MOBILITY matters. Losing the right to drive is, for many elderly people, as traumatic as being widowed. And, as the population ages, that trauma will be felt by more and more people in the future. Yet the safety of other road users, let alone that of an elderly driver himself, is paramount. So, an awful lot rides on the licence-renewal tests older drivers face in certain places—and perhaps even more on the judgment of drivers in places that do not have them.
Normal driving tests are flawed, however. One problem is that, at the moment, licensing is usually a binary decision: either someone is permitted to drive or he is not. But this is silly. Reactions slow with age, but do so gradually. Eyesight deteriorates similarly. Some people may be safe to drive during the day, but not at night. Others may not be safe on long trips, because of loss of concentration, but would be fine pottering down to the shops. Some might be okay at low speeds, and could thus be given licences on condition their car is fitted with a speed governor. Unfortunately, neither the authorities nor drivers themselves have reliable methods of telling the difference. This cuts both ways. A...Continue reading
Source: Science and technology http://ift.tt/1kwnzi8
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