Take control and understand how your body's limitations can affect your driving. Plan ahead and take simple steps to avoid dangerous situations.
April 9, 2006 (Press Release) --
From time to time everyone feels nervous while driving. But as you age, situations that make you nervous — be it difficulty seeing at night or feeling that all the other motorists are passing you — tend to occur more often, putting you and others at greater risk of having an accident.
Getting older doesn't mean your driving days are over. Take control and understand how your body's limitations can affect your driving. Plan ahead and take simple steps to avoid dangerous situations. Use this information to help you stay safe on the roads and recognize when it's time to limit your driving or turn over your keys.
The effects of an aging body
As you age, your muscles generally become weaker, your joints stiffen and your flexibility decreases. Your reflexes begin to slow as well. The accumulation of these effects makes certain elements of driving more difficult — turning the steering wheel, accelerating or braking, looking over your shoulder and making quick maneuvers, for example.
In addition, your hearing and vision, particularly your night vision, tend to decline. Impaired hearing may impede your ability to hear an approaching emergency vehicle or train. Common vision problems that can interfere with driving include:
Cataracts. A cataract is a clouding of the lens of your eye. Cataracts cause your vision to become blurred or hazy. Cataracts may also make you more sensitive to light and glare, making it more difficult to drive at night.
Glaucoma. This group of conditions — characterized by abnormally high pressure inside your eyeball — causes diminished peripheral vision, which makes it more difficult to see a pedestrian or vehicle approaching from the side.
Macular degeneration. This condition causes you to lose the central portion of your field of vision. Without central vision it becomes harder to see other cars or pedestrians coming toward you.
By Mayoclinic.com
Getting older doesn't mean your driving days are over. Take control and understand how your body's limitations can affect your driving. Plan ahead and take simple steps to avoid dangerous situations. Use this information to help you stay safe on the roads and recognize when it's time to limit your driving or turn over your keys.
The effects of an aging body
As you age, your muscles generally become weaker, your joints stiffen and your flexibility decreases. Your reflexes begin to slow as well. The accumulation of these effects makes certain elements of driving more difficult — turning the steering wheel, accelerating or braking, looking over your shoulder and making quick maneuvers, for example.
In addition, your hearing and vision, particularly your night vision, tend to decline. Impaired hearing may impede your ability to hear an approaching emergency vehicle or train. Common vision problems that can interfere with driving include:
Cataracts. A cataract is a clouding of the lens of your eye. Cataracts cause your vision to become blurred or hazy. Cataracts may also make you more sensitive to light and glare, making it more difficult to drive at night.
Glaucoma. This group of conditions — characterized by abnormally high pressure inside your eyeball — causes diminished peripheral vision, which makes it more difficult to see a pedestrian or vehicle approaching from the side.
Macular degeneration. This condition causes you to lose the central portion of your field of vision. Without central vision it becomes harder to see other cars or pedestrians coming toward you.
By Mayoclinic.com
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