Some of the most dangerous drivers are the youngest and the oldest.
As Insurance rates reflect, younger drivers get into more crashes than experienced drivers. Several factors are involved:
- New drivers encounter surprises and do not know how to react because they have not been in the situation before. This can be ice, snow, construction, unfamiliar roads, other drivers’ carelessness. Like anything, new drivers’ skills improve with practice, but it usually takes several years to be a good driver.
- Younger people are known to make rash choices and flaunt or fail to see danger. It seems that many young men are hard-wired to take more risks than others, and that includes driving.
- Cell phones are a particular distraction for young drivers who are reluctant ever to put the things down.
With advanced age, people’s driving skills deteriorate.
- Bodies get less limber
- Reaction times expand
- Vision, hearing and sometimes cognitive abilities decline
- Highways, cars and driving practices change, and drivers set in their ways do not
Most older drivers are reluctant to give up driving and the lost freedom that entails. Usually it is the older driver’s loved ones who recognize best when a driver is no longer safe, and who should intervene.
One of our firm’s attorneys recently convinced his 90-year-old mother that it was time to stop driving. What worked best to convince her was the older driver’s generous spirit. She felt she could still drive safely during daylight, but reluctantly agreed to sell the car after recognizing that she was taking chances with other people’s safety, not just her own.
When we represent people injured in an auto collision and are assessing fault, a factor we commonly look at first is the age of the drivers. Insurers have a harder time insisting that a teenaged driver, or an elder driver were driving prudently, without mistakes.
If you or a loved one have been injured in a collision you should seek prompt legal guidance. Klampe Law Firm LLC will always, at no charge, talk to you about your circumstances and recommend whether an attorney should be retained.