There is little doubt that your physical and mental attributes are influenced by the aging process and that raises the question of whether senior drivers are using their experience to drive more responsibly or is it a case of slower reactions due to age?

Whatever side of the argument you come down on, the fact remains the same that if you are involved in a collision and need to claim compensation there are car accident lawyers ready to advocate for you and represent your interests.

Back to the question raised, here is a look at some key points to consider when searching for the answer.

Changes attributed to getting older

We are all unique as human beings and that means your reflexes and reactions might be far better than someone else of the same age which makes it impossible to make a broad statement that all senior citizen drivers will have slower reaction times.

It is feasible that you could experience slower reflexes and your attention span gets shorter as you get older, which does make driving potentially more dangerous as a result.

There is also the physical aspect of getting older that can impact on your ability to drive.

For example, you might suffer from stiff joints and some loss of sensation in your fingers and feet, both of which could make it harder for you to drive as safely as you did when you were younger.

It is also the case that people who are suffering from any type of dementia may not be aware that their driving has been affected by the condition and that means their decision-making skills become impaired.

The problem with medications

In general, you may find that you have to take medications regularly as you get older and that is another factor that can make a huge difference to your driving skills.

Feeling drowsy and less alert than ideal behind the wheel as a result of regular medications is a potential recipe for disaster.

The statistics support older drivers

The comparisons between young drivers just starting out behind the wheel and veterans of the road who have years of driving experience behind them is interesting when you look at accident statistics.

Drivers aged between 17 and 24 can be considered to be as much as four times as likely to be involved in a road traffic accident than drivers who are north of 70.

It is too simplistic to take these statistics at face value but you could reasonably draw the conclusion that senior citizens are more responsible drivers and use their experience to stay out of trouble on the roads.

A lot of older drivers tend to help themselves stay safe by managing risk, for instance, choosing not to drive at night because their eyesight is not as good as it was in the dark.

Imposing self-restrictions like that should help them to maintain a good driving record through a responsible attitude.

As you can see, a case can be made for both sides of the argument and it is probably fair to say that you need to judge each individual driver on their own merits rather than take a generalized view.