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AMA Makes Recommendations for Optimizing Safety for Older Drivers at Increased Risk of Poor Performance

CHICAGO, June 18 -- Citing statistics that show the incidence of older drivers being injured or killed rising significantly after age 70, the American Medical Association approved recommendations today aimed at helping physicians become more aware of factors that could impair driving skills in older patients.

The recommendations, based on research by the AMA's Council on Scientific Affairs (CSA), encourage physicians to:

   -- Increase their awareness of medical conditions, medications and
      functional deficiencies that may impair an older individual's driving
      performance;
   -- Familiarize themselves with driver assessment and rehabilitation
      options, and to refer their patients to such programs whenever
      appropriate;
   -- Know and adhere to their state's reporting statutes for medically at-
      risk drivers;
   -- Support continued scientific investigation into strategies for the
      assessment and management of driving safety in clinical setting.

"The baby-boomer population is aging; population growth projections tell us that by the year 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65," said, John H. Armstrong, M.D., a member of the AMA Board of Trustees. "That is why it is critical for physicians to play a significant role in identifying and reducing risk for older drivers."

Today's recommendations mark the latest AMA effort to increase physician awareness of older driver safety issues and to enlist physicians' assistance to address these issues in the clinical setting. In January 2002, the AMA created the Older Drivers Project with support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Recently, the AMA announced the availability of Physician's Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers -- a Web-based guide for clinicians reflecting scientific evidence and clinical consensus from researchers in the field, representatives from specialty societies, patient advocacy groups and government agencies. This 10-chapter guide will be available for download from the AMA Web site ( www.ama-assn.org/go/olderdrivers ) in July. It includes:

   -- An office-based assessment of functional abilities related to
      driving;
   -- A reference table of medical conditions and medications that may
      impair driving, and driving safety recommendations specific to each
      one;
   -- Recommendations for counseling patients on ceasing to drive;
   -- A discussion of the legal and ethical issues on the management of
      unsafe drivers;
   -- A state-by-state reference list of driver licensing requirements,
      license renewal procedures, and physician reporting laws; and
   -- Educational handouts for patients and concerned family members.

While older drivers have the lowest crash rate per licensed drivers of all (driving) age groups, they also have a significantly higher fatality rate per vehicle mile driven than other adult drivers. In fact, on the basis of estimated annual travel, the fatality rate for drivers 85 years and older is nine times higher than the rate for drivers 25- to 69-years old.

According to research from a 2000 CSA report, persons aged 65 years and older comprised 13 percent of the total U.S. population, but represented 18 percent of all traffic fatalities. Statistics show that older drivers suffer a disproportionately high rate of motor vehicle fatalities compared with other adult drivers. This is due to an increased rate of crash per vehicle mile driven, and an increased risk of fatality in the event of a crash. Crash rates begin to rise at age 70 years and continue to rise with increasing age. In addition, older adults are five to six times more likely to die of a comparable injury than their younger counterparts.