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I give the gentleman credit for being aware enough to recognize the lapses and to set aside the semi-autos. Many people either wouldn't notice the oopses, or wouldn't be willing to admit to them and take positive action in response thereto.
As has been commented, these types of lapses are not guaranteed for everyone. They are symptoms of Alzheimers, adult dementia, stroke (or mini-stroke, which often goes unnoticed and undiagnosed). Not everyone has such problems. My grandfather died at the age of 84. He voluntarily stopped driving several years before that, not because of any problems or accidents or near-misses, but because he had always been an excellent driver, and when slowing reflexes reduced him to being merely a "good" driver he felt it was time to fold up his tent. He maintained his driver's license and kept the car in the garage in the event of an emergency, but he didn't drive.
His son (my uncle) lived longer, but for a number of years was a menace to society because he DID have lapses, and he was involved in a number of fender-benders. Naturally, he ascribed them all to the other driver, but a clear pattern emerged. The problem was, my uncle was not as responsible or as self-aware as his father, so he refused to stop driving. He kept at it right up until a few months before his death, when he finally became physically unable to drive.
Each person and each case is unique.
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