The Dangers Of Elderly Drivers Essay Example

There is an average of 6 million car crashes a day. That is roughly 16,438 per day. In 2018  it was recorded that nearly 7,700 adults (ages 65+) were killed in car crashes and that almost 250,000 were treated in hospitals for the same reason. As opposed to the 3,214 deaths and 196,000 injuries by teenage drivers(ages 15-20). 

Many elderly people are more susceptible to losing their cognitive abilities without noticing so their bodies may not be in the best shape for driving. Studies have shown that when an elderly person begins losing their cognitive abilities the first two to go are memory and attention which just so happen to be two of the most important things required when driving. Another common function to go quickly is decision making which is another majorly important part when it comes to operating a vehicle.

There are also so many cars that are not very senior friendly driving wise. Cars now and days tend to have smaller windows with less outward visibility. Many cars also have complicated control systems that can be distracting and difficult to use for older drivers. As opposed to teenagers who have grown up with this kind of technology so they know how to use it and how not to be as confused with it. 

Others may claim that elderly drivers are the safer of the two because they have more experience while driving and they tend to drive slower then most teenagers. That however isn't always true. They also may think this because they think that teenagers are gonna be on their phones all the time but that really isn't true anymore. Due to the amount of commercials and psa’s that were thrusted upon teen drivers as children a lot of them understand that you should not be on your phone while driving. 

In conclusion, elderly drivers are significantly more dangerous than teenage drivers. So, nextime you are in a car with a teenager or an elderly person make your own observations and decisions.