Our GG (great grandmother) is ninety and still drives herself everywhere. She got a new car for her last birthday. Okay, she does not like to drive after dark and tries to get home before dark. We keep telling her we can hire a driver, but she won’t hear of it. GG has her independence and enjoys it.
This Grandma intends to drive forever. GG is my role model. And it seems that now studies and technology may make driving forever a reality for this Grandma.
According to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued mid February 2014, reported in the Miami Herald, February 25, 2014, in “Accident Rates are Improving for Older Drivers,” by Joan Lowy, we learn:
Today’s drivers aged 70 and older are less likely to be involved in crashes than previous generations and are less likely to be killed or seriously injured if they do crash. . .That’s because vehicles are getting safer and seniors are generally getting healthier, the institute said. The marked shift began taking hold in the mid-1990s and indicates that growing ranks of aging drivers as baby boomers head into their retirement years aren’t making U.S. roads deadlier.
I love it! We Boomer Grandmas are not a safety threat. We can relax driving. However, we can never relax when we are driving grandchildren. We are vigilant so nothing happens to them on our watch! But, finally, again, others are getting the point. We are not the grandmas of our parents’ generation:
The main point is that these 70-80 year olds are really different than their predecessors. . .They learned to drive in a very different era. They are far more comfortable driving in freeway situations. . . .the report dispels common misconceptions and reveals positive trends related to older drivers.
And they recognize that “this matters immensely for the future because we are seeing dramatic increases in older workers staying in the labor force and continuing to work and commute well past 65.”
There is another reason that this Grandma intends to drive forever. I am looking forward to the cars of the future that can drive themselves! Supposedly, when these new cars come on the road, accidents will be reduced by 80%. I expect that I will be able to speak to my car before I am 80 and just have it take me where I want to go. Audi and BMW are joining Mercedes this year in adding self driving and extra safety features, on their way to self driving cars.
I can already see the future in the new car Grandpa got. His car swerves itself back into the lane if he goes out of the lane. It has the ability to drive itself, keep a distance behind the car in front and stop if the car in front stops. His car beeps if a car gets too close to him or he gets too close to a car. I call his new car his second wife. This Grandma loves HER. Now I do not have to be a backseat driver. I can be quiet when Grandpa drives. SHE speaks for me with
Joy,
Mema
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