The skills that someone needs to be a good driver tend to deteriorate as people get older. As a result, there is a significant reason to be concerned about senior drivers. Older motorists may not be able to stay safe while operating their vehicles. They could endanger themselves and others. If a senior driver causes an accident, a New York personal injury law firm can provide representation to victims of the crash who may have been seriously hurt.
Preventing accidents so these injuries don’t happen in the first place should be the goal of every older person, as well as the goal of people whose family members are aging. Whether you are a senior concerned about your own ongoing ability to drive safely or you have family members who are getting older who may begin to be high-risk drivers, you should know some of the warning signs that suggest a senior isn’t safe to get behind the wheel any more. Driving.ca provides a list of 10 red flags that could be indicative of the fact that a senior should stop driving.
Signs That Senior Drivers Should Stop Getting Behind the Wheel
The 10 red flags identified as signs that seniors may be a risk behind the wheel include, but are not limited to:
- Unexplained dents, scratches, and scrapes on a senior’s vehicle
- No longer looking when they need to change lanes or when they need to reverse their vehicle
- Becoming confused about the brake pedal and the gas peda.
- Making unsafe left turns or waiting too long to make left turns when it is their turn to go
- Experiencing a delayed response time or having delayed reactions
- Becoming increasingly agitated or irritated behind the wheel
- Driving at the wrong speed, including driving too slowly, as well as an inability to maintain a consistent speed
- Beginning to struggle with parking, even if he or she was capable of safely parking before
- Inability to stay between the lines of the lane
- Riding the brakes, or keeping his or her foot on the brake at the same time as the other foot is on the gas
Around 10 percent of people who are 65 or older have at least some form of mild dementia, which can increase crash rates by as much as 4.7 percent. Seniors also experience delayed reaction times and impaired reflexes, and many seniors take medications that affect their cognitive function. All of this can affect the ability of a senior to safely operate his or her car.
If seniors disregard the fact they can no longer drive safely and decide to operate their vehicles anyway, they can be made to pay the consequences of their dangerous actions. Seniors who cause crashes can be held accountable for both serious injuries and for wrongful death in fatal car accidents. Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, a personal injury law firm in New York can provide help in pursuing a case against senior drivers who cause crashes.
