits or quit driving entirely

Is It Fourth dimension to Give up Driving?

Nosotros all historic period differently. For this reason, there is no way to set one historic period when everyone should finish driving. Then, how do you know if you should terminate? To assistance decide, ask yourself:

• Practice other drivers often honk at me?
• Have I had some accidents, even if they were just "fender benders"?
• Do I get lost, fifty-fifty on roads I know?
• Practise cars or people walking seem to announced out of nowhere?
• Do I go distracted while driving?
• Have family, friends, or my doctor said they're worried about my driving?
• Am I driving less these days because I'g not equally sure about my driving as I used to be?
• Exercise I have trouble staying in my lane?
• Exercise I have problem moving my foot between the gas and the brake pedals, or do I sometimes confuse the ii?
• Have I been pulled over by a law officer about my driving?

If you lot answered "aye" to whatsoever of these questions, it may be time to talk with your md well-nigh driving or have a driving cess.

How Volition You lot Become Around?

Are you lot worried y'all won't be able to practise the things you desire and demand to do if you lot end driving? Many people have this concern, but there may exist more means to get effectually than y'all think. For case, some areas provide free or depression-cost coach or taxi services for older people. Some communities offering a carpool service or scheduled trips to the grocery store, mall, or md's office. Religious and borough groups sometimes take volunteers who will drive you where you want to go.

Your local Surface area Agency on Aging tin aid you find services in your expanse. Call 1-800-677-1116, or go to https://eldercare.acl.gov to find your nearest Area Agency on Aging.

You tin also recall about using a car or ride-sharing service. Sound pricey? Don't forget—it costs a lot to own a machine. If you don't have to make car payments or pay for insurance, maintenance, gas, oil, or other car expenses, and then you may be able to afford to take taxis or other transportation. Y'all can likewise purchase gas for friends or family members who requite y'all rides.

Read about this topic in Spanish. Lea sobre este tema en español.

For More than Information Virtually Driving

This content is provided by the NIH National Plant on Aging (NIA). NIA scientists and other experts review this content to ensure information technology is accurate and up to date.

Content reviewed: December 12, 2018

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Source: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/older-drivers

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