Should Dad Still Be Driving? UB Law Professor Offers Guidelines on Evaluating Elder Driving Skills

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- An accident involving an elderly driver who killed 10 people shopping at a farmers' market in Santa Monica last week has focused a spotlight on whether the elderly should be retested on their driving skills after a certain age.

But getting older does not necessarily mean driving worse, according to Anthony Szczygiel, professor of law at the University at Buffalo and a national expert in elder law.

"However, certain limitations on reaction time, flexibility, eyesight, and so on are more common in the elderly," Szczygiel said. "Any action to limit the individual's rights should be based on that individual's condition and abilities."

In New York State, he noted, the Department of Motor Vehicles does not make judgments about driving ability based solely on age, but it can take action when it has information that a driver has a possible condition that can affect driving skills.

"A physician or family member can notify the DMV of their concerns -- although the physicians report carries more weight," he said. "Age is one of the factors that the DMV deems relevant. For example, all drivers who are under the age of 25 or who are over the age of 65 and who have three accidents in nine months are notified to take a driving-skills re-examination."

Szczygiel supports the recommendations of the Association for the Advancement of Retired People (AARP), which suggests a balanced approach to the issue of whether an older person still is fit to drive.

Pertinent questions to ask regarding driving skills include:

* Can my parent still see easily over the dashboard and easily reach the pedals?

* Are the steering wheel, mirrors and seats properly adjusted, and is the car in safe operating condition?

AARP recommends driving with an older individual in order to assess driving ability, and to watch for risky driving behavior such as changing lanes without signaling, going through stop signs or red lights, slow reaction times, problems seeing road signs or traffic signals, straying into other lanes, going too fast or too slow for safety, problems making turns at intersections, especially left turns, and jerky stops or starts.

For more information on the subject, go to the AARP Web site at http://www.aarp.org/confacts/caregive/transportation.html.