Winning the Driving Battle

The driving battle is something that caregivers and their seniors have fought over and over. You might know that your elderly family member is at a stage where she needs to stop driving, but she doesn’t agree. So now what?

Home Health Care in Northfork NY: Senior Driving

Talk to Your Senior’s Doctor

You need to assess your senior’s ability to keep driving and her doctor can help you to do that. Depending on her current health issues, your elderly family member may not be as safe to drive as she thinks she is. Her doctor can give you an idea about how her health is likely to change in the near future, which can give you the information you can use. Another reason to bring her doctor into this discussion is that your senior may be more willing to listen to a medical professional about driving then she is to listen to you.

Talk to Other Specialists, if Possible

Sometimes, though, your senior’s primary doctor isn’t a big enough incentive for her to talk more about what needs to happen. If she sees any specialists, such as an audiologist, that specialist may have more to say about her ability to continue to drive. It’s worth finding out what those doctors have to say about how the conditions they treat for your senior might affect her ability to continue to drive.

Up the Ante a Little Bit

If you’re still having trouble getting your senior to see eye to eye about driving, you may need to get more serious. Your local Department of Motor Vehicles may have some things to say about elderly drivers. Very often these departments may have specific regulations around what seniors need to do in order to maintain their driver’s license. If your senior can’t meet those requirements, she may have to give up driving based on what the DMV has to say.

You May Need to Resort to Drastic Measures

In a worst-case scenario, you may have to get even more insistent. Selling the car or hiding the keys might not feel like the best answer, but if that’s where your senior is forcing you to go you may not have a choice. You do need to be careful with any drastic measures you take, because these can cause your senior to feel more insistent about continuing to drive anyway, just to spite you.

Whatever else you do, make sure that your senior has alternative transportation options available. Senior care providers can do the driving for her, letting her focus on what she’s venturing out to do rather than worrying about piloting her car.

If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring Home Health Care in Northfork, NY, call the caring staff at Artful Home Care today at 631-685-5001.