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Checklist for Senior Citizen Drivers

Safety for Senior DriverDriving allows seniors to feel independent and maintain a flexible schedule. However, some seniors and their loved ones may have concerns about safety. If you or someone you love is a senior driver, there are a number of important precautions you can take to avoid car accidents, including maintaining your health and planning wisely.

Regular Checkups – For Seniors and Their Cars
Good vision and hearing are essential to staying safe on the road. As we age, our vision and hearing may deteriorate, especially if we have certain health conditions, such as glaucoma or tinnitus. Senior drivers should get essential health checks regularly. These include general health checkups, eye tests and hearing tests.

No one enjoys mechanical problems, but car troubles can be especially vexing for seniors. If brakes or power steering fail, we might not be able to react as quickly as we could when you were younger. Regular oil changes and preventive maintenance can help avoid a car accident, roadside breakdown or a sudden mechanical failure.

Inform Others of Plans
Before leaving on an errand, it’s a good idea for seniors to tell someone their plans, including where they plan to go and when they will likely return. Sending a text message is a good way to share plans so that loved ones won’t forget your schedule.

Take Along Important Items
Even on a short trip to the grocery store, seniors should bring along some essential items, including a phone, emergency medications and identifying information. If you need help getting to a destination, a GPS unit mounted on your dashboard can help you get there. This helps you avoid the need to fumble with maps while you’re on the road. The car should also be stocked with emergency tools, including jumper cables.

Travel Wisely
A few simple guidelines can help make a driving trip a smoother experience. Seniors should avoid driving in the dark or during inclement weather. These conditions can significantly impair the driver’s ability to see and may require the driver to make snap decisions to avoid car accidents. Timing during a clear day is important as well; completing errands in the morning allows seniors to avoid heavy crowds on the roads.

Avoid Distractions
Distracted driving is dangerous, especially if you need to put in a little extra effort to focus on the road. Avoid tasks that can hamper your concentration, including talking on the phone, eating, fiddling with the radio and changing the destination on your GPS. All drivers should do these things before taking to the road to avoid car accidents.

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A Good Passenger Can Help Avoid Car Accidents

Tips for being a good passengerWhen an experienced driver is suddenly a passenger in a car, it’s easy for them to forget the challenges of safe driving and leave all the cares to the driver. But did you know that, as a passenger, you can help your driver avoid car accidents and safely deliver you both to your destination? Here’s how.

1. Create a calm atmosphere.
Drivers need to focus on road conditions, and you can help by maintaining a calm presence. Loud conversations or arguments can distract your driver.

2. Wear your seatbelt.
California requires you to wear a seat belt unless you have a letter from a doctor that excuses you from complying with the law. Wearing a seat belt can save your life in car accidents, and failing to wear one can result in a fine if you are at least 16 years old.

3. Limit your comments.
As a passenger, you may offer helpful advice occasionally, but criticism can cause a dangerous distraction. Seeing a roadway hazard that the driver has not noted may provide a reason to alert them, but save any criticisms of a minor mistake until later.

4. Observe cell phone etiquette.
Even though you may overhear personal conversations in public, you know that they make you uncomfortable. Space inside an automobile is much too small for you to comfortably conduct a private conversation, and your driver and fellow passengers prefer not to hear it.

5. Take charge of texting.
You can help your driver maintain focus on the road and obey the law by offering to reply to important text messages. Ask your driver to let you take charge of monitoring incoming text so that nothing creates a distraction.

6. Assume co-pilot duties.
Your risk as a passenger is the same as the driver’s, and both of you can take steps to ensure your safety. Offer to adjust the sound system or the air conditioner and help the driver avoid looking at the controls, but make changes only when necessary. You can help by searching for something in the console or on the floor when the driver needs it. A few seconds of inattention to the road ahead can result in a rear end collision.

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Upcoming Events in San Diego: Get Home Safely. Don’t Drink and Drive

Use a taxi - don't drink and driveSan Diego is one of the most well-known cities for fun festivals and events. People from all over the state and beyond come out to enjoy great food and drink as well as fabulous entertainment. If you plan to partake in some serious fun at these events, do it the smart way. Leave the car at home and use other types of transportation to get there. You have plenty of options such as public transportation, cabs, and transportation networks including Uber (https://www.uber.com/) and Lyft (https://www.lyft.com/). Not only will you avoid drunk driving accidents, but you will save yourself the hassle of weaving through traffic jams and looking for parking.

So, what events are coming up? Here are several hightlights.

San Diego Brew Fest
January 16
http://sandiegobeerfest.com/
Come to Liberty Station to attend the sixth annual Brew Fest. For the price of admission, you can sample all of the best in local and international craft beers. Pair that with great food that you can purchase from San Diego’s favorite food trucks. Top that off with some fabulous live music, and you will have a wonderful afternoon of fun.

Mardi Gras at Gaslamp
February 6
http://www.sdmardigras.com/
Enjoy the biggest block party in San Diego! The Mardi Gras celebration returns to the historic Gaslamp Quarter with five stages of fabulous entertainment and the electrifying Big Easy Parade. Show girls on stilts and fire eaters will light up the streets. The parade will begin at around 9pm, but the fun starts at 5pm and lasts until midnight.

Winter Brew Fest
February 19 and 20
http://www.sandiegobrewfest.com/
Ready for another round of beer tasting? The Winter Brew Fest will be held at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park. Sample craft beverages from more than 40 breweries, and enjoy live music performed by The Hooks, Headshine and Euphora Brass Band. Find someone to watch the kids because you have to be 21 years of age or older to attend.

Spring Busker Festival
March 5 and 6
http://www.seaportvillage.com/events-calendar/2016-busker-festival
A busker is a professional street artist who performs in public places. Every spring, San Diego brings together the most famous street performers from around the globe for a two-day celebration. Jugglers, acrobats, musicians, fire breathers, sword swallowers, and every type of street talent ranging from the amusing to the bizarre will fill the streets of the Seaport Village. There are also plenty of shops and restaurants to satisfy every taste.

These events will kick off 2016 into an exciting year. Please remember not to drink and drive. If you let someone else do the driving, you can let loose, have all the fun you want, and still have a safe way to get back home just in case you have a little too much fun.

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Everyone’s New Year’s Resolution Should Be to Stay Off the Phone While Driving!

stay off the phone while drivingWhether it’s caused by eating, applying makeup, reading directions, or even just talking to friends, distracted driving is not a new problem. In fact, drivers in the 1930s were warned against the perils of becoming distracted by a brand new invention, the radio! However, the widespread use of cell phones in recent years has added a dangerously tempting diversion that is now one of the leading causes of injury or death in a car crash.

According to www.distraction.gov, the website launched by the U.S. Department of Transportation to educate drivers on the dangers of texting while driving, 3,154 people were killed as a result of distracted driving in 2013. While the number of fatalities represents a decrease of 6.7 percent from the previous year, the number of injuries actually increased to 424,000 people. Young drivers in their teens and twenties account for over 30 percent of that total.

Anytime you send a text, you are using both your eyes and your hands. When driving, this “visual-manual” operation makes you three times more likely to be involved in a car accident. Even answering your phone or attempting to make a call while driving can cause an accident in the split second it takes to return your attention to the road.

If personal safety isn’t enough motivation to put away the phone while you drive, consider that all but five states have strict laws on the books that forbid texting while driving. You can get a ticket, owe hefty fines, or even lose your license if caught. In March of 2015, a San Diego woman was sentenced to prison for six years for causing a deadly accident while she was texting and driving.

No matter how often you hear the grim statistics or see news stories about the consequences of distracted driving, you never really think it’s going to happen to you. That’s why so many people continue to be injured, sometimes fatally, as a result of texting or using the phone while driving. These injuries and deaths can be easily prevented with one simple New Year’s resolution – stay off the phone while driving!

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When Should a Senior Citizen Stop Driving?

When Should Senior Citizens No Longer Drive?A driver’s license represents a sense of personal freedom and independence, and for many young people, it’s a rite of passage. However, older adults often have difficulty knowing when it’s time to voluntarily give up their driving privileges. Losing control of a vehicle due to confusion or panic can result in a catastrophic car accident, so it’s important to address any perceived driving problems quickly. While there are no hard and fast rules relating to seniors and driving, here are some tips to consider when talking to an older adult about driving, safety and possibly giving up the keys. 

Plan for the Discussion in Advance

Elderly people are constantly facing challenges that result in the loss of freedom, so they tend to be very inflexible when it comes to driving. Since it’s often taken for granted, people usually fail to recognize just how much of a factor driving plays in someone’s overall quality of life. Any discussion with a senior about driving should be planned well in advance. The process will likely include several discussions, so it’s important to maintain reasonable expectations. Try and arrange to talk during a quiet time of day, and remember that the decision is ultimately up to the person who will be relinquishing the keys.

Developing a Health Assessment 

Older drivers are usually very safe, but there can be physical changes that affect driving skills as we age. When muscles weaken and joints stiffen, it can become difficult to back up, check the blind spot or brake properly. Eyesight and hearing may also be affected. Older adults often need better lighting to see at night and are more unsettled by glare. Peripheral vision narrows as we age, and vision problems from eye disease can impact driving skills. Always try and confirm that an older driver is in good health, and check to see if any prescribed medication they are taking will alter their driving skills.

Evaluating Driving Skills

Prior to any driving-related discussions, it’s important to ride with an elderly driver to quietly assess their skill level. Look for the following signs that might indicate there is some sort of impairment:

* Frequently almost having car accidents
* Getting lost on familiar roads
* A growing number of dents and scrapes on the vehicle, tire rims and garage doors
* Responding slowly to rapidly developing situations
* Difficulty seeing traffic signs and pavement markings
* Difficulty turning around when backing up
* An unusual number of tickets or warnings

Finding Other Forms of Transportation

Helping an older person transition from driving to the use of alternate forms of transportation can relieve a lot of the stress and anxiety they may be feeling. Taxi services, carpools, ridesharing services and buses can all offer viable transportation options. Civic groups and religious organizations often have volunteers willing to provide free rides. Once an elderly person realizes that they can continue to live a full life without driving, the transition will be much easier.

San Diego Personal Injury Attorneys
4350 Executive Drive, Suite 320
San Diego, CA 92121
(619) 752-2217