Driving – for many people, that means much more than just getting from A to B. It’s the freedom to spontaneously visit your dear friend in the neighboring town for a coffee, to do errands and doctor’s appointments without help. In short: independence – especially for those who find it difficult to avoid taking the bus or train, for example because they live in the country.
No wonder that many people find it difficult to accept the idea that the chapter of driving could be coming to an end. Even if you feel that driving gets worse as you get older. Thomas Wagner, traffic psychologist at Dekra, also knows that the driver’s license – and especially the thought of saying goodbye to it – is fraught with many emotions.
He is familiar with studies that have shown: “The stress caused by the loss of a driving license is similar to that caused by the loss of a close relative or a job.” It is not uncommon for the state of health to even worsen and symptoms of depression can develop develop.
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Of course, older people are not a risk on the road per se – for various reasons. “Older drivers have a significantly lower willingness to take risks than younger drivers,” says Thomas Wagner. Drugs and drunk driving are also less likely to be a problem for them.
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And: “Older people have gained a lot of driving experience over the years,” says Theresa Bödefeld. As a pharmacist at the Institute for Forensic Medicine at the University Hospital in Essen, she also deals with driving in old age. The many, many hours behind the wheel can partially compensate for the weaknesses.
Many older people also find creative solutions when their driving safety deteriorates. “We often hear that, for example, the wife in the passenger seat is basically another eye or another ear,” says Thomas Wagner. What he also observes: Many older people are concerned about taking good care of themselves. “This is also a positive resource behind the wheel.”
Why does driving safety often decline with age?
“With age, the number of people who have limitations due to illnesses increases, which affects their safety behind the wheel,” says Theresa Bödefeld. An example here: dementia.
And normal aging processes can also influence driving. “Our nerve cell population deteriorates with age. Information is no longer transmitted as quickly,” says traffic psychologist Wagner. As a result, the reaction to road traffic also takes longer – braking, clutching, steering. According to Wagner, this reduction begins from the age of 70. “We found that from the age of 75, the proportion of self-inflicted accidents increases significantly,” says the traffic psychologist.
A big issue when driving in old age: medications and their possible side effects. “The liver and kidneys function worse with age. This means that drugs are broken down or metabolized more poorly.
“There can therefore be side effects that do not occur in younger people,” says Bödefeld. In addition, it is not uncommon for older people to take five, perhaps even ten, different medications a day. There is a risk of interactions.
Which medications can affect driving safety?
According to pharmacist Bödefeld, around 100,000 medicines are currently approved in Germany. About 20 percent of them can impair driving safety.
These are active ingredients that are supposed to bring blood pressure under control. “It can happen that they lower blood pressure more than intended. This can lead to dizziness and changes in the ability to react,” explains Bödefeld.
What is not surprising: Even active substances that have a calming and sleep-inducing effect, such as benzodiazepines, do not mix well with driving. This also applies to strong painkillers, i.e. opioids.
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“By the way, over-the-counter drugs can also impair your ability to drive,” says Theresa Bödefeld. For example, flu medicines that are supposed to work against several ailments at once. The active ingredient diphenhydramine can be used in such preparations. Cough suppressants can also contain dextromethorphan – both active ingredients that reduce the ability to react and can cause fatigue, dizziness, drowsiness and difficulty concentrating.
Eye ointments can also make you less confident behind the wheel. “This is due to the consistency of such an ointment, which is initially applied to the eye – and then your vision may be blurred, regardless of the active ingredient,” says Bödefeld.
How do I determine how safe I am behind the wheel?
Theresa Bödefeld advises regularly reflecting on your own driving behavior. Maybe there were situations in which there was almost a crash because you felt a little dazed and therefore reacted with delay? “There are often routes that you drive regularly – and you can ask yourself: Am I still driving them as safely as I used to? Or are they becoming more and more difficult and tiring for me?”
If hearing or vision deteriorates, those affected usually notice it quickly. “I notice whether I can see the sign well – or whether I have to squint my eyes,” says Thomas Wagner.
It’s quite possible that you’ll also notice that the brain processes information more slowly: “You might approach intersections more slowly, maybe someone even keeps honking from behind,” says Wagner, describing typical situations.
In order to draw conclusions from observations like these, you need an honest and realistic examination of your own abilities and their decline. And that’s difficult for many people, as Thomas Wagner reports – because so much independence depends on a driver’s license.
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This doesn’t have to mean that you have to give up driving and your driving license completely. A view from the outside is helpful in answering the question of what can happen next. The ADAC, the technical inspection associations (Tüv) and Dekra offer fitness or mobility checks for older people behind the wheel.
The providers point out that the recommendations and results of these checks are not mandatory and remain strictly confidential and will not be reported to authorities or other people.
According to Theresa Bödefeld, anyone who suspects a medication that could be the cause of the uncertainty should not reduce the dosage or even stop taking it on their own. The better way is to talk to the doctor or pharmacist. Maybe there is an alternative active ingredient, maybe the dose can be adjusted – and thus bring back a little more safety at the wheel.