Try: As the Care recipient (cr) gets older driving habits and abilities can change it is important to pay attention to any warning signs of impaired driving ability and make appropriate adjustments implementation of the following tips may allow the cr to continue driving safely encourage the cr to take charge of his or her health regular check-ups are critical to make sure the cr is in good health this includes eye exams having hearing checked and routine physicals find a car that is easy for the cr to drive choose a vehicle with automatic transmission power steering and power brakes make sure the cr’s vehicle is serviced regularly and in good condition make sure that windows and headlights are always clean show the cr how to drive defensively the cr needs to take extra steps to drive safely such as leaving adequate space for the car in front and not tailgating paying extra attention at intersections driving with the flow of traffic not too slow and not too fast avoiding distractions such as talking on the phone while driving talk with the cr about his or her limitations talk with the cr about his or her comfort level with driving many older drivers voluntarily begin to make changes in their driving practices for example driving only during daylight hours if he or she has trouble seeing well in reduced light avoiding driving in bad weather rain thunderstorms snow hail ice and so on if driving in fast-moving traffic is too difficult the cr should consider staying off freeways highways and find street routes instead encourage others to discuss driving and safety concerns with the cr you may reach the point where it is time to have an honest conversation with the cr about his or her continued ability to drive it may be easier to convince the cr that changes are needed if there are other individuals who support your recommendations it also may be helpful if you get input from others in the decision making process
Materials: n/a
Categories: Communication, Emotional Psychological, Medical Physical, Some Supervision, Maximum Supervision, So-So Vision, Poor Vision, So-So Hearing, Poor Hearing, Fully Aware, Somewhat Aware, So-So L T Memory, Poor L T Memory, So-So S T Memory, Poor S T Memory
Information: n/a
References: Adapted from the internet website www helpguide org
Keywords: Driving car
*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed