Concerns behind the wheel
I have a 12-year-old car I hope to have a few more years but there’s an issue. All new vehicles have multiple ports to plug in and charge cell phones. Mine doesn’t. I have a cell phone charger that plugs into the lighter, but sometimes my husband needs to charge on the same outing and we can’t do two, so we play the five-minutecharge game back and forth, so we each have enough charge to receive calls. Is there any solution?
There is a solution. There are twooutlet and three-outlet charging mechanisms you can plug into your lighter. They generally run $12 to $20 and you can get them at your auto gadgets store or online. They think of just about everything these days!
My mother-in-law is a vibrant 70-year-old. But she’s had a left knee replacement, is in physical therapy for shoulder issues on her right side and is starting to have less strength in her wrists due to arthritis. I worry that with all these issues she’s probably not able to be as effective behind the wheel as she’s always been. She wonders too but hasn’t really identified any specific issues. I don’t know how to assess it.
An appointment with an occupational therapist who specializes in driver evaluation training would (1) identify where her driving shortfalls are (2) tell her and you whether she’s still really ok to drive or is nearing the point when she should give up her keys, (3) provide some strategies for making sure she stays at the top end of her driving game if she’s still good to go – along with some recommended modifications and/or limitations.
The Hartford has a useful booklet relating to this called, “The Road Ahead: A Guide to Comprehensive Driving Evaluations,” it’s accessible online.
You can find a list of OTs in your state who have driver evaluation expertise by going to the American Occupational Therapy Association website, www.AOTA.org/olderdriver.
Some research has found that many people would prefer, when it’s time to hang up the keys, to hear that from a family member rather than from medical professionals or law enforcement or others. That’s not been my observation. But in any event, having a professional weigh in can help.