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Older people who suffer mild mental declines are likely to make the decision to give up driving in order to eliminate their risks  of being involved in auto accidents.

Concerns  about senior drivers have increased over the past decade with the increase in the number of motorists above the age of 65 driving on our streets.  With life expectancies at all time highs,  it is natural that we see many  senior drivers on our roads.  Driving  is  key to senior  physical and mental health.  However, seniors may suffer from several age- related declines and  impairments that reduce their ability to drive safely and increase their risks of being involved in a car accident.  Vision  may begin to fail and hearing may become less sharp as the years go by.  Even  more disturbing are the mental or cognitive declines that seniors may face as they get older.

A new study finds that most seniors who   begin to suffer mental declines like forgetfulness make the decision to give up driving on their own. As part of the study, the researchers tracked  213 seniors above the age of 72.    None  of the seniors suffered from symptoms of mental decline at the beginning of the study,  but as the years progressed, some of them began to suffer from deficiencies  including impairment in memory, judgment and reasoning.

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As electric cars become more popular on our roads, there are frequently more reports of car accidents involving these vehicles with pedestrians.

The demand for electric vehicles has nowhere near peaked, and as the number of such vehicles increases on our roads, we are understanding more about the specific dangers involving such cars.  While electric cars have their  advantages, they can be extremely silent, and this can pose a threat to  vulnerable users on our roads, like pedestrians. According to the results of a new study, pedestrians are as much as three times more likely to be involved in fatal car accidents involving electric cars compared to gas powered cars.

Both electric and hybrid cars were found to be more dangerous compared to gas powered cars.  The rate of accidents was 5 wrongful deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in the case of electric cars, and just 2.5 wrongful deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in the case of gas powered vehicles.

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A  safety group in France is advising male drivers to drive more like female drivers in order to reduce their risks of being involved in auto accidents.  This  has raised the age old question –  are female drivers truly safer than men?

According to the group, which advocates for victims of car accidents, female drivers in France are less likely to be involved in fatal car accidents compared to males. The group says that 84% of all fatal car accidents involve male drivers.  It also claims that 93% of all drunk driving-related car accidents involve males.

Here in the United States as well, there has been data to show that female drivers do tend to be involved in fewer fatal car accidents compared to males.    One of the reasons could be the fact that males simply drive more vehicular  miles contributing to higher accident risks.

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A new study finds that many patients who are on life support after suffering a brain injury could actually make a recovery.

In cases of a severe brain injury after an auto accident, truck accident or any other kind of accident where there has been severe trauma to the head, doctors may make the decision to place the person on life support.  The  decision to end life support is  an excruciatingly painful decision for family members to make.  In  many cases, the decision is taken within 72 hours after the person has suffered the brain injury.  However,  the results of a new study seems to indicate that waiting longer to remove life support may be beneficial.

For the study, the researchers examined data involving 3,100 patients who had suffered traumatic brain injury and had to be immediately transferred to a hospital. Out of these, 90 patients were removed from life support within a few days and died soon after.  For purposes of comparison, the researchers then focused on a group of 90 patients who were very similar to the first group on most counts, but continued to remain on life support.

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The month of May is being commemorated as National Bicycle Safety Month,  an ideal time just before the year’s peak cycling season kicks off to remind bicyclists  and motorists about the bicycle accident risks facing these vulnerable users.

In 2021, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 1105 fatalities involving bicycle accidents. More than  45,000 bicyclists were injured in these accidents. In the last ten years alone, there has been a 37 percent increase in the number of bicyclist deaths in auto accidents recorded across the country.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that there are 80 million bicycles in the United States.   Bicyclists  compete for space with motorists, creating conditions that are often most dangerous to the person riding the bicycle. Many of these accidents  are preventable, and require an understanding of cyclist rights as well as the key motorist mistakes that may cost a bicyclist his safety or even his or her life.

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Alcohol- related car accident death numbers have increased significantly even as the number of arrests have dropped.

In 2022, according to figures released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, close to 13,500 people died in auto accidents caused by an impaired driver.  That  was almost the same as the numbers in 2021, but a was 33% higher than in   2019. The numbers in 2022 were the highest on record since 2006.

During  the same period of time, there  was  a significant drop in the number of arrests made for DUI around the country. In 2019, police made close to a million arrests for DUI around the US while that number dropped to just 788,000 arrests  in 2022.  During the pandemic,  police departments across the country suffered staffing shortages which made it harder for them to enforce DUI laws and  arrest violators.

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Close to 40% of all car accidents involving delivery vans could be prevented if all vans came equipped with four important safety features.

According  to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, auto tech could play a key role in helping reduce the number of auto accidents caused by delivery vans in the United States.   Delivery  vans have become a ubiquitous presence on American roads,  and their number has only grown since the pandemic when online purchases became the norm. With the e-commerce boom not expected to slow down anytime soon, it is important for regulators and auto makers to act to make these vehicles safer for all motorists on the road.

Light vans were already a very popular vehicle in the United States, but their popularity has boomed since the pandemic.  As  many as 500,000 such vehicles are sold every year in the United States.  The number of such vehicles simply boomed during the pandemic, spurred by a 43% increase in e-commerce rates.

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Medicare warnings to nursing homes that are believed to engage in the overuse of antipsychotic drugs among their residents can help reduce these dangerous practices.

Some of the common medications that can be used on nursing home residents include quetiapine which is often used to help treat symptoms of anxiety, hallucinations and delusions among persons suffering from dementia.  Research  suggests that as many as one in every 7 nursing home residents is prescribed the drug.  While  the drug can be helpful in controlling the symptoms, it is not without its side effects which include kidney injury, heart   failure and an increased risk of strokes and blood clots.  According  to one study,  long term use of quetiapine is associated with a 62% increased risk in kidney damage and a 27% increase  in heart failure risks. These residents may also have a 65% increased risk of suffering a stroke.  Bone  fractures are also another huge risk with an estimated 43% increased risk among patients on quetiapine.

Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are currently investigating an increase in the use of antipsychotic medications at some nursing home facilities across the country.  As  part of the investigation, the agency found that more than 5,000 doctors were aggressively prescribing medications to patients at several facilities.  More  than 80,000 patients were receiving these medications.

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Understaffing  at nursing homes is a primary cause of abuse and neglect at these facilities.  The  White House has moved to tackle such neglect by imposing a minimum staffing requirement on nursing homes.

In  the final version of the new rule, the Biden administration has clarified that at least one  nursing  staff member should be present in a nursing home 24 hours of the day. The rule also requires these facilities to have enough staff members to provide at least 3.18 hours of care for every resident in a facility in a day.  The rule also includes a requirement  for nursing home facilities to properly assess the health needs of every single resident in   their facility,  to help speed up the diagnosis and treatment of sicker residents.

In September, the administration invited comments from the public about the proposed new rule, and received more than 48,000 comments from the public. These comments involved residents who had been forced to lay on the floor for a long time after falling down because staff was not available to attend to them, and older residents  who had to sit in their own filth for hours without being cleaned up.  Other comments said that residents were often not fed on time,  leading to malnutrition. All of these cases of neglect are the direct result of understaffing at nursing homes, a serious problem that has worried the federal administration for decades.

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Traffic  signs that can monitor motorist behavior and display messages that are tailored to target such behaviors may be the next step forward as federal and state officials consider innovative ways of reducing the number of car accidents in their jurisdictions.

Across the country, some jurisdictions are experimenting with pilot programs using smart sign boards that display targeted messages to motorists.  These   smart signs are designed to  capture dangerous driving behaviors like failure to wear seat belts or use of cell phones while driving.  If  the technology spots a motorist driving without wearing a seat belt or using a cell phone while driving, it immediately flashes a warning message to the motorist.  For example, a distracted driver may see a “Phone Down” message on a sign board as he is approaching. Similar messages will be posted when the system finds motorists driving  at  excessive speeds. Motorists who are driving responsibly may be rewarded with a smiley face flashing from the traffic sign.

The  signs are operated by infrared and microwave technology, and are not designed to punish or cite violators.  However,  they can warn motorists if they are engaged in behavior that increases their risks  of being involved in a car accident.  The  technology is very interesting, and traffic safety experts will be eagerly awaiting the results of the pilot program that is currently running in at least two major American cities.

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