They continue to press for improvements in vehicular design and road safety features, all intended to keep older drivers on the road safely. If you know which physical and mental changes accompany advancing age, you can better appreciate the value of the recommendations and have an easier time assessing whether it is wise for you or the older people in your life to continue driving. You need not have any chronic illnesses or obvious disabilities for the effects of aging to affect your driving skills. Furthermore, older people are more prone to being temporarily blinded by the glare of headlights, either from cars and trucks coming toward them or in their mirrors from vehicles behind them. Colors, especially red, become harder to see with age.
Some older drivers take twice as long as younger drivers to recognize the flash of brake lights.
Other common age-related deficits include eye muscle dysfunction, which impairs the ability to scan the driving environment, and poor contrast sensitivity, which can make it hard to detect curves in the road, see a gray vehicle at an intersection or a pedestrian at a crosswalk or see clearly in bad weather. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the amount of light needed to drive doubles about every 13 years. Few people over 65 need to be told that with advancing age joints tend to stiffen, making it more difficult to turn one s head when pulling out of a parking area or when backing up. Muscles gradually weaken, and that weakening can impair a person s ability to steer and brake. Reaction time slows, increasing the response time when faced with any sort of road hazard, especially a vehicle that suddenly stops or turns in front of you.