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Florida Elders Hang On To Their Driving Privileges

Florida’s population counts a higher proportion of people aged 65 and over than most other states. A large proportion of these senior citizens do not know how to get around without a car, when they will no longer be able to drive safely. As a result, many elderly drivers keep on driving as long as possible and are at a disproportionate risk of being involved in a Florida car accident.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) wants to address the issue of aging road users and create a strategy to make Florida’s roads safer. The FDOT awarded a $475,000 grant to the Pepper Institute, part of Florida State University, to study the problem and assist in establishing the strategy. According to Professor of Sociology John Reynolds, “The bottom-line measure of success for the grant from the FDOT is that we reduce the number of fatalities, injuries and crashes that involve older adults in Florida.”
The initial survey conducted by the institute revealed that 83 percent of respondents aged 65 and older and 92 percent of those aged between 50 and 64 reported having “no transportation retirement plan.” While 23 percent declared that they would rely on family, friends and neighbors, the largest group (36 percent) said that they had no plan or had never thought about the issue. A few (4 percent) replied that they would rely on a community driver program or paratransit service.

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