If your elderly family member is willing to make some specific compromises with you about driving, she may still be able to drive at times. This is a particularly tempting solution if your elderly family member has been sneaking away to drive when she knows she really shouldn’t.
That She’ll Give Herself Plenty of Time
One of the best ways for your senior to ensure that she’s able to drive safely is to make sure that she’s leaving herself plenty of time to get where she wants to go. If she’s in a hurry, she’s far more likely to run into issues or to miscalculate. When she knows that she’s got plenty of time to get wherever she needs to go, she can just relax and focus on driving as safely as possible.
That She’ll Only Drive to Certain Destinations
When your elderly family member limits her own driving to destinations and routes that are familiar for her, she’s less likely to run into big problems behind the wheel. This is a much better compromise if memory issues aren’t a problem for her, of course. Planning out her trips in advance can help your elderly family member to feel more secure about the route she’s taking, too.
That She Won’t Drive if She Can’t See Well
How well your senior can see also matters a lot more than she might realize when she’s planning to keep driving. Some vision issues are less obvious, like having trouble seeing well at dusk or while it’s raining. If you and your senior agree that she won’t drive when she’s likely to have trouble seeing well, that gives her the support she needs to be more confident when she knows she’s more likely to be able to see just fine. You’ll also know that she’s less likely to be driving in dangerous circumstances.
That She’ll Rely on Other Transportation Options When She Needs To
One of the most important agreements you and your senior might come to involves knowing that your senior will let someone else drive when it makes sense. The best way to make sure that’s an appealing solution for your elderly family member is to make sure that she’s never at risk of losing her driving privileges when she does take that option. When she does agree that senior care providers should drive, for instance, that doesn’t mean that she’s giving up driving forever. It just means that she’s opting for that solution right then.
Ultimately your biggest goal is keeping your senior safe. She wants to be safe, too, but she may want to hang onto her independence even more. Compromises that make sense can help her to do both.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care in Novi, MI, or the surrounding area, please contact the caring staff at CareOne Senior Care today. Call us at (248) 308-2777.
