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Health & Fitness

Senior Care: 8 Tips on Safe Driving for Seniors and Others

ARE YOU A SAFE DRIVER? DID YOU KNOW THAT MANY ACCIDENTS INVOLVING SENIORS HAPPEN WHEN MAKING A LEFT TURN?

 

What is one of the most important things you do that you use your eyes for? No, it’s not watching television even if the word “vision” is inside the word “television.” And it’s not checking Facebook. One of the most important things you use your eyes for is to drive. We have looked at what happens when a person loses his or her license in an article--Senior Care Video: Should We Take the Keys from Elderly Drivers? Losing your license is very traumatic. What if you have your license suspended or revoked because you have not taken care of your eyes? You can get more information on eye health in our new, free Sequoia Senior Solutions guide: Vision and Aging - The Five Most Common Age-Related Eye Problems that you can get if you click here.

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Are you a safe driver?

We know people in their seventies who have lost their driver’s license, and those in their nineties who are still driving safely. There are several age-related vision problems that can affect our ability to drive. Do you have these problems?

  • Difficulty seeing in low light or at night
  • Difficulty adapting to the glare from oncoming headlights
  • Loss of peripheral vision
  • Difficulty seeing close objects like the dashboard instrument panel
  • Inability to see road signs

8 tips for staying safe on the road

You don’t want to be the safety hazard on the road. So you need to be proactive and take care of certain things so you don’t cause an accident. When you want to left at intersections, you can become the hazard. Knowing that you can know what to do to see that you aren’t putting someone’s life in danger. Here are 8 things to do to keep you on the road safely.

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1.    Annual vision exam: Yearly exams reveal the need for new glasses and provide screening for eye diseases. Early detection can mean the difference between effective treatment and irrevocable vision loss.

2.    Annual physical to check for diabetes and high blood pressure: Left untreated, these conditions can cause eye problems.

3.    Reduce Speed:  Slow down to compensate for slower reflexes and the glare of headlights.

4.    Use extra caution at intersections: Many accidents involving seniors happen at intersections due to failure to yield, especially when making a left turn. Be especially careful in these situations. Turn your head often to make up for decreased peripheral vision.

5.    Take a driving course geared to seniors: “Driving course! I’ve been driving for 50 years! I’m a better driver than any young kid on the road.” Very likely. What they lack in experience, though, they make up for in quick reflexes and great vision. AARP offers programs geared to older drivers which focus on physical changes that may affect our driving ability and how to compensate for them.

6.    Daytime only: If you have trouble seeing at night or recovering from the glare of oncoming headlights, it may be time to stop driving at night, especially on unfamiliar roads. Get yourself checked for cataracts, though. While poor night vision may be a sign of a problem such as retinitis pigmentosa or other serious conditions, it can also be an early symptom of cataracts. Having cataract surgery could put you on the road again.

7.    Exercise regularly: Studies suggest that regular exercise such as walking can reduce the risk of macular degeneration by up to 70%. Exercise also benefits general health, which benefits eye health.

8.    Watch those cool glasses: Glasses with wide sides may affect your peripheral vision.

Regular Eye Exams

Again, I want to stress regular eye screenings can catch symptomless eye disorders early enough to make treatment effective.

Since we go to a different doctor for our eyes, it’s easy to think of them as unrelated to the health of the rest of our body. The eyes are not separate from the body. All our systems are interconnected. Taking care of our general health pays dividends when it comes to eye health.

Learn more about eye health in our new, free Sequoia Senior Solutions guide: Vision and Aging - The Five Most Common Age-Related Eye Problems that you can get if you click here.

For more great information, please come visit the blog at our Sequoia Senior Solutions website. 

  

lady driving:http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/baconstrips/From%20the%20car/old_lady_driver.jpg  

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