When dementia sufferers should quit driving
Dear Savvy Senior: Is there a good rule of thumb on when dementia patients should stop driving? My 82-year-old mom has early stage Alzheimer’s disease but still drives around town just fine.
— Inquiring Daughter
Dear Inquiring: Most doctors agree that people with moderate to severe dementia should never get behind the wheel, but in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, driving performance should be the determining factor, not the disease itself.
With that said, it’s also important to realize that as your mom’s driving skills deteriorate over time from the disease, she might not recognize she has a problem. So, it’s very important that you work closely with her doctor to monitor her driving and help her stop when it is no longer safe. Here are some additional tips.
Warning signs
The best way to keep tabs on your mom’s driving is to take frequent rides with her, watching out for key warning signs. For example: Does she have trouble remembering routes to familiar places? Does she drive at inappropriate speeds, tailgate, drift between lanes or fail to observe traffic signs? Does she react slowly or make poor driving decisions? Also, has your mom had any fender benders or tickets lately, or have you noticed any dents or scrapes on her vehicle?
All of these are red flags.
If you need some assessment help, hire a driver rehabilitation specialist who’s trained to evaluate older drivers. See AOTA.ORG/ older-driver or ADED.NET to locate one in your area.
Transition tips
Through your assessments, if you believe it’s still safe for your mom to drive, you should start recommending some simple adjustments to ensure her safety, like driving only in daylight and on familiar routes, and avoiding busy roads and bad weather. Also, see if she will sign an Alzheimer’s “driving contract” (print one at Alz.org/driving) that designates someone to tell her when it’s no longer safe to drive.
You may also want to consider getting a GPS car tracking device (like Motosafety. com or Autobrain.com) to
help keep an eye on her. These devices will let you track where she’s driving and allow you to set up zones and speed limits that will send you alerts to your smartphone when she exits an area, or if she’s driving too fast or braking harshly.
Time to quit
When she can no longer drive safely, you’ll need to talk to her. It’s actually best to start having these conversations in the early stages of the disease, before she needs to quit driving, so she can prepare herself.
Develop a plan for alternative transportation (including a list of
family, friends and local transportation options) that will help your mom get around after she stops driving. For tips on this conversation, the Hartford Center for Mature Market Excellence offers a helpful guide called “At the Crossroads: Family Conversations About Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia and Driving.” Find that at Thehartford. com/publications-on-aging.
If she refuses
If your mom refuses to quit, you have several options. First, suggest a visit to her doctor who can give her a medical evaluation and prescribe that she stops driving. Older people will often listen to their doctor before they will listen to their own family.
If she still refuses, contact your
local DMV to see if they can help. Some states require doctors to report new dementia cases to the DMV, which can revoke the person’s license. If these fail, consider hiding her keys or just take them away. You could also disable her vehicle
by disconnecting the battery, park it in another location so she can’t see it or have access to it or sell it.
Send senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit Savvysenior.org.