{"id":530,"date":"2009-02-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-02-21T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/driving-an-aging-baby-boomers-alert\/"},"modified":"2017-10-24T13:24:22","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T17:24:22","slug":"driving-an-aging-baby-boomers-alert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/driving-an-aging-baby-boomers-alert\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving: An Aging Baby Boomers Alert"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Elderly

Elderly Problems: Hazards of Elderly Driving<\/p><\/div>\n

Elderly Problems<\/strong>: Driving<\/p>\n

By Boomeryearbook.com<\/p>\n

Remember a time when most of us couldn\u2019t wait to be old enough to drive? Well today, due to increases in the life expectancy of our aging population, there are more elderly drivers on the road than ever before and psychological articles and research experts speculate whether there comes a time when one becomes too old <\/em>to drive. In fact, this has become a series elderly problem<\/strong><\/p>\n

As psychological articles and research has proven, our population is aging; the average life expectancy of a citizen has reached a record high of 77.6 years, and in the year 2009 some of the baby boomers generation<\/strong> will have reached the age of 65. As the baby boomers generation<\/strong> reach their golden years and in light of the statistics for elderly car accidents, we at Boomer Yearbook, the website for baby boomers<\/strong> attempt to assist people in trying to understand the problems of elderly driving in an aging baby boomers generation<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

According to the American Association of Retired Persons, (AARP) everyone ages differently, and growing old does not always mean that a person is going to become a safety hazard on the road. However, because of declining age related physical abilities and elderly problems<\/strong> the aging baby boomers generation<\/strong> must recognize that our driving can become a safety risk to ourselves and others. Here are some reasons why:<\/p>\n

Weakening eyesight<\/strong>:
\nTypically vision declines with age which can seriously affect the aging baby boomers<\/strong> ability to judge the speed of oncoming traffic. Additionally night vision can be a serious elderly problem<\/strong> as our aging boomers eyes lose the ability to process light. By the age of 60, psychological articles and research reveal that we need three times the amount of light to drive safely after nightfall than we did when we were in our 20s. Worsening the situation is that psychological articles have also reported that the aging baby boomers<\/strong> eyes become increasingly sensitive to bright light and glare which diminishes the aging boomer from being able to clearly read signs and road markings. If this is an elderly problem that you as an aging baby boomer face, we strongly encourage you to avoid driving at night and to get regular eye check-ups.<\/p>\n

Hearing loss<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to psychological article experts, 30% of drivers over the age of 65 are hearing impaired. Hearing is more important to driving than we realize as it can help warn a driver against danger signals such as sirens, horns, screeching tires or the bell of a child\u2019s bicycle. A hearing test can determine any hearing problems that might exist. We urge all baby boomers to get a baseline hearing test at age 60 and to have yearly checkups afterwards.<\/p>\n

Medication<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the baby boomers generation<\/strong> ages they will often need to take medications. Many medications can cause drowsiness and impair reaction times, increasing the risk of hazardous driving. A doctor should be consulted on whether it is safe to drive when taking the prescribed medication.<\/p>\n

Flexibility<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oftentimes flexibility decreases with age, adding to the elderly problem<\/strong> of increasing driver reaction time. A full range of motions are required on the road which might be difficult for those of the baby boomers generation<\/strong> suffering from the chronic elderly problems<\/strong> of rheumatoid arthritis, and Parkinson’s disease.<\/p>\n

Exhaustion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aging can bring with it lack of sleep and daytime drowsiness which is particularly common amongst the elderly problems<\/strong> aging boomers face. Falling asleep at the wheel or sheer exhaustion leading to loss of attention to driving signals is a major concern. We urge baby boomers to be aware of signs of exhaustion while driving and the baby boomers generation<\/strong> is advised to pull off the road to a safe, convenient place at the first signs of drowsiness or fatigue.<\/p>\n

Dementia and brain impairment<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Dementia or brain impairment can make driving very dangerous. It can lead to extremely delayed reaction times and confusion, and decreased tolerance to stressful driving conditions. If mental illness is one of the problems the aging boomer is facing, it is a lot safer to let someone else do the driving.
\nIf you are concerned about an aging boomer\u2019s driving, closely monitor their driving and if need be, encourage them to take a refresher course on driving or on giving up their license altogether. We at Boomer Yearbook are concerned with everyone\u2019s safety and attempt to help you understand how elderly problems<\/strong> of the baby boomers generation<\/strong> can negatively impact our ability to drive safely and pose a risk to ourselves and others.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s our opinion at Boomer Yearbook. What do you think?<\/p>\n

Boomer Yearbook, a free social networking site for the baby boomers or those concerned with the elderly problems of the baby boomers generation, is based on the vision that the baby boomers want to connect and reconnect, but in our own way and on our own terms. <\/p>\n

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Karen Turner provides free psychological articles on baby boomer relevant topics such as dream analysis, coaching, self-help, baby boomer relevant forums, online optical illusions and brain teasers to help ward off senior moments, Alzheimer\u2019s and dementia, the latest news on baby boomers cosmetic enhancements and weekly updates on the baby boomers generation mental and medical wellness.<\/p>\n

Join now to discover the numerous ways in which this online baby boomer social networking website can contribute to optimal physical and emotional wellness. The baby boomers generation changed the world. Now we are reconnecting for fun and profit.<\/p>\n

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Elderly Problems: Driving By Boomeryearbook.com Remember a time when most of us couldn\u2019t wait to be old enough to drive? Well today, due to increases in the life expectancy of our aging population, there are more elderly drivers on the road than ever before and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[28,17],"tags":[472,448,83,473,241],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karenturnerphd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}