Today’s post is part of our ongoing series, The Physicians Choice Way. Here, we’ll go over many of the steps involved in setting up a comprehensive care plan, which helps us to provide seniors and their families a complete understanding of the available care options and helps them maneuver through the challenges of the system.
Asking an elderly parent or relative to stop driving is difficult because driving provides individuals with the ability to remain independent. Yet, many elderly drivers (those 65 and older) can be a danger to themselves and others on the road. It’s therefore important that the family, friends and other caregivers of these individuals be able to identify potential driving problems and to request that the person stop any dangerous driving behavior.
For some individuals this may be as simple as driving only on certain kinds of roads (e.g., no highways) or driving only during daylight hours. For more dangerous drivers, however, it is important that the individual stop driving altogether and find other transportation options that will provide him or her with continued independence.
If your loved one’s driving worries you — or you are unsure whether your loved one should continue to drive — you will probably want to perform a specific assessment before talking to him or her about the problem. If you check “yes” to any of the points below, there’s reason for concern.
Driving Assessment Checklist
- A police officer has given your loved one a warning because of poor driving behavior.
- Your loved one’s record shows a pattern of close calls, violations and/or minor collisions.
- Driving makes your loved one nervous and anxious.
- It is difficult for your loved one to look over his or her shoulder or to turn his or her head to the side to look before changing lanes.
- Driving makes your loved one tired very quickly.
- Your loved one has trouble climbing stairs or walking more than one block in a day.
- Your loved one often becomes disoriented about where he or she is in relation to home when driving.
- Making good decisions quickly is difficult for your loved one when he or she is driving.Edmunds.com has some more helpful info about elderly drivers, as does NPR.Currently serving Omaha and surrounding areas, all Physicians Choice services are directed by registered nurses or social workers with no long-term contracts. Contact us today for help with your senior care needs.—
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