My Car


Baby,You Can Drive


When getting behind the wheel is becoming a challenge


Getting older often means accepting that you can’t do all the things you did when you were younger, or that you can’t do them quite as well as before. But some changes are easier to accept than others. Perhaps one of the toughest limitations people face as they age is the loss of independence. Whether it’s a decrease in physical mobility or finding that driving has become more challenging, it’s just not easy to acknowledge that the time may have come to depend upon others for something as basic as the ability to come and go as you please. Yet your safety — and the safety of others with whom you come


into contact — may depend upon it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


(CDC), the risk of being injured or killed in a motor vehicle crash increases with age. In 2014, more than 5,700 adults ages 65 and older were killed and more than 236,000 were treated in emer- gency rooms for injuries sustained during motor vehicle crashes. But as the population grays, the number of older drivers is on


the rise. In 2015, there were more than 40 million licensed older adults on the road, which is a 50-percent increase from 1999. Of course, many older drivers are perfectly fine behind the


wheel. With more experience than younger drivers and less need to be on the road if they’re no longer commuting to work, many may find they’re safer than ever. Others, however, may begin to experience health issues — such as vision and hearing loss, de- mentia or slower reaction times and reflexes — that make driving dangerous.


Avoiding Danger on the Road There are steps you can take to increase your safety, regardless of your age. For example, the National Institutes of Health/Nation- al Institute on Aging (NIH/NIA) suggests that if your reaction times seem slower, you should leave more space between your car and the one in front of you, giving you a greater distance in which to slow down should you need to stop suddenly. The agency also


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