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Professor Gustafson Hypothesis: Adults over the age of 70 are unsafe…
Professor Gustafson Hypothesis: Adults over the age of 70 are unsafe drivers, they should be required to take a driver’s license behind the wheel examine each year because of the rapid decline in 70+ adult’s physical and cognitive abilities.
Opposing Information
Cognitive &Physical Loss
Avoid night time driving (IIHS, 2017)
Avoid driving in bad weather (IIHS, 2017)
Self limit driving fewer trips and shorter distances (IIHS, 2017)
Rapid decline can happen at any age due to illness or accident. (Moody, 2017)
People age differently Memory loss is not a normal part of aging. (Moody, 2017)
Driving ability linked to Health not Age, (AARP, 2014)
Reaction times decreased and susceptibility to glare increased as people got older, they also compensated for this by driving more carefully. (Musselwhite, 2016)
Causation of Accidents
Low Rates of police reported crash involvement per capita (FARS, 2017)
65+ when in accident higher rate of death due increase chances of medical complications (AAA, 2017)
Legalilty
Having a mental or physical disorder does not automatically mean a person is incapacitated; there must be a specific inability to understand and make decisions. (Leo, 1999)
Adults are considered competent after the age of 18 unless proven otherwise by a court of law. (California Probate Code Part 17. Legal Mental Capacity, n.d.)
Life Satisfaction
Driving is one activity that is crucial to maintaining social contacts, independent functioning a satisfying quality of life. (Ball, 1997)
A majority of older adults live in the suburbs in America, relying on their automobile to maintain mobility as public transportation is not always available or viable. (O'Connor, 2010)
65+ Safer Drivers
Travel city road vs highways/freeways; Crash rates lower on city roads (FARS, 2017)
Age 65 +Travel fewer miles (FARS, 2017)
Self limit driving (FARS, 2017)
Under 35 not as safe unsafe speed; alcohol use; right-of-way violations(FARS, 2017)
65+ wear seat belts, observe speed limits and no drunk driving (FARS, 2017)
Other Facts
The Netherlands and United Kingdom have the lowest fatality rate for car drivers aged 65+, and the rate for France is falling rapidly. (Mitchell, 2008) Lest Restrictive Driving Laws
C.G. Mitchell in 2008, study over 1/2 of European countries: found that people over the age of 65 are at a greater risk of death as a pedestrian rather than from driving a car.
Many older adults do not use public transportation because it is not available, not accessible, or doesn’t go where they want to go, when they want to go. (ASA, 2016)
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