Staying Safe as an Older Driver

How does age affect your driving?
Everyone ages differently so there is no hard and fast cut off as to when someone should stop driving.  As we age, things like decreased vision, impaired hearing, slowed motor reflexes, and worsening health conditions can become a problem.  Aging also tends to result in a reduction of strength, coordination and flexibility which can impact your ability to safely control a motor vehicle.  For example:

• Neck pain or stiffness can make it harder to look over your shoulder
• Leg pain can make it difficult to move your foot from the gas to the brake pedal
• Reduced arm strength can make it hard to turn the steering wheel quickly
• Reaction times can slow down with age

 
Check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/temagamifamilyhealthteam for exercises and stretches that are important to the daily activities of living and maintaining independence.
 
Safety tips for older drivers:
Getting older does not automatically mean a total loss of driving ability.  There are many things you can do to continue driving safely, including staying on top of your health.
 
Regular check-ups are critical to keeping you in the best possible driving shape.

• Get your eyes checked every year
• Have your hearing checked every year
• Talk with your primary care provider about how certain conditions and/or medications may affect your driving ability.  For example, if you have glaucoma, tinted eyeglasses can help to reduce glare.
• Get plenty of sleep. 

 
Know your limitations:
If a driving situation makes you uncomfortable, don’t do it.  Many of us voluntarily begin to make changes in our driving practices as we get older by:

• Only driving during daylight hours if seeing well at night is a problem
• Staying off busy highways to avoid fast-moving traffic
• Not driving in bad weather

 
If you are a patient of the Temagami Family Health Team and would like to speak to your primary care provider about driving concerns, please call (705) 569-3244 to schedule an appointment. 
 
Committed to keeping you as healthy as possible!