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Stanford Chiwanga, Online Editor

OLD age catches up with all of us and with it comes the possibility of acquiring a disabling health problem or physical limitation. The physical and sensory limitations have resulted in many road accidents in Zimbabwe though such statistics are hard to come by.

While could be a mistake to link advanced age with disability as the overwhelming majority of older people are neither disabled nor institutionalised and experience a relatively normal and independent life styles, it is important to question the wisdom of allowing people of advanced age to drive.

Before being asked by the worried authorities, a driver should look himself or herself in the mirror when the frequency of being honked at by other drivers increases. When getting lost even on familiar roads becomes a daily occurrence, when vehicles and pedestrians start appearing from nowhere, when family and friends worry about your driving and when you drive less because you are not as confident about your ability as you once were, it is time you should think seriously about whether or not you are still a safe driver.

But how does old age affect the ability to drive?

“As you age, your joints may stiffen, and muscles weaken. Turning your head to look back or steering and braking the car may become hard to do. Movements are slower and may not be as accurate. Your senses of smell, hearing, sight, touch, and taste might grow weaker.

Vision, being able to see, is a vital part of driving, but age brings changes in the lens of the eye. Eyes need more light in order to see and are more sensitive to glare. Your ability to see things on the edge of the viewing area, peripheral vision, narrows. Vision problems include cataracts, macular degeneration, and glaucoma,” said Dr John Moyo, a general health practitioner.

In cataracts the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, causing problems with the ability to see. Macular degeneration involves a breakdown of material inside the eye that leads to a loss of vision in the central part of the viewing area. Glaucoma is the rise in pressure inside the eye that develops in glaucoma may limit the ability to see things on the edge of the viewing area.

You probably know your body may change with age. You may not be aware of changes in the way your mind works as you age. Some of you find your reflexes are slower. Or, you may have trouble keeping your attention fixed on one situation. You may have a hard time doing two things at once, something you have to do to drive safely. When you drive, you have to take in new information from many sources and then react. Some of you react more slowly when you find yourself in a new situation.

A doctor at Ingutsheni Mental Health Hospital who refused to be named briefly said: “All these are normal changes in how the human brain works as you age. There are, however, two forms of mental problems that mostly affect the ability of old people to drive among other physical exertions they do and these are depression and dementia.”

Depression, being “down in the dumps” for a long time, may happen to many older people, but it is not normal. It can, and should, be treated. The attention and sleep problems depressed people of any age sometimes suffer can interfere with safe driving and so does the medicine used to treat depression.

According to Guy Edwards, in his 1995 paper titled Depression, antidepressants, and accidents, drivers with depressive disorders could be more liable to accidents than others for several reasons. These include impaired attention and concentration (often due to preoccupation with morbid or worrying thoughts); anxiety, which usually accompanies depression; irritability; agitation or retardation; fatigue after sleepless nights; and weakness due to insufficient food intake. In addition, depressed drivers may take risks with little regard to the consequences, make suicidal gestures or attempts that go wrong, and take alcohol or other substances that impair functioning to relieve distress. In keeping with these considerations are the reductions in performance in tests of cognitive and psychomotor function in depressed drivers.

Dementia causes serious memory, personality, and behavioural problems that the person often cannot recognise. Someone with dementia may at first remember how to operate an automobile and how to travel to familiar places. However, at some point as the disease progresses, their driving abilities do become impaired. Unfortunately, people with dementia often cannot recognise when they should no longer drive.

However, one thing that old people cannot fail to recognise is that advanced age makes them vulnerable to health problems.  While the diseases that affect old people are many, there are common illnesses that usually affect your ability to drive safely. For example, having arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, or stroke, makes it harder to handle a car safely.

Sleep problems or fainting make you less alert at an age when you may already have a hard time focusing your attention. If you have an automatic defibrillator or pacemaker, your doctor might suggest that you stop driving. There is a chance that the device might cause an irregular heartbeat or dizziness while driving.

Diabetes may cause nerve damage in your hands, legs, or eyes. The eye damage in diabetes is known as diabetic retinopathy. If you also have trouble controlling your blood sugar level and might be in danger of losing consciousness, you should think about giving up your license.

Increased health problems among the old mean increased use of medication. It is a well known fact, away from HIV induced illnesses, that older Zimbabweans take more prescription medicines than any other age group. They often have one or more long-term illnesses such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease and may be taking several different drugs. Their bodies may be more sensitive to the effects of medicine on their central nervous systems. The older body may not use up a drug as quickly as a younger body does, so the drug can be active in them for a longer time. Sometimes a combination of medicines increases the effects of each drug on the body.

“Several types of medication can make driving harder because they affect the central nervous system. Drugs that might interfere with the ability to drive include sleep aids, medicine to treat depression, antihistamines for allergies and colds, strong pain-killers, and diabetes medications. If one is taking one or more of them, they should talk to their doctor. Perhaps he or she could change your prescription, or help you decide if it is the medicine that is affecting your driving abilities” Dr Moyo said.

Perhaps you already know some driving situations that are difficult — night, highways, rush hour, and bad weather. You might avoid these types of driving and limit your trips to shopping and visits to the doctor. This lowers your chance of having an accident.

“While driving, older drivers are most at risk while giving right of way, turning, reversing, overtaking and changing lanes. They need to pay extra attention at those times. Most of the advice for older drivers is helpful for all drivers. They should plan their trips in advance and stick to streets and roads they know. Don’t drive under stress. Keep distractions such as the fan, radio, or talking, to a minimum. Leave a big space between your car and the one in front of you. Don’t drive when you are tired.

“Think about taking a driving retest class. Some car insurance companies reduce your payment if you pass such a class. Certain features on your car can make driving easier. Power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, and larger mirrors are all helpful,” said Mr Lovert Mafukure, a Sunday News motoring columnist.

Also, keeping the headlights on at all times and having a light-coloured car helps other drivers see you. Hand controls for the accelerator and brakes might be of use to someone with leg problems. Keep the headlights clean and aligned, and check the windshield wiper blades often. A rear-window defroster is a good way to keep that window clear at all times.

Air bags have saved many lives. Advanced age is not a reason for disconnecting an air bag. People of any age should push their seats as far back as possible from the air bags in both the steering wheel and the passenger side.

And of course, everyone in the car should always wear their seat belts.