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◉ Don’t Let Your Age Keep You From Driving: Senior Driving Tips

Tag: senior citizens

The old cliche states that senior citizens are poor drivers who drive slowly in the fast lane, use their blinkers for too long, or simply cut people off. If you’re a senior, you can avoid becoming that crusty old “bad driver” cliche by following these tips. They’ll help you remain a sharp and safe driver late in life.

Understand The Younger Generation

Serious generation gap concerns are frustrating because younger drivers can treat you like a relic long past your due date. As a result, you may feel upset when driving or like acting out.

You can’t do that: your major advantage over younger drivers is your maturity and restraint. But you do need to understand their frustrations. Reasons that younger drivers are so rude or consider you a bad driver include:

  • Impatience
  • Immaturity
  • Misunderstanding of your abilities
  • Immersion in pop culture generalities

In America, youth culture rules, and people of older generations are often considered out-of-date or useless. There isn’t much you can really do to change that perception, short of sitting down individually with each younger person and discussing your life.

Instead, you need to counter their impatience and immaturity by showing a high level of restraint and maturity. Drive at a speed that is comfortable for you and try to at least meet the speed limit.

Avoid the left “fast” lane unless you’re passing or turning soon. And avoid any kind of altercation: simply let the youth pass you in a calm and relaxed manner. This will avoid serious dangers.

Take Care Of Your Health

The reason that senior drivers often struggle to drive is that their health has started to slip away from them. This problem can make it difficult to keep track of traffic and cognitively process what is happening. However, it is possible to boost your abilities by keeping your health in order.

Some of the most important aspects of your health you need to check include your vision; your hearing; the effects of your medication; and any drowsiness you may feel.

These four concerns are among the most common contributors to poor driving activities from seniors. Keep them from making an impact on your life by doing the following:

  • Get your vision checked at least once a year
  • Always wear your corrective lenses
  • Clean your windshield, mirrors, and headlights
  • Increase the brightness of your interior lights
  • Schedule a hearing appointment at least once a year
  • Always wear your hearing aids when driving
  • Keep your radio off to avoid distractions
  • Visually inspect traffic in both lanes before opening your door or changing lanes
  • Ask your doctor about changing to medicines that don’t confuse you or cause drowsiness
  • Sleep at least 8-10 hours every day

Self-Monitor Your Driving

Last, but not least, is self-monitoring your own driving. Health problems and other concerns may be impairing your driving abilities and you need to be honest and open to your troubles. Check yourself regularly for the following behaviors:

  • Trouble seeing the road, even with corrective lenses
  • Difficulty keeping track of directions
  • Getting lost or confused in familiar areas
  • Decreased reaction time
  • Drifting into other lanes
  • Changing speed rapidly for no reason
  • Multiple near accidents or even one real accident
  • Parking problems or running into cars for no reason

You don’t necessarily need to stop driving if you show these signs. However, you do need to immediately talk to your doctor and see if there are any ways you can correct them. This can help avoid destroying your driving confidence and keeping you stuck at home without a car.

As you can see, there’s no reason that you can’t keep driving late into life. While there are benefits to no longer owning a car or driving, they are balanced by the freedom you gain with driving. Just make sure you are honest about your limitations and you should be fine.

Learn the 6 early warning signs and what you can do about it.

It’s not easy to make the decision to tell a loved one to stop driving or to have to admit that the time has come. Many elderly people may feel a loss of freedom or experience frustration when they are no longer able to drive. While these emotions are normal, it is important to recognize the signs that it is dangerous for someone to get behind the wheel of a car.

Warning Signs

The aging process takes a toll on hearing, vision, and reaction times, all of which are vital to maintaining safety while on the road. It is important for families to be able to evaluate a loved one’s driving skills or for senior citizens to be able to recognize when their safety may be compromised.

If you or a family member has experienced the following symptoms, the American Association of Retired Persons suggests that it may be time to stop driving:

  • Getting lost in familiar locations
  • Responding slowly to unexpected circumstances
  • Difficulty moving a foot from the brake to the gas or confusing the pedals
  • Frequent “close calls” or near-crashes
  • Inability to accurately judge gaps in traffic
  • Getting distracted easily

Senior citizens who have a difficult time turning to check for oncoming traffic or seeing traffic signs should also consider turning over the keys.

Additionally, people who have noticed scrapes or dents on their garage doors, fences, mailboxes, and curbs may not be aware that their driving skills have waned over the years. While law enforcement may issue multiple warnings or traffic tickets, it is often up to the individual to recognize that it is time to stop driving.

Recognize the Emotions Associated with Driving

The first step in talking to an elderly relative or friend about driving is to understand the emotions that may come into play. Drivers of all ages enjoy the flexibility and independence that operating a vehicle provides. You may have already noticed that the senior citizen in your life has stopped driving under certain conditions, such as in bad weather or at night. Yet giving up those privileges for a short amount of time is quite different from doing so permanently.

The AARP notes that people who have to quit driving often experience emotions including frustration, anger, and even depression. They may feel that they will be socially isolated or that they are now a burden to family members who will have to transport them. Part of the conversation you will have with your loved one may involve allowing them to talk about how they are feeling and validating those concerns.

How to Have the Conversation

Before suggesting that a senior citizen stop driving, you might want to have smaller, frequent conversations about driving safety. This way, you are starting to lay the groundwork for the big discussion ahead. You may want to think about structuring your approach through a days- or weeks-long process, such as this:

  • Step One: Start by merely discussing road conditions, traffic, or cars in general.
  • Step Two: Talk about the elderly person’s current driving behaviors and why they need to change them.
  • Step Three: Tell the driver that the time has come to stop getting behind the wheel.

During the second phase, you may want to suggest driver improvement courses. These can often help elderly people either rectify their behavior or make the decision to stop driving on their own.

Alternative Transportation Resources

Before having those conversations, you can plan out some alternative ways for your loved one to still participate in his or her routine. For example, you can outline friends or family members who can take individual grocery shopping or exercise classes. There are also public transportation services that may be appropriate for your loved one, depending on where he or she lives.

There are also special transportation services provided through nonprofit organizations as well as private companies. For example, many of these services cater to clients who have disabilities that prevent them from taking public transportation. You should be aware that these services will often come at a cost, so budgeting for that may be a step you have to take before speaking with your loved one.

We understand that the topic of senior citizen driving is a sensitive one. These tips are designed to help ease the situation. If you found a method that worked well with your elderly family member please share in the comments.