Somewhere out there a 90-something man who’s blind in one eye and limited vision in the other, still rolls — behind the wheel of a car, possibly next to you on I-95 in Florida.
Buckle up. The Sunshine State puts together a population that’s got the second-largest percentage of people older than 85 (Hawaii is No. 1) in a sprawling landscape with few options for hoofing it or pedaling.
So it’s no surprise that accident reports of accelerators mistaken for brake pedals and store entrances made via motor vehicle are a regular newsworthy staple throughout Florida.
The average fatal crash rate per mile traveled is higher for drivers 70 and older than for all age groups except for drivers 16 to 19, according to 2023 research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
What is the oldest age to drive in Florida?
There is no age limit on Florida drivers, nor in any state. But older drivers face additional hurdles to keep their driving privileges in Florida. After your 80th birthday, the state requires that licenses be renewed every six years instead of eight. Also, octogenarians and older can’t renew their driving licenses online and must complete a vision test.
Beyond that, Florida is one of the few that allows citizens to anonymously report drivers whose cognitive skills are deteriorating. After a driver is reported, the state may order that person to see a doctor who must assess if the initial report was warranted.
The motor vehicle department suspended 942 Florida drivers from operating because of cognitive impairments in 2024.
‘One of the toughest conversations’ is with seniors who are still driving
From general practice physicians to neurologists, determining if a patient no longer has the situational awareness and reflexes to drive safely is one of the thorniest issues physicians face.
“One of the toughest conversations I have with patients is when I bring up my concerns about their driving capabilities and safety,” said Dr. David Billmeier, a Daytona Beach family practice physician. ” … Losing their driving privileges, to them, represents the beginning to an end.”
Is there an eye chart for brain function?
Assessing a patient’s ability to turn left, merge or respond quickly to others’ unexpected actions on the road is not nearly as straightforward as asking the patient to say which capital letters are in the third line of an eye chart, as a vision test does. But researchers at Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing are mapping a “driving calculator” that they hope will be as authoritative as an eye chart in helping physicians assess if the patient’s driving skills need further evaluation.
The vision is that the doctor would hand a patient a computer tablet to have them answer questions tailored to predict how they would perform on the road.
A $350,000 state grant for the effort, Fit2Drive, is paying for participants to take the computer test and then a typical road test to see what questions are best at predicting success or failure on the road.
“It will be anything from identifying objects, giving the names of objects, telling people to say as many words as they can that begin with the letter F in 30 seconds, or a list of objects that they’re given and then asked to repeat back the list,” said Dr. Ruth Tappen, senior author of the study, describing the questions participants would get during the in-office part of the study.
“All of these things are testing various aspects of thinking, because thinking is actually more than just memory,” added Tappen, who is a professor at FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, and a member of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute.
Adding more science to a subjective call for senior drivers
When the state motor vehicle department is investigating a potentially cognitively impaired driver, the road test the driver may be asked to take to prove they should have driving privileges typically costs more than $400 and is not covered by insurance.
The study that FAU is undertaking administers the road test free of charge and confidential to all but the test taker.
Daytona Beach’s Billmeier said an in-office reliable measurement of cognitive abilities that correlates with driving skill would be a boon to physicians like him whose older patients have a host of other issues that need attention such as diabetes and hypertension.
Billmeier’s interest in keeping people safe on the road — and getting those with cognitive impairments off — led him to work with a race car driver Wally Dallenbach Jr. on creating a driving simulator that could help assess older driver’s fitness for the road.
That effort hasn’t come to fruition, but he’s haunted still by a patient he evaluated who later killed someone while driving when he swerved off the road into a parking lot, hitting a bicyclist.
“Since I only spent about 15 minutes with him at an average appointment, perhaps twice per year, I did not recognize that he was having cognitive difficulties,” Billmeier said. “Patients tend to mask or hide their mental deficits when they are seeing their doctor.”
Later, he discovered that the patient’s family knew he was having cognitive issues and were hoping Billmeier would be the one to take away the keys.
” … So they would not have to have that awkward discussion,” Billmeier said. “No one wants to be the bad guy and nor does the doctor. It really should be a collaborative effort in involving family, friends and the physician.”
How do I report an cognitively impaired driver?
There’s a form for reporting the driver, asking for full name, date of birth, address and full description of the disability. Conditions that can be noted include vision deficits, sleep disorder, seizure, dementia and memory issues.
To get to the form, go to the main page of the department, flhsmv.gov, and hover over “resources” and navigate to “forms” on the drop-down menu. On that page, click on the line, marked “72190: Report a driver whose ability is questionable.”
Once the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles gets the report, officials there decide whether to initiate a review of the driver. In 2024, the department received 3,198 reports, according to a department spokesperson.
How can I be a part of the FAU Fit2Drive research?
Would-be-participants in the study should call 954-691-3977 or 561-297-2613 or email NurTappen@health.fau.edu.
Anne Geggis is statewide reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA, reporting on health and senior issues. If you have news tips, please send them to ageggis@usatodayco.com. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida may have answer when to take the keys away from an elderly driver
Reporting by Anne Geggis, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
