Vehicular Accidents Involving the Elderly

It is very common for elderly people to be involved in vehicular accidents.  Sometimes they are just involved but many times they are the cause of the accident.  Senses are dulled as we age and sometimes that leads to not driving as efficiently as we were once able to.  Many elderly people do not even realize that their senses are dulled enough that they should not be driving because they may be a safety hazard.  Some elderly people are not willing to give up their right to drive just yet.  The purpose of this proposal is to explain how elderly people can be involved in, and cause automobile accidents more often and propose a plan to make it mandatory for elderly people to take driving competency tests so they may keep their driving licenses.

Problem

Elderly people have been involved in many automobile accidents throughout the years, sometimes being the cause of the accident.  As we age our senses are not nearly as strong as the once were.  Sight and hearing are the main senses that decrease greatly as we age, they are also the main senses needed when driving.  Many elderly people end up in automobile accidents because they simply cannot see as well, so they may not see oncoming traffic, people nearby, traffic signs or lights, and road lines.  That alone can cause many accidents, or in severe cases death.  In many cases children or other people are run over by an elderly person who did not see them.  An elderly person may not be able to see where the road lines are and can drive off of the road onto a sidewalk or into the oncoming traffic lane.

Many accidents happen with children when an elderly person drives onto a sidewalk or doesn’t stop at a crosswalk and a child or children are run over.  In some of those situations the elderly person did not even realize what they had done or hear others so they simply just kept driving.  More examples of decreased mental acuity include decreased depth perception and peripheral vision.  Another problem with elderly people driving is that their decision making skills are not as developed as they once may have been.  Situations where decision making skills are not up to par can result in an elderly person pressing on the accelerator instead of the brakes.  Another example would be if the person were to turn on the wrong blinker when turning.  

Elderly people many times cannot conform to the fast paced road conditions that are present today.  Although driving in excess of the speed limit is generally considered a main component of automobile accidents driving much lower than the speed limit, which many elderly people are guilty of, can also cause accidents.  Also, taking more prescription drugs becomes more common as we age and many prescription drugs affect the ability to drive properly.  Some prescription drugs may alter eye sight, hearing, perception, memory, judgment, and may make an individual drowsy.  The number of accidents involving and caused by elderly people has risen over the years and may continue to rise.

Solution

There are a few solutions to reduce the amount of accidents involving or caused by an elderly person.  One solution would be to require driving competency tests for everyone over the age of 50 every number of years.  Elderly people may only be able to keep the driving licenses if they pass the required driving tests which would test their vision, ability to drive, and their knowledge of driving.  

Another possible solution is to require a doctor’s note to drive.  The doctor could test eye sight, reflexes, hearing, etc.  If all of the tests come out fine the doctor would write a note explaining that it is ok for that individual to remain behind the wheel.  These solutions would help increase road safety by not allowing incompetent drivers on the road and would also decrease the number of automobiles on the road.  With the decreased amount of traffic there may be fewer risks of traffic accidents and it would also be more eco-friendly.  A decrease in automobile accidents can lead to fewer deaths related to vehicles and also decreased insurance premiums.  To provide other transportation methods for elderly people can also be another possible solution that would help in many aspects.  

If decreasing the number of elderly drivers is not possible, a few simple steps can be taken to help the elderly.  Making traffics signs simpler, brighter, or larger may help along with wider traffic lanes, well painted road lines, rumble strips, and more sufficient street lights.  Many states have special provisions for older drivers such as testing of vision and road skills and more frequent license renewals, but not every state requires provisions such as these.

Conclusion

Elderly drivers are associated with many automobile accidents, whether being involved or being the cause.  There have been many deaths and injuries reported involving elderly drivers due to individuals not knowing their driving skills have decreased or individuals not being willing to give up driving.  Having elderly individuals take regularly scheduled driving competency tests so they may keep their driver’s licenses is just one of the possible solutions. That alone can greatly decrease the amount of accidents, injuries, and deaths associated with elderly drivers, and increase the safety of elderly people and others both on and around the roads.

Opinion

The document is well written and understandable. However, there are several spelling and grammar mistakes which require to be corrected. There are no commas before several coordinating conjunctions “but” and “and”. Pronoun "these"/"those" may not agree with singular noun. Prepositions “to” and “over” have been placed at the end of sentence. The author has used comma mark to separates two independent clauses instead of conjunction or semicolon. Contraction “don’t” has been used instead of the complete does not.  Pronouns and verbs which refer to indefinite pronoun are in the wrong form. The paper has several comma misuses: unnecessary, unexpected or excessive use of comma. Some sentences are excessively wordy. Additionally, perfect tense verb has been used with modal verb not in proper form. The paper lacks in-text citation making it incredible. The references cited in the reference list were retrieved from the internet. However, the author has not indicated the date and time they were retrieved.