Most corporate drivers are in their second career, which means they are up there in years. Therefore it’s not surprising that a common question asked is “What happens to driving skills as age increases?”

The major concern with age is what affect does it have on the probability of an accident? If you look at just the accident rate it goes up slightly at age 50, but still nowhere near the rate of the 16 to 34 years old. What is interesting is that the age group 45 to 59 years old has the lowest fatality rate of any age group, and 60 to 69 are the second lowest.

What about fatalities? According to FARS (The Fatality Accident Reporting System) the age group with the highest percentage of driving fatalities (as drivers) is 16 to 34. They represent 44.3% of all fatalities. FARS shows that for the same parameters the age group of 55 – 74 represents 16.2% of all vehicle fatalities. Keep one important point in mind. A big part of driving is decision making – a younger driver can get the controls of the vehicle moving quicker – but if that quickness is preceded by a bad decision the outcome is not pleasant, and the accident statistics are the proof.

When you consider that 90% of the decisions made while driving are based on what we see issues that are affected by age are night vision and peripheral vision. According to an article that appeared in “Car and Travel”, Triple A’s magazine, at age 40 and above a drivers sensitivity to glare increase dramatically and it will take much longer to adapt to changes in light. A Security Driver must not allow their eyes to become fatigued or hypnotized. Wear sunglasses to fight glare (but never wear sunglasses at night)

I would suggest that if the driver is over the age of 40, that they get their night vision checked and if over age 55 check for peripheral vision. This can all be part of their annual physical.