This pertains to the"older Z driver" debate
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This pertains to the"older Z driver" debate
This is really aimed at the older members here who choose to harass the younger Z drivers on here. Mostly ones with 20,000 plus posts on this site alone. Just an interesting read and some statistics I found while writing a term paper. The proportion of U.S. drivers who are teenagers is 7%. I wonder what proportion of Z drivers are teenagers? I believe some member cannot accept a person much younger than them having the same car as them, being that it is the nicest car they've owned to this point in their lives. This does not represent really anything other than a difference of what is important at different ages, but a few older members cannot stand it. This thread will most likely get moved or locked, although the 17 year old one never does...
The human body changes as it ages. After a certain age, many people begin to experience a decline in various functions, some of which are needed in order to drive. Indeed, while not every elderly person experiences any problems driving, the people who do have problems can attribute them to a wide range of factors.
For many older drivers, the biggest challenge is impaired vision. For example, some people lose some depth perception, particularly at night, as they age. Decreased depth perception can make driving much more difficult, particularly at intersections and when parking. Other vision problems can stem from diseases that primarily affect older people, such as glaucoma and cataracts. Those problems can make it difficult for drivers to read traffic signs or gauge distances. Indeed, a 1997 study conducted by the Federal Highway Administration found that elderly drivers have a harder time seeing road signs than younger drivers.
Many older people also suffer from a decreased range of motion, either from arthritis or some other problem. Such a disability can make it difficult for older people to turn their head to look behind them while driving in reverse or to quickly move their foot from the accelerator to the brake if they need to stop suddenly.
Elderly drivers may also experience slower reflexes and a decline in cognitive skills, giving them problems at intersections and on highways. Experts say that a person's reaction time decreases by almost 40% from age 35 to 65. Short-term memory loss, meanwhile, can impair one's ability to process information when merging with traffic or changing lanes, increasing the risk of an accident.
In light of all of those problems, analysts say, it should come as no surprise that older people are among the most accident-prone of all drivers. According to statistics compiled by the NHTSA:
Americans age 70 and older make up just 9% of the total U.S. population but account for roughly 14% of all traffic fatalities.
The fatality rate for drivers 85 and older is nine times as high as the rate for drivers 25 to 69 years old.
Analysts expect those problems to multiply as the number of older drivers grows. Within the U.S., the segment of the population age 70 and older is growing faster than any other age group. The elderly increased nearly 40% from 1989 to 1999, to 18.5 million. It has now reached nearly 25 million, and is expected to continue to grow.
More older drivers on the road leads to more accidents, analysts say. They note that even though the overall highway fatality rate for the U.S. has dropped nearly 10% over the past 10 years, the rate for senior citizens has increased 33%. That dichotomy will only get worse once the baby boom population begins to show signs of age, experts predict.
Number of U.S. states that require older drivers to be retested in order to renew their drivers licenses 2
Percentage of respondents to a 2001 poll who favor retesting elderly drivers in order to renew their licenses 90%
Percentage of drivers made up of Americans over the age of 65, in 1990 7%
Projected percentage of drivers made up of Americans over the age of 65, in 2030 20%
Percent by which a person's reaction time decreases from age 35 to age 65 40%
Percent by which the overall highway fatality rate for the U.S. has dropped over the past decade 10%
Percent by which the highway fatality rate for senior citizens has increased in the past decade 33%
Annual number of elderly drivers who participate in a 55 ALIVE/Mature Driving program, geared to help older drivers improve their skills and avoid accidents 640,000
Percent by which four-way stop signs at intersections could reduce accidents, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 50%
The human body changes as it ages. After a certain age, many people begin to experience a decline in various functions, some of which are needed in order to drive. Indeed, while not every elderly person experiences any problems driving, the people who do have problems can attribute them to a wide range of factors.
For many older drivers, the biggest challenge is impaired vision. For example, some people lose some depth perception, particularly at night, as they age. Decreased depth perception can make driving much more difficult, particularly at intersections and when parking. Other vision problems can stem from diseases that primarily affect older people, such as glaucoma and cataracts. Those problems can make it difficult for drivers to read traffic signs or gauge distances. Indeed, a 1997 study conducted by the Federal Highway Administration found that elderly drivers have a harder time seeing road signs than younger drivers.
Many older people also suffer from a decreased range of motion, either from arthritis or some other problem. Such a disability can make it difficult for older people to turn their head to look behind them while driving in reverse or to quickly move their foot from the accelerator to the brake if they need to stop suddenly.
Elderly drivers may also experience slower reflexes and a decline in cognitive skills, giving them problems at intersections and on highways. Experts say that a person's reaction time decreases by almost 40% from age 35 to 65. Short-term memory loss, meanwhile, can impair one's ability to process information when merging with traffic or changing lanes, increasing the risk of an accident.
In light of all of those problems, analysts say, it should come as no surprise that older people are among the most accident-prone of all drivers. According to statistics compiled by the NHTSA:
Americans age 70 and older make up just 9% of the total U.S. population but account for roughly 14% of all traffic fatalities.
The fatality rate for drivers 85 and older is nine times as high as the rate for drivers 25 to 69 years old.
Analysts expect those problems to multiply as the number of older drivers grows. Within the U.S., the segment of the population age 70 and older is growing faster than any other age group. The elderly increased nearly 40% from 1989 to 1999, to 18.5 million. It has now reached nearly 25 million, and is expected to continue to grow.
More older drivers on the road leads to more accidents, analysts say. They note that even though the overall highway fatality rate for the U.S. has dropped nearly 10% over the past 10 years, the rate for senior citizens has increased 33%. That dichotomy will only get worse once the baby boom population begins to show signs of age, experts predict.
Number of U.S. states that require older drivers to be retested in order to renew their drivers licenses 2
Percentage of respondents to a 2001 poll who favor retesting elderly drivers in order to renew their licenses 90%
Percentage of drivers made up of Americans over the age of 65, in 1990 7%
Projected percentage of drivers made up of Americans over the age of 65, in 2030 20%
Percent by which a person's reaction time decreases from age 35 to age 65 40%
Percent by which the overall highway fatality rate for the U.S. has dropped over the past decade 10%
Percent by which the highway fatality rate for senior citizens has increased in the past decade 33%
Annual number of elderly drivers who participate in a 55 ALIVE/Mature Driving program, geared to help older drivers improve their skills and avoid accidents 640,000
Percent by which four-way stop signs at intersections could reduce accidents, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 50%
Last edited by richiesaurusrex; Nov 10, 2009 at 05:01 PM.
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