Gerontologist Studies Safety Measures for Elderly Drivers

By Anne-Marie Kent

According to the U.S. Census, more than 35 million Americans are 65 or over. Experts say that elders who continue to drive are likely to experience a feeling of control, independence, and self-sufficiency. However, questions remain about the safety of older drivers.

Thanks to an $80,000 grant from the medical foundation Charles H. Farnsworth Trust, Nina Silverstein, College of Public and Community Service professor and Gerontology Institute senior fellow, is studying ways of prolonging the safe-driving years of seniors. With co-investigator Elizabeth Van Ranst and research associate Alison Gottlieb, she is also encouraging discussion about safe driving and automobile modifications that would enhance safety for all drivers.

Safety concerns are real. According to Silverstein, researchers have documented that older drivers are likely to experience an increased accident rate per mile, even though they drive fewer miles, and that they are at a greater risk of dying in an automobile accident. Older drivers are at fault a disproportionately high percentage of the time when they are involved in accidents. She explains that there is a statistically significant increase in functional decline among older adults as they move from the 65-to-74 age range to the 75-to-84 range. Such functional decline can make for risky driving.

While driving cessation is well advised for some, says Silverstein, others may benefit from using special vehicle modifications designed to keep drivers safely on the road longer. Such modifications include wider mirrors, easy grip handles, a 4–point harness, an open-arc steering wheel, and seat adjusters. "I am an applied researcher and like making connections for people to assist in daily life and enhance their quality of living," says Silverstein.

Her study aims to increase elders’ awareness of these modifications. Adaptive modifications for cars have been in use for years, but they have been marketed to people with disabilities who cannot drive without them. Silverstein believes automobile manufacturers should consider universal design features that would appeal to a broader spectrum of the aging population. Many elders who lose functional abilities do not wish to be seen as disabled themselves and are not particularly interested in pursuing vehicle adaptations developed for the disabled community in order to keep driving.

The proposed study will determine whether a video in which such vehicle modifications are explained and modeled as useful can help increase elders’ knowledge and raise the likelihood that they will consider trying the modifications. It will also help determine whether elders believe certain car features would enable them to drive longer than they would without the enhancements.

In a previous study, Silverstein and research assistant Jenai Murtha surveyed Councils on Aging and/or Senior Center directors about whether they thought thirteen specific vehicle features would be useful for their populations and whether they would consider sharing information on such features with elders in their communities. Over 80 percent of the 51 directors interviewed were willing to consider implementing programs to enhance elder driving, including educating elders about vehicle features.

This new study will ask similar questions of approximately 100 elders themselves, aged 70 and older, from a half-dozen or so local Councils on Aging and Senior Centers and test a method to increase the likelihood that they would become familiar with and be willing to try new vehicle features. Councils on Aging that have expressed interest and willingness to participate in this project include those in Bedford, Brockton, Millis, Milton, Norwood, Pembroke, Sharon, Walpole, and Woburn.

"My larger audience is the older person and their families--I want people to talk about safe mobility and consider the full range from pedestrian to driver, with all the alternative modes in between," says Silverstein.

"Strategies that assist elders in driving safely on the road longer are likely to keep those elders engaged as active and contributing members of society."

Silverstein has been invited by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration and the National Alzheimer’s Association Public Policy Division to continue her work on elders and a range of transportation issues.

Image: Nina Silverstein, College of Public and Community Service professor and Gerontology Institute senior fellow, received an $80,000 grant from the Charles H. Farnsworth Trust to study ways of prolonging the safe-driving years of seniors. (Photo by Harry Brett)

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