KCET SPECIAL GEARED TOWARD OLDER DRIVERS.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

Notice cars zooming by faster than they used to? Stomping on the brake pedal at the last minute? Getting confused by directional signs, honking horns or because your mind wanders somewhere other than the road?

If so, you may be an older driver, with slower reactions and possibly other physical problems that make driving more of a chore than it used to be when you collected your first driver's license and zoomed off in dad's Buick.

Senior drivers are the focus of a half-hour KCET program, ``A Driving Need,'' that encourages drivers to assess their driving skills - and learn to accommodate mental and physical changes to make their forays behind the wheel safer.

The show, which will air on KCET (Channel 28) at 9 p.m. Friday and at 6 p.m. Sunday, wasn't designed to be a put-down of older drivers, said David L. Crippens, KCET's senior vice president of educational enterprises and executive in charge of the show's production.

``We all have aging parents and we're facing the dwindling of their driving skills. We hope this show will give families some ideas on how to decide whether an aging parent should keep driving. And, if they keep driving, how they can stay alert and focused so they're safe drivers.''

The show, hosted by Nick Clooney and featuring experts in police and medical fields, follows Los Angeles senior Paul Hissey and his teen-age granddaughter, Erin, for a day as they explore the changes age brings in cognitive and motor skills.

The scenario provides driver-friendly advice on how to measure strengths and weaknesses to regulate and improve driving.

Although the subject of whether to stop driving entirely is discussed, the show isn't saying every older driver should give up his car and his driver's license, Crippens said.

``We're just saying it should be a well-considered decision whether to keep or give up a driver's license.''

The question is one that is likely to come up more often in the future as California's drivers become elderly.

According to figures for 1991 (the most recent year available) provided by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, of the 661,000 Californians over age 80, 283,000 - or almost 43 percent - were licensed drivers.

Fatal accident rates for older drivers are also higher than for the average driver, but not as high as for teen-age drivers, according to the DMV. Drivers over 85 have 1.5 times the number of fatal accidents as drivers between 20 and 64, while teen-age drivers have 2.5 the number of fatal accidents as the average driver.

Drivers older than 70 can no longer renew their driver's licenses through the mail, but must appear at the DMV to take written and eye tests; if their mental or physical condition appears suspect, they also can be required to take a driver's test, the DMV's Evan Nosoff said.

Videotape copies of ``A Driving Need'' and a 34-page companion guide with safety tips, driving checklists and resources, is available through KCET VideoFinders for $19.95. To order, call [phone].

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Photo: Paul Hissey and granddaughter Erin spend a day learning about the effects of aging on driving skills in KCET's ``A Driving Need.''