When should seniors stop driving? It’s difficult to tell an elderly loved one that they need to stop driving. However, it may also be impossible to avoid.
If you need to have this conversation for their own safety — and that of others on the road — it can help to provide specific examples of why you think that they should stop. Don’t just note that it’s common at their age. They’re likely to say that they can still drive safely, even if others cannot.
When Should Seniors Stop Driving: Signs to Look For
So, what are some common signs to watch out for, which you can also use as examples? A few of them include the following:
- The elderly person seems nervous behind the wheel, as if they lack confidence that they can still drive well.
- It becomes more and more difficult for them to react quickly to the unexpected, so they’re only safe when everything around them goes as planned.
- They start to lose focus while driving, becoming progressively more distracted.
- They have been diagnosed with a medical condition that impacts their mental and/or physical abilities as a driver.
- They repeatedly get into close calls or even minor accidents. For instance, even if they haven’t hit another car yet, they keep running into the mailbox at the end of the driveway. You know it’s only a matter of time before there’s a more serious crash.
Safety Tips for Senior Drivers
Just because your loved one is older does not necessarily mean that he or she is a bad driver or will suddenly become a bad one. A number of factors aside from age could contribute to older people having driving trouble, such as issues with vision, hearing, health, physical mobility, and others.
Still, if you have concerns about your older loved one being on the road, you may want to talk about the following ideas for safer travels:
Buy a Safer Vehicle
If your loved one is in the market for a new vehicle, you may want to suggest that he or she buy one with high safety ratings or suggest looking at vehicles with the lowest fatality rates. You may even consider whether any available options have features explicitly geared toward senior drivers.
Limit Time Driving
This tip may be tricky because your loved one may think that you are trying to impose limits on his or her life, but you may be able to discuss self-limiting driving time and allow him or her to recognize when driving may not be a good idea, such as on icy roads or at night.
Take a Driver’s Safety Course
It is not only new drivers who could benefit from driver’s ed. You may want to suggest that your loved one take a refresher safety course and maybe even tag along yourself.
Because you are acting out of love, you certainly do not want your loved one to feel as if you think he or she does not have the capability to drive safely. However, bringing up these safety tips could go a long way in ensuring successful trips. Of course, in the event that your loved one is involved in a serious car accident caused by another driver, you may want to help by gaining information on personal injury claims.
Car Accidents and Senior Adults
Having this conversation with your loved one is important, but it’s also not something that everyone does in time to avoid a crash. If you are injured in a crash with an elderly driver, you need to know how to seek the appropriate financial compensation.
Contact Bethleham car accident attorney to learn more.
