A Vacaville resident is reported to be in a serious condition after he was involved in a motorcycle accident on Saturday. The accident occurred while the motorcyclist, Henry Eaton, was traveling north on Peabody Road. His motorcycle was struck by a Volvo driven by 79-year-old Alfatoon Edalat. The older driver was apparently attempting to make a U-Turn directly in front of the Harley Davidson, across double yellow lines.

The impact of the motorcycle accident was enough to cause serious injuries to Eaton, who was not able to avoid the collision. He was taken to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. According to cbs5.com, Edalat was not cited at the scene of the accident. Police are investigating the causes of the motorcycle crash. So far, police say there has been no evidence that speeding played any part in the motorcycle accident. However, it may be possible that the motorist’s age could have had a role to play.

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, accident rates tend to decrease for both men and women, until they reach the age of 70, when these accident rates begin to rise sharply again. Also, the number of at-fault accidents that result in fatalities rises dramatically, when the driver is aged 80, and above.

The issue is a sensitive one, and this is one of the reasons that California, along with many other states, has not been able to formulate effective driving policies for senior citizens. The state had earlier toyed with a number of proposals for older drivers to enable them to drive safely on the roads. These proposals had included a sort of restricted license system for drivers that would impose certain limitations, based on the person’s age, driving skills, life style and their driving needs. Currently, the state is considering variations of these proposals in order to formulate policies that would keep our older citizens safe on the roads, without imposing too many restrictions on their movements.

There is also evidence to show that the high accident rate for older drivers is also a result of there simply being more older drivers on the streets now, than there used to be. People are living longer and healthier lives, which means that they continue to be active until well into their seventies and eighties. Even so, traffic experts warn that with age come certain deficiencies in the system that older drivers have to account for when they make the decision to get behind the wheel. For instance, body and joint stiffness may affect the person’s reflexes, and their ability to make quick and sudden turns. Vision can be impaired leading to an inability to see in the glare of the sunlight. Traffic signs may take longer to be read. With hearing loss, there may be difficulty hearing the sounds of horns from other vehicles. Most of all, reaction time can be impaired, and this can be the cause for devastating car accidents. Older people who suffer from arthritis, have a history of stroke, or suffer from Parkinson’s disease, may also face unique challenges on the road.

Defining better safety guidelines for older drivers without restricting their mobility will be one of the challenges facing our traffic system.