|
Some of the
best drivers we've known have been on the road for 50-plus
years. And some of the scariest drivers have been driving for
the same length of time. Like drivers of every age, there are
good and not-so-good older drivers.
Eventually, though, if a person lives long enough, physical
abilities and mental acuity generally tend to decline. Most
people who live well into old age will one day have to stop
driving. Before that day comes, many will voluntarily reduce
their driving range to local streets and daytime hours only.
Other senior drivers will resist making any adjustments at all.
These are the drivers we worry about the most.
Of course, we are all reluctant to take away anyone's
independence. We're also acutely aware that if our elder stops
driving there usually aren't any good alternatives in most parts
of the country. We foresee our lives becoming even more
complicated if our older driver has to hang up the keys.
Nevertheless, there may come a time when you have to take the
bull by the horns and really take a hard look at how your older
loved one is doing behind the wheel.
The best way to do this is to ride along in the passenger seat
and take mental notes. As soon as you can, write down your
observations and make a note of the time of day you made the
drive. If two or three different people can do this and then
compare notes, you will have a very good idea of how safe your
aging driver is.
Use this
Driving Assessment Form to keep track of what you observed
and to compare notes. It might be very interesting to see how
performance varies between morning and afternoon, for instance.
If your older
driver passes with flying colors, congratulations! You can
breathe a sigh of relief and worry about something else for a
while. Know that you will have to assess again in six months or
so, or even earlier if there is an incident.
If you decide that your concerns are valid, try to have a family
meeting before you speak with your driver. You will want to
decide how best to intervene, what alternative transportation
can be arranged, what steps to take first, and who should be the
spokesperson. Sometimes it is the person with whom the driver
has the best relationship. Sometimes, though, if the
conversation is guaranteed to end poorly, a better spokesperson
is the family member who lives the most distant and who is least
likely to have to "hear about it" every day.
Download the
Driving Assessment Form in PDF format
If you have trouble viewing this PDF report, you should
download the free Adobe Reader.
|
