Self Driving Cars May Help Us Age In Place

May 02, 2017, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

The advent of self-driving cars may help older adults to age in place longer. Once of the greatest concerns for older people is that of losing their driver’s licence, and thereby losing their independence. For many Canadians who do not live in larger cities with public transit, or who live in rural areas the loss of their driver’s licence means that living on their own becomes almost impossible without regular support of others.

Many factors play into the loss of driver’s licences. These include failing vision, health conditions, dementia, and mobility. Optometrists and doctors are required to notify MTO in Ontario if they feel that a patient no longer meets the threshold for driving safely. The MTO can also remove licences at regular testing intervals as people age.

For many older adults who are losing their licences but who still want to live at home in their own homes self driving cars may be just the solution. The self driving cars could bridge the mobility gap for people in our ever aging societies. For many the thought of moving to assisted living facilities is not reasonable as they cannot afford the fees involved, or simply don’t want to ‘end up there’. Many people would prefer to live on their own as long as possible. Survey suggest that over 90% of us want to age in place.

Ride sharing services like Lyft and Uber are solutions for those who live in large urban centres, but are not an option for many. They also require a level of technical sophistication and access to smart phones, which many don’t have. Taxis are also an option, but only affordable if the distances are sort urban ones.

For many who lose their licences the options are to move away from the neighbours and neighbourhoods they know into care facilities if they can afford them, or to rely on friends and children to do the driving for them. This requires a sacrifice on both parts, and the willingness of others to help get elderly to their appointments, the grocery store, and out for social visits. It can be an enormous burden. A recent study from Northwell Health in New York, suggests that as many childless boomers age, some 25% risk becoming ‘elder orphans’ with no family members to rely on for help.

Autonomous cars are projected to be widely hitting the roads in the next decade but many hurdles exist with the foremost one being whether the elderly will actually trust the cars to drive themselves.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

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