Road Map to Driving Wellness

For most Americans, a driver's license is considered the first outward and visible step toward becoming an adult and the freedom that car keys bring. Early driving experiences - such as the day we first got our license, bought our first car, or took our first trip - vividly come to mind throughout our lives.

Many drivers today ages 65 and above came of age between the 1930s and 1950s, when cars became more widely affordable and improved technology made them more reliable and easier to use. In the 1930s, Americans took to the newly paved roads. The war years of the 1940s also saw an increase in the number of drivers. With men overseas, more women learned to drive, and so did many servicemen. In the 1950s, the booming economy brought cars even more into the fabric of American life. Families moved from cities to the new suburbs, farther from central services such as shopping, with no transportation alternatives.¹ The rebuilt postwar society became defined by its reliance on automobile transportation, and the auto itself became a symbol of freedom and personal expression.

By 1990, only 6 percent of the entire population lived in households without a car and many of those households were headed by older adults.² Today, many of us see cars as physical extensions of ourselves - transporting us wherever we want, whenever we want, like a high-speed second pair of legs - as well as extensions of our personalities and taste. With this perspective in mind, consider the importance of driving to older adults and their responses when told to stop or cut back on driving.

The media often paint an inaccurate, simplistic picture of older drivers. Due to highly publicized - but rare - serious crashes involving older drivers, public discussions focus on taking away older drivers' car keys to improve public safety. The pervasive negative public attitude toward older drivers has been counterproductive, closing off useful conversation about the issue among older adults and their families, friends and healthcare professionals. By simplifying the issue to a drive/no-drive solution, conversations ignore the value of older adults as connected and contributing members of a community.

Alternatively, a focus on maximizing older-adult independence and transportation accessibility stands to benefit all members of a community. Traffic safety could be improved through better signage, lane markings, walkways, traffic lights, and more comfort in using public transportation.

This module seeks to provide a balanced picture of the functional challenges that face many older adults. More importantly, it describes an array of ways in which most older adults can take action to enhance their driving safety and remain mobile and connected to their communities. This module features physical and mental exercises for older drivers with excellent driving skills and shows how older adults can use them to maintain those skills. Highlighting the importance of discussions before a driving crisis arises, the module encourages older adults, their loved ones and the entire community to openly discuss driving issues and begin planning desirable options. The module also points to the ways, means and challenges that some communities have devised for those older adults who have reduced or retired from driving.

¹ "In 1990, 50% of all workers lived in the suburbs; between 1950 and 1992 the U.S. population rose 56.1% - but... the suburban population grew almost 200%." - From Rosenbloom, S. (1997) "Trends in women's travel patterns." (In Chapter 2, Women's Travel Issues: Proceedings from the Second National Conference, October 1996." U.S. Dept. of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Highway Information Management, HPM-40. No. FHWA-PL-97-024.)

² Ibid.