Try: Good drivers are alert think clearly and make good decisions when an older Care recipient (cr) is not able to do these things anymore he or she should stop driving however the cr may not want to stop or even think there is a problem as the caregiver you will need to talk with the cr about why he or she needs to stop driving do this in a caring and tactful way understand how unhappy the cr may be to admit that he or she has reached this new stage in life loss of driving privileges may represent loss of independence to the cr and this can be a very emotional issue try to find other ways that the cr can travel on his or her own for as long as possible your local area agency on aging may have information about transportation services in the cr cr’s area these services may include free or low-cost buses taxi services or carpools for older people some churches and community groups have volunteers who take seniors wherever they want to go here are some things you need to know about driving and memory loss a cr with some memory loss may sometimes be able to drive safely however he or she may not be able to react quickly when faced with a surprise on the road this can lead to dangerous results if the cr cr’s reaction time slows you will need to suspend the driving privileges the cr may be able to drive short distances on local streets during the day but may not be able to drive safely at night or on a freeway if this is the case you may want to limit the driving to certain times of the day and specific places the cr may consider this a more desirable option than a complete suspension it may help for the cr to practice driving in the designated comfort zone while you are in the car to provide guidance this may help build confidence and prevent problems later on the cr may even need to memorize the route to the grocery store pharmacy doctor doctor’s office and so on the cr with memory problems decide on his or her own to stop driving others don’t want to stop driving and may deny that there is a problem signs that the cr should stop driving new dents and scratches on the car taking a long time to do a simple errand and not being able to explain why this may indicate that the cr got lost information references adapted from the national institute on aging internet website www nia nih gov "caring for a person with alzheimer’s disease your easy-to-use guide 2011
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Categories: Cognitive Intellectual, Maintenance, Medical Physical, So-So Vision, Poor Vision, Somewhat Aware, So-So L T Memory, Poor L T Memory, So-So S T Memory, Poor S T Memory
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Keywords: Driving memory loss car shouldn’t be driving stop driving
*This information is listed as a Fact Sheet and is not explicitly medically licensed