Ageing Japan and driving

Yesterday, I wrote about a tragic situation for our Minamiuonuma community, where a professor at the International University of Japan was killed in a hit-and-run accident in nearby Nagaoka.

Police have since arrested an 86-year-old in connection to the incident. According to news reports, the driver struck and killed the professor shortly before 11pm on August 8th before leaving the scene, but he returned three hours later.

The driver denied the allegations, telling police that while he accepts he caused an accident, he believed he'd hit a large tree. I have to preface all this with the fact that the investigation is ongoing, so there are still things that need to be clarified about exactly what happened. Hearing that the driver was 86 inevitably made me think about something that can be uncomfortable to discuss, though, and that's the question of when is it time to give up driving?

I'm in my early 40s, and even I don't particularly like driving at night anymore if I can avoid it. I'm more conscious of other drivers, and I find myself much more cautious than I used to be, and I'm still decades away from being considered an elderly driver.

The ageing population here is significant, and in rural areas especially, giving up a car can mean giving up a huge amount of independence. A car might be the only realistic way to get to the supermarket, hospital, work, or even the nearest train station. However, ageing can also affect eyesight, reaction times, hearing, and judgement. I think sometimes the hardest part is recognizing those changes in ourselves.

I don't think this is about saying elderly people shouldn't drive, since plenty of older drivers are perfectly capable and drive safely. It's more so about asking whether we should wait for something terrible to happen before deciding that it's time to stop.

Perhaps knowing when to hand over the keys is also a form of responsibility. If I'm already thinking twice about driving at night in my 40s, I hope I'll have the sense to recognize when my own driving days need to come to an end.