What are states doing to keep older drivers safe behind the wheel?

Scripps News Cleveland found in a recent investigative report that aging drivers and a lack of rules to help you stay safer on the streets are leading to serious, even fatal consequences.

So-called “mature drivers” (55+) were the most common variant Motor vehicle crash in Ohio in the last six years. State records show mature drivers were involved in 525,290 crashes between Jan. 1, 2019, and Nov. 12, 2024.

The number of crashes involving adult drivers was higher than youth-related crashes and speed-related crashes.

Despite these numbers, Ohio and other states do not have specific provisions to keep older drivers safe behind the wheel.

ignore the risk

“Really, as a society, we often ignore this,” he said. Sharona HoffmanCase Western Reserve University School of Law and author of “Aging with a Plan: A Little Thought Today Can Dramatically Improve Your Tomorrow,” which provides resources to help middle-aged and older adults cope with all aspects of aging. driving

“There is no good legal framework that tries to detect and address unsafe driving,” he said.

Ohio is one of 13 states with no regulations regarding the aging of drivers on the road. Governors Highway Safety Association.

Other states have enacted only minor provisions, such as requiring more frequent license renewals and vision tests and requiring drivers to renew their licenses in person rather than by mail.

Nevada and Washington DC require a doctor’s note from drivers over the age of 70. Only Illinois requires drivers to take another road test after they turn 75.

Driving decisions are mostly left up to families, Hoffman said.

“Doctors often don’t get involved and so it’s left up to the families, and that can be extremely difficult,” she said.

Older drivers often “don’t want to hear that they’re dangerous,” Hoffman said, and families are reluctant to have difficult conversations about driving with their loved ones.

At the same time, older Americans are driving.

Latest Federal Highway Administration It is estimated that there are more than 34 million licensed drivers age 70 and older in the United States

‘If I hadn’t been there…’

Even serious events may have little or no impact on an aging driver’s license.

Over the summer, Newburgh Heights Patrol Officer Russ Veverka was working his regular night shift on Interstate 77 when a car caught his attention.

The driver was traveling northbound in the southbound lane.

Meanwhile, many vehicles were approaching from the opposite direction.

“The only thing I won’t accept is another vehicle colliding head-on with another vehicle in front of me,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to deal with this.”

Watch: Missing and endangered driver found driving the wrong way on I-77, ‘Hero’ police stop him

So Officer Veverka activated his overhead lights from a grassy knoll near the Harvard Boulevard bridge and proceeded toward the highway, blocking one lane.

The driver saw him and stopped.

The driver turned out to be a 65-year-old man who had been reported missing as an adult of the endangered species earlier that day.

A 4-year-old relative was standing in the backseat without any restraints.

“When I saw this, my heart felt like it was going to explode,” Veverka said.

The driver looked confused and kept saying he was on Interstate 480.

He had been driving with the little boy for hours.

Veverka surrendered after stopping wrong-way driver form 2308 Go to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles to request that the driver take a road test.

“This is the best we can do right now,” Veverka said.

But when Scripps News Cleveland reached the driver’s wife, she told us nothing had changed.

She said her husband still drives, including picking up their 4-year-old son from day care.

Jackson Township tragedy

“We all have family members who we think, ‘Well, maybe they shouldn’t be driving,'” Jackson County Fire Chief Tim Berczik said.

His department recently began outreach efforts for elderly drivers after investigating accidents in the city last year.

It found mature drivers were involved in eight fatalities in the city of about 44,000 people, including the crash that killed a 69-year-old grandfather in October.

Berczik said an 81-year-old woman crashed into Angello’s 2 Go pizza shop when she accidentally pressed the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal on her car.

His team now shows older drivers how to stay safer in their vehicles, including proper seat and mirror placement. They also encourage anyone with concerns to get retested.

“We’re not talking about anything like, ‘We need to take the car keys away from old people,'” he said. “Maybe make a group decision that we won’t drive as much.”

He said mature drivers may limit the distance they travel, stop driving at night or stick to familiar areas to keep themselves and others safer on the roads.

‘Life is for young people…’

Handing over your keys has its own consequences.

“We live in a society where our autonomy depends mostly on driving,” Hoffman said. “They won’t be able to get to doctor appointments as easily and may become socially isolated, which is disastrous for everyone, especially older people.”

“If you’re lonely, not interacting with other people, that’s a surefire recipe for cognitive decline and other physical and mental health issues,” he said.

In a recent law review article, “Patient Autonomy, Public Safety, and Drivers with Cognitive Decline,” Hoffman and his co-author suggested that doctors should send patients diagnosed with cognitive decline and other conditions for road tests.

Currently, medical professionals are encouraged only to report concerns about a patient’s driving to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

But Scripps News Cleveland found that only 18% of those drivers lost their licenses.

Hoffman also said law enforcement should be trained to detect cognitive decline and report impaired drivers.

“I’ve had relatives crash into mailboxes, lampposts and parked cars and get a warning or ticket every time,” he said.

Brook Park resident Rose Ramsey, 76, said she is not as confident in her driving skills as she used to be.

“Once in a blue moon I forget the route I took,” he said. “I plan to go to a certain place and then I need to let the car guide the road.”

When she’s worried about getting behind the wheel, she confides in Kenneth, her husband of 56 years.

“I have my own driver,” he said.

He supports retesting drivers as they get older.

“John Q. Public and I need to be safe,” he said.

Ramsey said she knew that meant she and her husband would eventually have to give up their own car keys.

He admits it won’t be easy.

“I know this will be very difficult for us, but I still understand that the time has come,” he said. “Life is for the young, right?”

What should you do?

If you’re concerned about your loved one’s driving skills, Hoffman and Berczik recommend the following:

• Be compassionate during your conversation
• Be a passenger and observe their driving skills
• Be proactive by involving their doctor, encouraging your loved one to get tested again, and/or setting limits on when and how they can drive.

This story was first published by Sarah Buduson at: Scripps News Cleveland.