From the Desk of Spencer Thornton, MD Driving & Ocular Health
June 13, 2011 In less than twenty years more than twenty percent
of licensed drivers will be 65 or older, according to the
Government Accounting Office. The GAO claims their number will
nearly double, from 30 million today to about 57 million in
2030. Technical changes such as smarter cars and better designed
roads may help keep seniors driving longer, but eventually most
people will outlive their driving ability — men by an average of
six years and women by an average of 10 years. And since fewer
Americans relocate when they retire, many of them probably will
continue to live in suburban homes. As people get older and feel
less able to drive, they narrow their circle of friends and
their circle of activities until it gets to the point where they
are house-bound and they don't move at all. The result has been
called a "mobility gap," with older people forced to depend on
others for transportation and therefore limited more and more to
their homes w