Thinking Ahead: A Contract to Stop Driving
Assisted Living Cuero TexasMost s
Most sites that address concerns about aging will include information about aging and driving. Deciding when an elder needs to stop driving is one of the most difficult to navigate decisions that faces seniors and their families. All of us appreciate our freedom and independence and driving is a very essential component of helping us feel self-sufficient. The loss of the ability to travel at will creates an enormous sense of loss in most of us.
The continuing battles over car keys — including how long older drivers can safely operate automobiles, under what conditions, when it’s time to stop and who gets to decide — have come up many times here. It’s one of the toughest issues families confront.
Nerida McMurray Photography
So I’m intrigued by the idea of a family driving agreement, by which an older person who may now be a perfectly fine driver acknowledges that with age-related changes, “there may come a day when the advantages of my continuing to drive are outweighed by the safety risk I pose not only to myself, but also to other motorists.”
A driving agreement may not always work to prevent elders from driving past the point where they are truly safe to do so, but any efforts made to discuss driving BEFORE safety issues become a problem are helpful. Planning ahead may well help just by giving the driver the opportunity to feel some sense of control, allowing THEM to plan for and express their thoughts BEFORE it's actually time to turn over the car keys.
