In a study published in November 2010 by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, seniors who underwent up to 10 sessions of cognitive training for memory, reasoning or speed of processing were found to have 50 percent fewer motor vehicle accidents than others who didn't.
Seniors, or those aged 65 and older, are more at risk for being involved in car accidents. A 2005 study from the National Institute on Aging found that senior drivers were more likely to die or be injured in a car accident than younger drivers, despite their higher use of seat belts and propensity to drive at lower speeds. That study recommended the use of certain technologies such as crash avoidance systems and seat belts that would limit the severity of injuries in a crash.
The American Geriatrics Society suggested that seniors who submitted to certain cognitive exercises demonstrated significant improvements in everyday activities like driving. Encouraging seniors to do these exercises might result in them posing no more significant risk than that posed by younger drivers.
The study involved senior citizens with a median age of 73.1 and followed the participants over a six-year period. The subjects took up to 10 sessions of speed-of-processing and reasoning training and then were followed after their enrollment to assess their percentage of involvement in motor vehicle accidents.
After adjusting for age, sex, education, mental status, health, vision, depression and testing site, the participants achieved a 50 percent lower rate of at-fault accidents than a control group. The sites included senior communities in Birmingham, Baltimore, Indianapolis, and State College, PN.
Although technology that would increase the crash-worthiness of vehicles and employing crash avoidance systems are still good ideas, this study could remove the stigma of older drivers posing unreasonable risks due to their age, slow coordination, lack of focus and inability to rapidly process and correct for potential dangers while on the road.
The results of the study are encouraging for older adults who still wish to drive and consider driving a major part of their independence and quality of life. It also appears to show that age may not permanently impair a person's cognitive ability, which is apparently recoverable through appropriate training.
