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An essay on elderly drivers
An essay on elderly drivers
Elderly drivers and the risks they take pdf essay
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16 Years of age in New York is a very special time for a teenager they wait and wait for the chance to take the road test and have the freedom to drive independently. In order for these teenagers to earn their license they must pass not only a written exam and a skills exam but also for their vision. If these skills begin to deteriorate with age, should elderly drivers’ licenses be revoked? When these elderly drives enter onto the road way with impaired senses they pose a giant threat to not only to themselves but other drivers and pedestrians as well. The risks and dangers of these elderly drivers being allowed on the road way is enough of a reason to require at least a re-test on every ability required to drive. As drivers become senior citizens, the chance of getting into a motor vehicle accident almost double therefore, to lower the risk, all drivers over 65 need to complete license renewal procedures yearly that include tests on driving ability, sight, hearing and memory.
Vision and the loss of it is one of the most common medical symptoms that come with aging and also happens to be the most important sense required to drive. Every elder citizen past the age of 65 needs to be tested for vision impairment to determine whether or not they have the ability to drive a motor vehicle safely. These vision exams should be free of charge due to the fact that it is a natural result of the aging process. According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, “Nearly 3.5 million Americans over the age of 40 have some degree of vision loss, most commonly from age related conditions” (Nesburn). Even at the age of 40 humans will begin to suffer from vision loss and it only gets more intense with age. This loss of vision is not able to withstand the r...
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...al State Examinations (SMMSE). Alzheimer's Drug Therapy initiative for Physician use. Print.
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Nesburn, Anthony B., and Judith Delgado. ""National Center on Care giving"." Family Caregiver Alliance. n. page. Web.
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State of Delaware. Department of Motor Vehicals. Driver Service: Drivers License Examination. Print.
"Women Responsible for Most Mistaken-Gas-Pedal Accidents, Study Finds." Times [Picayune, New Orleans] 13 Apr 2012, Greater New Orleans n. pag. Web.
" Web. The Web. The Web. 15 Mar. 2010. http://www.idebate.org. Gregory, Ted. A. Should 16-Year-Olds Drive?
Maturity and rationalization is not yet achieved or experienced by teenagers. In the era of technology there are several distractions for drivers of any age to maneuver. Parents can play an educational role by enrolling their teen into a driver’s educational program. Some states require students to complete a comprehensive graduated drivers licensing (GDL) program prior to receiving their license. The brain function is still developing in teenagers and may impede the quick thinking process necessary to become a responsible driver. For the safety and welfare of teenagers the age requirement in Arizona for a driver’s license should be increased from 16 to 18 years of age.
“Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for American teenagers, accounting for about a third of all deaths in that age group” (Crisp). In actual numbers, motor vehicle crashes kill more than 5,000 teenagers every year (Gregory). These statistics are frightening and have led more than 50 percent of adults to support higher required ages for drivers’ licenses (Gregory). Teenagers, though, say this would be unfair and would make their lives difficult. Meeting the needs of Indiana teenagers while still keeping them and other drivers safe can be accomplished by a more restrictive graduated licensing law.
Most if not all teens look forward to several events in their life. One of those events are getting a driver's license. This small piece of plastic is their ticket to freedom. This ticket is more than just freedom to be able to drive their friends around but also freedom from the ritual of their parents having to drive them everywhere and embarrass them in public. Also this is a freedom to the parents as well they may save more on gas from not having to drive their children around. However, some teens are not as safe as they possibly could be if they were to take a few steps to promote good driving habits. This is evident in the article “Teen Driving”, as the author gives the reader teen driving statistics, as well as explanations of programs and steps that can improve teen driving.
Statistics show 16- to 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger, which is due to distracted driving. Taking your eyes off the road for 2 (two) seconds, at 60 mph, means you have driven blindly for half the length of a football field. The risk of fatality is 3.6 times higher, when they are driving with passengers than when alone. For many years, the correlation between driving behavior and age has interested highway safety researchers and administrators. It is general knowledge that the greatest risk of motor vehicle crash...
I. Introduction A. Should 16 year old teenagers be able to drive? B. “Those who favor raising the driving age say that statistics show teenagers are more likely to get into accidents than adults. What they don't say is that statistics also show that men of all ages are 77 percent more likely to kill someone while driving than women.
Again, it makes the headlines; an older driver causes a dangerous automobile crash. As the amount of elderly driving has increased in the past decade, the risk for others to be out on the road has increased. In 2012, there were 36 million licensed older drivers in the United States. (Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US)) As a 34% increase from 1999, it has been noted that seniors are driving past their ability by an average of 10 years. (Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US)). Elderly continue to drive despite the prominent physiological changes that worsen as they age. The amount of automobile collisions suggests that prevention must occur in order to make the roads safer. By examining older drivers’ medical complications, older drivers must be retested to be able to drive a vehicle.
Teens only make up seventeen percent of the population today, but almost twenty percent of fatal crashes are due to teenagers behind the wheel. Growing numbers suggest changing the driving age to eighteen and some even believe that changing it to twenty-one may save even more lives. With a sixteen year old behind the wheel, accidents are even more likely to occur when compared to a seventeen year old (Boulard). With so much new technology in today’s society there are more distractions on the road than ever before; therefore the legal driving age should be raised to save more lives. If we do not act quickly, then more lives will be lost.
Although studies by Dr.Masten and his colleagues show, “75 percent of the fatal crashes we thought we were saving actually just occurred two years later,” (paragraph 4). This was stated when the minimum driving age was sixteen and this effected the number if fatal crashes in eighteen-year olds. Dr. Masten suspects that teenagers are waiting to get their license and skipping the restrictions, (paragraph 7).
Macular degeneration also known as late, aged-related maculopathy is an eye disorder which causes a decrease in the visual field known as the retinal macula (Medical Encyclopedia, 2000). The majority of people who are affected are people over the age of 65, but occasionally it develops earlier in people 40-50 years old (Philippi, 2000). The majority of the visual loss is located in the central part of the visual field, while the peripheral vision is unharmed. There are also two types of macular degeneration, the "wet" and "dry" forms. The "dry" form of this disease is the most popular, affecting 90% of the cases (American Academy of Ophthalmology, 1997).
“Young Drivers More Prone to Car Crashes Due to Their Underdeveloped Brains” 29 Apr 2010:
“Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional deaths for teens (16-17),” reported The New York State Department of Health. The most exciting thing about being sixteen in the United States is driving. Teenagers can not wait to be sixteen to drive, however, they do not understand the dangers that come with driving at such a young age. Sixteen is the age between child life and adulthood. It is a time when they are not stable and undergoing change, which makes them unsuitable to drive. Many teenagers would say that they need to get to places. In response to that claim, there are public transportation systems and bikes as available alternatives for young drivers. The financial stability and matureness of eighteen year olds proves
The Web. 20 Nov. 2013. "Motor Vehicle–Related Deaths — United States, 2003–2007. " Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 14 Jan. 2011.