Elderly Drivers and Car Accidents
Elderly drivers do their best to be safe behind the wheel, but regardless of intentions, age makes it harder and harder to do so. As long as seniors stay on the roads, there is a good chance that they will unintentionally cause accidents. In fact, experts predict that in a decade, baby-boomers will be responsible for 25% of all fatal crashes.
The decline in driving skill amongst seniors is understandable: when we get older, our reflexes dramatically weaken. Here are the most common causes of automobile accidents involving older drivers:
- Memory: As our memory becomes fuzzy with age, remembering all of the many traffic safety laws proves to be more difficult than it once was.
- Hearing: Being aware of honking, sirens, semi-truck engines, and other common road noises is more essential to our safety than we may realize.
- Drowsiness: Feel sleepy because of medications, ailments, or other reasons, can cause a loss of focus when driving a vehicle.
- Eyesight: Diminished vision increases the likelihood of missing traffic signs, crossing over lanes, and striking objects.
There comes a time when one’s age causes driving to be too much of a risk to keep doing. Whether or not an elderly person may want to stop driving, Wisconsin state law may require it. Vision exams, for instance, are customary when renewing your driver’s license. The Medical Review Unity of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) also accepts complaints, which can be made confidentially, about medically-impaired drivers.
There are constraints on driving in old age, but many people still do it and accidents remain common. If you or a loved one fall victim to an automobile accident involving an elderly driver, contact the Milwaukee personal injury lawyers of Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C. right away.