Statistics on elderly drivers can be deceiving

By Martha Morgan

Oct. 9, 2008

Every so often we hear a story on the news or read an article in the paper about elderly drivers.

According to statistics, they have more accidents per kilometre in daytime and in good driving conditions than any other age group.

But statistics can be misleading. Looking at them from the angle of number of accidents per 10,000 drivers of all ages, and the elderly score is substantially lower. The accident rates for seniors in daytime when driving conditions are good is probably due to the fact that that’s when they’re most likely to be out and about.

They don’t generally fill their cars with a bunch of cronies and go joyriding after spending the evening in a bar. And their accidents are often fender benders, rather than high speed crashes.

Still, some provinces are taking or considering steps such as compulsory testing for people of a certain age.

Some require that doctors report any conditions or medications that might affect a patient’s ability to drive safely. Many are reluctant to comply, seeing it as a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality.

Often it’s up to family members to take away the car keys. This can cause friction if dear old dad looks on giving up the driver’s seat as akin to castration.

Nobody had to take my keys away. I gave up my car because I got tired of clearing snow and ice off it one winter after three blizzards a row.

I tell myself I am still capable of driving, though. During the two years that I drove without a valid licence I wasn’t once pulled over by a cop. You might say luck played a part, but you would also have to concede that I must have driven with due care and attention to so successfully elude the strong arm of the law. The fact that I was blissfully unaware of any wrongdoing might have helped too. My criminal career came to an end when a friend said: “Martha, that’s not your driver’s licence. That’s just your photo ID.”

You can reach Martha Morgan at mar.mor@shaw.ca