JAMA Insights Commentary
Journal of the American Medical Association, September 26, 2023
Commentary by David Carr, MD, and Ganesh Muneshwar Babulal, PhD
What’s Interesting about this article?
- The older adult (>65 years) population in the US will increase to 88 million by 2050 and represent at least 23% of all drivers.
- Compared with younger drivers, older adults experience decreases in visual, cognitive, and motor functions, resulting in a 2.5 times higher risk of a crash death for those aged 75-79 years old, and a 5-times higher risk for those 80 years or older.
- More than 90% of crashes are due to human error. Innovations in electronic automotive technologies may increase the safety of older drivers.
- Autonomous/driverless cars may represent the ultimate solution to unsafe older drivers.
JournalDoc Comments:
- “Taking away the car keys” is one of the most dreaded and difficult challenges for children of older drivers.
- Clinicians have an ethical “duty to warn” and notify state license agencies if they are aware of impairments or medications of older patients who refuse to stop driving.
- Loss of driving privileges affects the independence of older adults and may result in increased loneliness and depression.
- Mandatory cognitive and motor skills assessment prior to license renewal may be one possible solution.
Disclaimer: Article of the Week selections by JournalDoc physicians are independent, unbiased and have no commercial conflict of interest. JournalDoc does not support or endorse the findings or opinions expressed in the article. Findings in the article may need to be supported by further research and/or the consensus of experts.
