A group of researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has come up with some good news for grandparents: Their grandchildren are safer with grandma or grandpa behind the wheel than they are when they are in a car driven by mom or dad.
This study seems to be at odds with previous research that showed an increase in accidents among drivers after the age of 65, but those studies did not look at who else was in the car. It may be that a driver with a grandchild in the back seat may be more cautious than a driver of the same age who is not carrying precious cargo.
Something else that’s hard to measure is the ammount of parent/child stress that may not be present in the grandparents’ vehicle.
A lot of tension parents feel gets diminished by the time the next generation comes around, so the ride may be smoother.
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