Older Driver Safety

Getting older affects many aspects of our lives, including driving. While we may gain more experience as we age to be well-equipped to drive, our bodies also change in ways that impact our abilities to stay safe on the road. Consider the following to age well and maintain your independence with transportation.

How Aging Affects the Ability to Drive

Our bodies, brains, skills, and circumstances change over time, affecting our ability to drive. These changes that often happen with age include:

• Hearing Loss: This impacts our ability to hear warnings like car horns and sirens.
• Medications: We’re more inclined to have prescriptions for developing ailments as we age. Many medications have side effects unsuitable for driving, such as drowsiness or lightheadedness.
• Mobility Issues: Stiff joints and weak muscles happen as we age due to lack of mobility or diseases such as Parkinson’s, arthritis, or Alzheimer’s, making it harder to grip the wheel or turn our heads. This also impacts our reflexes and ability to react to danger or changes in the environment.
• Vision Loss: This affects our depth perception and peripheral vision, impacting our ability to see hazards, passing vehicles, and the amount of space between vehicles.

If you no longer can or want to drive your vehicle, many alternative modes of transportation can save you money and headaches from insurance, repairs, and parking:

• Carpooling with a family member, friend, or neighbor
• City buses, subway systems, and trams
• Personalized driver services and taxis
• Shuttle buses offered by senior living communities

Signs to Stop Driving

It’s important to remember that while vehicles are helpful to us in living independent lives and getting where we need to go when we want to, driving can lead to accidents and other life-altering circumstances. There are many reasons to stop driving for the safety of yourself and others, and none of them are something to be ashamed of:

• You feel very angry, confused, frustrated, or lost when driving
• You’re having difficulty seeing, hearing, or reacting
• You’re diagnosed with or experiencing health problems
• You often repeat driving errors like drifting lanes, forgetting blind spots, or missing stop signs
• You’ve received concerns about your driving from others
• You’ve received multiple tickets, been involved in multiple crashes, or had multiple near accidents
• You’ve received increases in car insurance premiums due to driving issues

How to Talk to Your Loved One About Driving

If you’re concerned about your loved one’s driving ability and think it’s time for them to improve their skills or stop driving, here are some tips to help you in the conversation:

• Acquire Evidence, Not Assumptions: Before you have the conversation, be sure to have specific situations and behaviors in mind to share with your loved one. Point out the particular skills issues you’re seeing and the worries and repercussions that come with them.
• Be Gentle and Positive: Avoid impatience or confrontation by using “I” statements instead of “you” statements, and remind them you’re on their side. Acknowledge their feelings and reassure them while expressing your love and concern for them.
• Focus on Safety and Maintaining Independence: Establish that the goal for your loved one is to continue doing the activities they love while being safe.
• Offer Solutions: Share alternative transportation options with your loved one as mentioned earlier, research available choices in the area, and talk with the doctor about what’s best going forward.
• Revisit the Subject: If concerns continue or return after the conversation with your loved one, don’t hesitate to revisit the subject and express yourself again. Everyone’s safety is important, and there is no shame in that!

If you have a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia, you can still make a smooth trip traveling with a dementia diagnosis! Learn more about your options for memory care with individualized resources based on your needs through our 5-minute survey powered by Roobrik here.

Tips to Stay Safe on the Road

If you continue to drive your vehicle as you get older, exercise caution with the following tips:

• Keep Calm and Confident: It’s not safe to drive when you’re emotional or unsure of yourself, so only go out with calm, confident energy!
• Improve Your Skills: Consider taking the AAA RoadWise Driver Course and working with a driving rehabilitation specialist or occupational therapist to assess and strengthen your driving skills.
• Limit Distractions: Minimize things that will call your attention away from the road and your hands off the steering wheel, such as talking, eating, and fiddling with the radio constantly. And, as you know, stay off your phone!
• Limit Your Driving: Avoid driving in the dark, in poor weather conditions, or during rush hour.
• Plan Your Route: Driving familiar routes, whether they’re paths you’ve driven for years or a planned way to get somewhere unfamiliar, will reduce your stress and likelihood of feeling lost or anxious.
• Stay Physically Active: A healthy diet and regular exercise will strengthen your body and improve your flexibility.
• Use Safety Features: Always wear your seatbelt, put on your glasses and hearing aids if prescribed, and take advantage of your vehicle’s safety features for extra support, such as adaptive headlights, backup cameras, and power brakes.
• Visit Your Doctor: Attend eye and hearing exams and physical checkups every year, look into the warnings and side effects of your medications, update your hearing aids and glasses, and talk to your doctor about your driving.

Learn more tips and tricks about aging well with our free ebook, Living and Aging the Way You Want!

At Life Enriching Communities (LEC), we’re committed to ensuring patrons feel well-equipped to plan their future and age how they wish. Explore more resources on senior living or contact us today to learn more about our legacy of services and programs that bring meaning and purpose to every stage of life.