Is it time to hand over the keys to your car?

from Federation Star - January 2024

Updates from BBYO Naples and Fort Myers

MCA Living Well series

By Larry Israelite

We’ve all had the experience. You are going somewhere with a family member or a friend and s/he volunteers to drive. You hesitate for a moment and then say: “You know what, let me do it. I’d rather drive.” And then you hope your loved one or friend goes along with your suggestion without an argument. You feel a little guilty, but you know, without a doubt, that the less this person is behind the wheel, the better. Or, maybe, you are the one your friends and family are concerned about. It is unfortunate but ‘driving when old’ can be a serious problem, and most of us are completely unprepared to deal with it.

What are the facts? Good question. The actual number of accidents involving older drivers decreases as age increases. However, older drivers, especially after age 75, have a higher risk of being involved in a collision for every mile they drive. The rate of risk is nearly equal to the risk of younger drivers ages 16 to 24. (And we all remember how we felt when our 16- or 17-year-old children went out with their friends.)

In 2020, about 7,500 older adults were killed in traffic crashes, and almost 200,000 were treated in emergency departments for crash injuries. This means that each day, 20 older adults are killed and almost 540 are injured in crashes. So, although older persons with health issues can be satisfactory drivers, they have a higher risk of injury or death in an accident, regardless of fault.

But we are a driving society. We learned to drive when we were young, and most of us are still driving today — 50, 60 and even 70 years later. Our cars give us mobility and freedom. Most of us don't know how we would live without them. But, if we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we aren’t the same as we were when we took our driving tests all those years ago. Our reflexes have slowed, our vision has dimmed, we don’t hear as well as we once did. And turning our heads to look for cars, pedestrians and cyclists? That’s another thing altogether.

So, what do we do? How do we know when our friends or loved ones should no longer be behind the wheel? What are the signs? And once we figure it out, how do we ‘have the talk?’ What hope (and help) can we give them? And what if it’s us? What if someone tried to have ‘the talk’ with us? What do we do then?

On Jan. 23, Katherine Freund, a renowned expert in the field of aging and mobility, will provide information, suggestions and insights on how to help people we know and/ or love understand why they should no longer drive and how they can continue to live rich, fulfilling lives if they don't. She also will address what to do if we are the ones who should no longer be on the road.

Freund is the president and CEO of Independent Transportation Network of America, and she is an internationally recognized expert on the challenges faced by aging drivers. She was featured in the Wall Street Journal as one of the “12 People Who Are Changing Your Retirement” and on CNN’s “Breakthrough Women” series. She has received AARP’s Inspire Award, the Maxwell Pollack Award from the Gerontological Society of America, the Social Enterprise Alliance award for Leadership in Innovative Enterprise Ideas, among many others. Freund has participated in more than 150 national and international panels and conference sessions on alternative transportation for older people.

To register for this event, scan the QR code or go to www.mcanaples.org.