Age and Driving – Knowing When It’s Time To Stop

Q: My parents are getting older, and I’m wondering, how do I know when it’s time for them to stop driving?

A: If you’re a fan of the Guinness Book of World Records, you might have heard of Johanna Quaas, the world’s oldest gymnast. She turned 95 this year and still has a parallel bar routine that would make some of the show-offs on muscle beach reevaluate their life goals.

I mention Johanna to make the point that age itself isn’t the limiting factor in driving, or any other life activity. It’s all the things that go along with age. That might sound like two ways of saying the same thing, but I don’t think so.

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The Safest Time To Drive

Q: As seniors we avoid rush hour driving whether it’s early morning or after four in the afternoon. We rarely drive at night. We believe we are safer on the road mid-day nine to three. Is our assessment and decision based on reality as far as safety and crashes?

A: When it comes to driving, getting older generally works against you. However, this question demonstrates one area where that’s not true: Wisdom. When I was sixteen I don’t ever remember wondering about the safest time to drive. As we get older (and hopefully smarter) we start asking questions like this one. So let’s begin the quest to find the safest time to drive.

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