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I went to a conference this week that was put on by the Michigan Center for Advancing Safe Transportation throughout the Lifespan, MCASTL at University of Michigan.  The conference focused on young driver safety and older driver safety.  While it didn't specifically cover driving with a disability, there were some interesting concepts that applied to all populations of drivers, including those with a disability.

One was the notion that we need to change people's perception on driving proficiency.  Teens think that once they have their driver license, they are good drivers.  They think they are skilled enough to handle difficult road conditions. 

The truth is driver education prepares you to pass an entry level driving test and the population that is involved in the most accidents are teens within the first six months of obtaining their driver license.  Many accidents occur when the teen is using in vehicle technology or technology brought into the vehicle.  The number of passengers also had a high correlation to accident rates for teen drivers.

Senior drivers on the other hand think they have good skill, due to the number of years they have been driving.  They do have fewer accidents than teens by population, but when we compare them as a group using million miles driven, their accident rate is nearing that of the teen driver and they are more likely to sustain serious or fatal injuries when they do have an accident.  Factors that affect senior driving proficiency are health, frailty and taking multiple medication or polypharmacy.

Many of these same factors are present with an individual with a disability.  While you may have passed your driver rehabilitation course and obtained a license endorsing that you can use the adaptive equipment to drive, it is still a new experience and care should be taken to gradually increase experiences and not assume you can drive safely in all conditions. 

Reducing driver distractions, such limiting the use of in-vehicle technology and nomadic devices such as iPods, cell phones during the initial phase after returning to driving may allow you to maintain safety while increasing skill.  Similarly health, frailty and taking multiple medications are often conditions that are true for those with a disability and may make driving an increased risk.  Fortunately for most, using good defensive driving skills such as using a 12 second visual lead, using a four second following distance, and maintaining a proper stopping distance can reduce risk.  Next week I'll go over defensive driving strategies in depth.

Regardless of age or disability, over the years the driving environment for everyone has changed.  Traffic density is greater; vehicle design has changed to improve crash worthiness, more technology is available in vehicle or can be brought into the vehicle making the driving task more demanding.  There for the concept of lifelong learning should be encouraged to make driving safe across the driving continuum. 

I know I became a better driver after taking the driver education course to be a driving instructor.  Perhaps all insurance companies could offer a discount for taking a driving refresher course on a periodic basis to encourage lifelong learning for driving safety.