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CNN Live At Daybreak
Senior Drivers: When to Stop?
Aired February 19, 2004 - 05:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm perfectly capable behind the wheel. The words or something like them from probably every other driver, and yet the numbers from recent research are against senior drivers.
CNN's Julie Vallese takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just shy of 90, Judith Gomperts no longer drives.
JUDITH GOMPERTS, GAVE UP KEYS: A man in his 80s ran down and killed six or seven people. And I said well, if he could do that, I don't want to wait until I lose control of a car.
VALLESE: Incidents like that do tend to make the evening news. But a new study says older drivers are a bigger risk to themselves than to others.
PETER KISSINGER, AAA FDN. FOR TRAFFIC SAFETY: We found was that as we age, the risk of dying in a traffic crash generally increases. And that risk goes up substantially around the age of 65.
VALLESE: The study looked at 25 years of crash data from Texas where more than four million injuries occurred.
KISSINGER: Those motorists over the age of 65, they were almost twice as likely, 1.8 times more likely to die in a traffic crash than a control group of slightly younger individuals age 55 to 64.
VALLESE: Those 75 and older, 2.6 times more likely to die. That number goes up to almost four times once a person hits 85.
Seventy-six-year-old Harold Lurie says in the 60 years he has been driving, he hasn't had a ticket or a crash.
HAROLD LURIE, DRIVING 60 YEARS: As long as I physically feel and mentally feel that I am able to drive and my record indicates that it's a good record, then there is no reason why I should be prohibited from driving.
VALLESE: As long as he knows his risk, honestly measures his driving performance and is found safe to drive, traffic experts say there is no reason to stop.
Julie Vallese, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 19, 2004 - 05:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm perfectly capable behind the wheel. The words or something like them from probably every other driver, and yet the numbers from recent research are against senior drivers.
CNN's Julie Vallese takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just shy of 90, Judith Gomperts no longer drives.
JUDITH GOMPERTS, GAVE UP KEYS: A man in his 80s ran down and killed six or seven people. And I said well, if he could do that, I don't want to wait until I lose control of a car.
VALLESE: Incidents like that do tend to make the evening news. But a new study says older drivers are a bigger risk to themselves than to others.
PETER KISSINGER, AAA FDN. FOR TRAFFIC SAFETY: We found was that as we age, the risk of dying in a traffic crash generally increases. And that risk goes up substantially around the age of 65.
VALLESE: The study looked at 25 years of crash data from Texas where more than four million injuries occurred.
KISSINGER: Those motorists over the age of 65, they were almost twice as likely, 1.8 times more likely to die in a traffic crash than a control group of slightly younger individuals age 55 to 64.
VALLESE: Those 75 and older, 2.6 times more likely to die. That number goes up to almost four times once a person hits 85.
Seventy-six-year-old Harold Lurie says in the 60 years he has been driving, he hasn't had a ticket or a crash.
HAROLD LURIE, DRIVING 60 YEARS: As long as I physically feel and mentally feel that I am able to drive and my record indicates that it's a good record, then there is no reason why I should be prohibited from driving.
VALLESE: As long as he knows his risk, honestly measures his driving performance and is found safe to drive, traffic experts say there is no reason to stop.
Julie Vallese, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
