Good Features for Elderly Drivers

I’ll bet you did not know that next week is “Older Drivers Safety Awareness Week.” It’s hard to keep up with these awareness weeks, I know. But this is a good thing, because as we have mentioned before, it can be difficult to address the issues of senior driving in your family. But the fact is, seniors have a massively increased probability of getting into an accident over other drivers. And when they do crash, they are much more likely to die in the process. So this is a relavent topic in the elderly care discussion.

With that in mind, I want to mention a couple of features on cars that are helpful to senior drivers who are still physically able to drive safely. These come directly from AAA’s website.

Adjustable Petals – this can let shorter drivers reach the accelerator and brake, and allow senior drivers to be a safer distance from the air bag, especially if they drive in a more hunched over position.

Anti-Lock Brakes – This is getting to be a pretty standard feature which improves the safety of all drivers, but especially senior drivers who might have trouble “tapping” the break repeatedly to keep them from locking. This is especially an important feature for seniors living in colder, icier climates.

Brake Assiste – A newer feature that helps the driver by generating enough force to break in an emergency. Seniors sometimes have trouble pushing the break all the way down in an emergency situation. This will help.

Stability Control – This feature makes small adjustments to help a driver keep control of a car, particularly on roads that are slick.

The AAA website lists many more features, but most of them are convenience features to help seniors, such as power mirrors that can be easily adjusted. But I want to add one more way to care for elders behind the wheel, although it is not a feature.

DriveSharp Computer Software

There is a new computer software available that has been scientifically designed and proven to help senior drivers improve their awareness, reaction time, and safety while driving. It is a unique system that incorporates fun, game-like exercises that train the user’s eyes to keep track of multiple moving objects, etc. But the long and short of it is this: adults who use it report excellent improvements in their awareness and reaction time. You can read more about the system here.

The End of Senior Driving: Helping Mom Hang up the Keys

When is it time to help mom or dad hang up the car keys for good? How do you bring up this sensitive topic to a loved one who is otherwise fairly independent? This is one we struggled with when my own mother had two accidents in short succession and sustained broken bones.

Depending on your loved one’s abilities, sometimes gradually decreasing driving is easier to swallow than removing driving rights all together. If they live in an Assisted Living facility, this should not be a great problem, as they will be able to take advantage of transportation assistance. But if they are independent, they don’t usually see that their driving skills have diminished. Encourage them to limit driving to a few local sites, and offer other transportation options for any appointments or errands which require longer distance or more skillful navigation (congested cities, higher speed highways, unfamiliar routes, etc.).

Before entering discussion with a loved one, do a little research on local transportation services, willing friends or family or volunteer services (if you are unable to provide transportation on a regular basis) so you’ll be able to present reasonable solutions that preserve their independence and dignity. Lovingly breach the topic, clearly expressing that their safety is your primary concern.

Action points:

1. Post a listing near their phone including
-local transportation services
-the names and numbers of willing family, friends, or volunteer services.

2. For really extreme cases, contact your local Department of Transportation. (Usually, if you are honest early on, it won’t come to this. Don’t let it get this far! Don’t be afraid to tell mom that she’s scaring you.)