Suggestions for Improvement

1. I signal and check to the rear when I change lanes.
   
2. I wear a seat belt.
   
3. I try to stay informed of changes in driving and highway regulations.
   
4. Intersections bother me: there is too much to watch for from all directions.
   
5. I find it difficult to decide when to join traffic on a busy highway.
   
6. I think I am slower than I used to be in reacting to dangerous driving situations.
   
7. When I am really upset, I show it in my driving.
   
8. My thoughts wander when I am driving.
   
9. Traffic situations make me angry.
   
10. I get regular eye checks to keep my vision at its sharpest.
    
11. I check with my doctor or pharmacist about the effects of my medications on my driving ability.
    
12. I try to stay abreast of current information on health practices and habits.
    
13. My children, other family members or friends are concerned about my driving ability.
    
14. How many traffic tickets, warnings, or discussions with officers have you had in the past two years?

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10. I get regular eye checks to keep my vision at its sharpest.

The only acceptable answer is "Always."

Eighty-five to ninety-five percent of all sensing clues in driving come through the eyes. Poor visual capacity is directly related to poor driving. Reduced performance from faulty vision shows up in slowed response to signals, signs and traffic events in ways that can lead to a collision.

Doctors cannot correct all vision problems, but only doctors and optometrists can help you with those vision problems that are correctable, such as visual acuity (ability to focus) and disease-related vision loss. Seeing a doctor on a regular basis is the only way to be sure that your vision is the best it can be.

Aging does bring vision problems, but we all share these difficulties in a fairly predictable, natural way. No matter how well you have taken care of your eyes, these problems will develop.

Between the ages of 40 and 60, night vision becomes progressively worse. Pupils become smaller, the muscles less elastic, and the lenses become thicker and less clear. A 60-year-old driver must have 10 times the light required by a 20-year-old.

During this time, eyes become sensitive to glare, which also makes driving at night difficult. Eye lenses become thicker and yellowed with age, resulting in a fogging vision and sensitivity to glare. A 55-year-old takes eight times as long to recover from glare as a 16-year-old.

Visual changes accelerate at age 55. You begin to miss objects that are not moving, such as pedestrians waiting to enter a crosswalk.

Around age 70, your peripheral vision usually begins to deteriorate. Drivers receive 98% of their visual communication through peripheral vision.

Distinguishing between colors becomes more difficult. Red colors do not appear as bright to many older eyes, and it may take some senior drivers twice as long as it took in earlier years to detect the flash of brake lights.

Another visual ability that declines over the years is depth perception: how close or how far you are in relation to a car or object ahead. This capacity is especially critical when trying to judge how fast other cars are coming, which contributes to the problems you may have in making left turns.

Several medical conditions that tend to come with age can affect sight: cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetes. Regular visits to your doctor can help you head off their blinding effects.

There are several things you can do to handle the loss of vision that comes with aging:

• Take the corrective steps recommended by your doctor. If eyeglasses are prescribed, keep them up to date by letting the doctor know at once if they are not working well for you.
  
  
• Enroll in an older driver training course where you can learn specific techniques for coping with the limits imposed by aging eyes. You may also learn about how to use special devices, such as larger mirrors, that you can install.
  
  
• Accept the limits of "aging eyes," and reduce the amount of driving you do after dark and at twilight (one of the most dangerous times). The chances of having a collision are three times greater at night than in daytime.
  
  
• Avoid tinted windshields and always keep your windshield and headlights clean.
  
  
• Turn your head frequently to compensate for diminished peripheral vision.
  
  
• Keep your eyes up - look at the road ahead to see trouble before you reach it. In the city, look at least one block ahead; on the highway, look at the section of the road you’ll reach in 20 seconds.

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