It's a life changing milestone when we get our first car keys, isn't it? It's just as life changing when, sixty or seventy years later, our keys are taken away from us. Taking mom or dad's keys is a painful thing for children to do and many don't know if or when their parents should quit driving.

Warning Signs of Age-Impaired Driving

Not every elderly person is impaired. But incidents of Alzheimer's disease have been rising during the last decade and it can affect people as young as forty or fifty! Although that's not the only thing that can compromise a person's driving skills, there are signs that you can look for before impairment causes injuries.

If your parent or elderly loved one appears confused at times or has trouble making decisions, take a short ride with them behind the wheel. If they are driving too slowly they may be having trouble with distance perception. Likewise, if they bump the curb, miss a turn or have trouble remembering how to get to a familiar destination you may have to take some action.

Could Their Confusion Have Another Reason?

It's not always brain function that can cause confusion and misjudgments. Medications and poor eyesight can also affect a person's driving. If you're concerned about your loved one's driving the first thing to do is rule out medical reasons.

Poor eyesight, cataracts and medications can affect a person's distance perception as well as their mental acuity. A visit to an ophthalmologist will let you both know if the driver's skills can be corrected by new glasses or by cataract surgery. People often don't know that they have cataracts or that their vision is impaired. Their vision is so gradually impaired by cataracts that they may think their vision is normal.

Medications can also cause confusion so subtle that the driver doesn't realize they are making poor judgments or forgetting a familiar route. Their physician will be helpful in determining and possibly correcting this condition.

Alternatives to Driving

If you do discover that your elderly friend or loved one should not be driving, this doesn't mean they're completely dependent on others for their transportation. Since the reason most people drive is to maintain their independence you can give alternatives to driving.

If daytime driving is not impaired but night driving is a problem, help them adjust their schedule so that they can avoid driving at night and take only familiar routes to their destinations.

Not having the expense of a car and insurance can be an advantage! These savings can be used for taxi cabs, shuttle buses or even group recreational trips. If the person is so impaired that they can't travel by themselves, arrange for goods to be delivered to them. Take turns with other friends and relatives acting as chauffer and try to make it enjoyable for everyone.

Taking the keys from a loved one is painful for everybody but if you handle it with compassion and creativity it doesn't have to be the end of their independence, just an adjustment!

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