Joe Kalina loved driving more than life, and for more than six decades, he got behind the wheel at every opportunity.
At 81, Kalina, of Arlington, continued to drive despite a series of minor auto accidents and one full-scale smashup.
Finally, Kalina’s daughter, Beverly Kelley, along with a physician, persuaded him to give up his car keys. For the next eight months, Kelley tried to ease the loss.
“I called him every day,” she said. “I saw him three or four times a week. I took him out to shop and for other outings. None of that took the place of his driver’s license, of driving. His car was his life.”
He proved it just before Thanksgiving 1987.
“Daddy committed suicide. I found his body,” Kelley said in a monotone. “I still feel guilty. But he was having these blackouts from hardening of the arteries. There was no way to tell when they’d happen, the doctor said, and the thought he might have one while driving and kill a child was just horrible for Daddy and for me. But I guess it got to where if he couldn’t drive, he didn’t want to live.”
This is an extreme example of what can happen when adult children or friends persuade an older driver to give up the car keys because of concern for the safety of the loved one and others on the road.
Driving represents precious freedom for older drivers, said Jane Oderberg, director of social services at Renaissance Park Multicare Center in Ft. Worth. She is also a counselor who conducts classes for children of aging parents.
“Driving means not admitting you have to be dependent on someone else, that when you feel like it you can get in your car and go,” Oderberg said. “Giving up car keys means giving up that choice, and of course it’s hard to do. But it’s also hard for those who are involved in them doing it, especially adult children.”
No matter what their ages, Oderberg said, children and parents usually find it difficult to switch roles, especially where driving is concerned.
“You’re in a situation where you’re dealing with the people who taught you to drive,” Oderberg said. “There’s always the mindset that `I am my parent’s child.’ No matter how old you are, no matter how old your parents are, they can give you the same look they did when you were 14, and you suddenly find yourself acting like you’re 14.
“So if parents want to keep driving even when they shouldn’t, often adult children choose to ignore the situation and just hope (their parents) don’t kill themselves or someone else.”
Counselors such as Oderberg and even the American Association of Retired Persons agree that at some point, all aging drivers will begin to lose their driving skills.
One AARP newsletter on older drivers states in part, “(Older drivers) do have problems when involved in driving situations requiring quick response, full vision and interaction with other drivers. Typical violations include failure to yield right of way, improper turning, incorrect lane changing, passing and entering and leaving expressways. . . . The gradual failure of sensory acuity associated with aging reduces the quantity and accuracy of information (they) are capable of processing.”
That most older adults reach a physical stage when they should stop driving is a given; when they should stop is not.
“Every individual is going to be different,” said Nancy Martin, operations manager for Senior Citizen Services of Tarrant County, which often serves as a referral group for seniors and their families. “Someone who’s in his 80s may be a much better driver than someone in his 30s or 40s. Aging happens to everyone, but we all age at different rates. You can’t just look at how old someone is and say, `This person shouldn’t be on the road anymore.’ “
Some automobile insurance agencies actively seek senior drivers as clients, said Jerry Johns, spokesman for Southwest Insurance Information Services, a public information organization for the property and casualty insurance industry.
“More mature drivers are often good risks because as a rule they drive fewer miles,” Johns said. “Traditionally, they drive slower, not recklessly. If they’re retired, as they often are, they’re not usually driving during rush hour.”
Martin said the stereotypical “80-year-old lady creeping down the freeway” may be an example of an older driver sticking to the speed limit when younger drivers don’t.
“She’s the one obeying the law, not all the people getting mad at her,” Martin said.
One recent newspaper report indicates that 21 percent of all drivers are 55 or older, and that these drivers are involved in 12.5 percent of all automobile accidents. By contrast, 16 percent of all drivers are 15 to 24, and this group is involved in 27 percent of reported accidents.
Still, older drivers may find themselves paying higher insurance rates.
Johns said insurance company statistics “do not show that (the number of accidents) go up at any specific age,” but the Texas Department of Insurance has specified three general driver-age categories: younger than 25, 25 to 65 and older than 65. Though individual insurance companies can set general rates, with the highest on young drivers who have statistically been proven greater accident risks, they cannot automatically increase policy costs for drivers because they have passed their 65th birthdays.
“They can still get around that, though,” said Amy Johnson, counsel for the Public Insurance Council, a state agency serving as an advocate for consumers on insurance issues. “It’s illegal to refuse to renew a policy because of age, but the problem is, if you’re an older driver and you lose your coverage for another reason, like making a claim, many companies refuse to write you another.”
The AARP anticipates the deterioration of driving skills a decade earlier than 65. An AARP publication notes: “Research shows that normal age-related physical changes begin to accelerate at age 55. Accidents per mile driven begin to increase at this same age.”
But the AARP’s purpose is to protect the rights of seniors, not restrict them. Accordingly, the agency developed a national driver safety program called “55 Alive/Mature Driving.” Open to all drivers 50 and older, “55 Alive,” offered in churches and community centers, is an eight-hour course with an $8 registration fee. The average age of “55 Alive” students nationally is 73.
“It’s not necessary to be a member of AARP to take the course,” said instructor Al Beverburg, a “77-, closer to 78-” year-old driver. “We have the course over a two-day period. We find lots of our students are still good drivers, but they want to learn ways they can deal with gradually failing senses and still get around without putting themselves or others in any danger. Younger people think people our age don’t know we’ve got to be more careful. Well, usually nobody knows better than we do that we’ve got some (driving) problems.”
SKILLS FOR STAYING ON THE ROAD
The “Older Driver Skill Assessment and Resource Guide: Creating Mobility Choices,” by the American Association of Retired Persons, includes simple tests that seniors can take to determine whether their driving skills may be diminished.
Some tips:
– Keep a three-second safety cushion between you and the car in front of you. To do this, find a tree, traffic sign or other stationary item on the roadside. Once the rear of the car ahead passes the object, you should be able to count “1,001, 1,002, 1,003” before arriving at the object.
– Plan your route so you can concentrate on driving rather than navigating.
– Avoid heavily traveled or high-speed areas, rush-hour traffic, difficult left turns and bad weather.
– If you will be taking an unfamiliar route at night, try to make a trial run in daylight hours.
– Always be alert for the unexpected while driving.
For free copies of the booklet, write to the American Association of Retired Persons, 601 E St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20049.
THE END OF THE ROAD?
Here are warning signs that senior drivers may be coming to the end of the road, developed by the American Association of Retired Persons.
– Gradual loss of peripheral vision. You do not notice cars that suddenly appear behind or beside your car.
– Dozing at the wheel. These lapses can occur occasionally, then more regularly, with advancing age.
– Slower reaction time. Reflexes decline and reactions to unexpected on-road events take longer.
– Forgetfulness. Even regular driving routes begin to seem unfamiliar.
