Is it time to take the car keys away from an elderly senior?

Time For Senior to Quit Driving?

Seniors are not as sharp or reactive - when is it time to take the car keys away?

Seniors start having trouble thinking straight, having quick reactions, and making quick decisions. In a car, all are needed. When is it time for the senior to quit driving? When should you think of taking the car and driver license away?

When should driving be an issue for a senior? Take a ride with the senior – see how well he reacts and stays in his lane. Does he wander or react to a light or stop sign too late? Does he use his phone? Does he get lost? Does he notice every car next to and coming around him? does she stop at the lights or stop signs? Do roundabouts confuse him? If you have these concerns, it might be time for the senior to quit driving.

If in any way he seems to be a danger to himself or other cars, it’s time to consider preventing him from driving anymore. Once he causes an accident, it’s too late, and others may be injured or worse. The time for the senior to quit driving is before an accident happens, if you can get or force him to quit. Time for senior to quit driving?

The easiest way to keep the anger off you is to ask his doctor to recommend a driving evaluation with reaction times. If he fails, the tester will recommend taking the license away and probably needs to report it to the DMV. You can even google to call a driving tester who tests seniors and knows how to properly evaluate them. Time for senior to quit driving?

My mother’s reality was messed up – she did not see every car and turned into traffic which caused a crash. No one was seriously hurt, except from that point on, my mother’s dementia progressed fast. The hit on her brain just advanced the disease that was starting. It could have been worse – the other person could have been hurt or killed.

Gauge when it is appropriate to take away the car keys and driver license (get a different form of state ID for her). It’s not worth having an accident happen because the senior is too proud to stop driving. At some point their judgment is warped or flawed and should not be doing anything that can be dangerous. Driving a car becomes a lethal weapon. The time for the senior to quit driving is before it’s too late.

Update - when Dad was told he needed to get a state ID and give up his driver's license, he hid his license (apparently this is quite common with elderly or dementia people). Having dementia, he forgot where he put it so it cannot be turned in for an ID (which was his goal by hiding it). An ID has been ordered for him, and the driver's license has been nullified. He needs an ID to go to the doctor's office, for example, so it's not like the ID isn't needed.