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Retiring From Driving?
Senior citizens driving? Is it time? When do senior citizens know it's time to
retire from driving?
Retiring from driving could be one of the most difficult moments in your or
your aging parent's life.
Regardless of the preparation, when you or your parent is no longer able to
drive there is a time of readjustment and grief. Many things have changed that
have led up to this moment and signal yet another major loss. But the key is
to prepare to end senior citizens driving so that they can maintain as much
freedom and control and choice in their lives as possible.
One senior in a study sponsored by AAA summarized the magnitude of the loss this way...
"Can't see, can't hear, can't walk, but I have my car."
Why retiring from driving is so important
When it's time to retire from driving, it's a serious matter... often a matter of life and death.
Studies show that senior citizens driving have the highest fatality rate in car accidents. In part, because of the severity of the crashes, but also because frailty that comes from age makes it much more difficult to recover from the physical trauma of a car accident. It is important to analyze certain physical and mental capabilities such as:
Mental - ability to make split second decisions, judgment and instant complex problem-solving, memory and ability to plan alternatives (in case of detours, etc.)
Physical - strength and flexibility. Ability to move fluidly to control the gas and break, to turn one's head and neck to monitor traffic, and for backing and parking
Visual - senior citizens driving must read street signs, traffic signals, anticipating actions of other drivers, peripheral vision to see traffic coming from the side or what's around when turning or changing lanes, changes of vision in different levels of light: bright sunlight, dusk, night driving
Reaction Time - ability to make sudden changes in the flow of traffic, or react to unexpected actions of animals or small children.
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The goal is for you or your senior parents to maintain their freedom and independence after they retire from driving. If this is not provided for, experience has shown, there is a strong link between not driving, isolation, depression and a host of other concerns. There is also a definite link between independence and joy. The Creator of the Independent Transportation Network, Katherine Freund said it this way,
"I think of mobility as something essential, like oxygen. This is going to sound hokey, but there are two kingdoms -- plants are rooted, and animals are not. We need to be able to move. It's fundamental to have mobility and to feel free. When the only way people can really get around is a car and then you take that away from them, they fight. It's that basic. Create a Transportation Freedom Plan
Question 1. Where does your Mom or Dad need/want/like to go? Make a complete list of everywhere that your parent would normally need to travel on a weekly basis. The card club, the hair dresser, grocery, lunch group, church. Then consider the places where they have irregular appointments, doctor appointments, banking, and the like. Finally, where do they like to go for fun? You can make alternate arrangements so these are not out of reach after senior driving. Question 2. Who can help? List every informal resource that is already available to your parents after senior driving: family in the area (don't forget teen grand children that are safe drivers), close neighbors, friends that attend the same functions, rides offered through the church. Question 3. What will really work? Pair up the informal resource that's available, how often they could COMMIT to doing it (reliability is essential for your parent). And then notice the gaps. Question 4. What else could we choose? What public transportation options are available and acceptable in your area. You need to check how the pick up happens, what the schedule is and wait times. How close does the route comes to your parent's destination? How much does it costs? (and how do they pay for it? You don't want an option that requires your parent to carry a large amount of cash.)
Question 5. Where are the gaps? You want to make sure that the plan you make is realistic and workable. Don't just put it on paper. Try out the route with your parent to see how far the walk is, or if there are steps or other issues that would present a barrier. Are there other creative choices in our community? There may still be some alternatives that you had not previously known about. The goal is to recreate a customized transportation system so that you or your mother or father can keep participating in the things that bring you life, vitality and some joy.
5 Star Medical Transport and Silver Car will be happy to help formulate a plan
for you and your family.
Independence is a vital part of the American Experience no matter what our age!
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