If your senior has found that driving isn’t safe or a good idea, that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s convinced that driving is wrong for her to do. There are lots of reasons your senior might keep driving anyway, but you’ll need to figure out what your options are for keeping her as safe as possible.

Safety First, Always

The very first thing to figure out is what happened and why. If your elderly family member is using a spare set of keys or is talking someone into giving her the keys to the car, you need to know that’s going on. What’s most important is your elderly family member’s safety. That’s the part that you need to emphasize to her as much as possible.

Talk to Her Doctor and to the DMV

Your elderly family member may have been told that driving isn’t a good idea, but that may not be enough for her to decide that not driving is the better option. If she still technically has her driver’s license, your elderly family member may feel as if you’re being too protective. Talk to your senior’s doctor and reach out to your local Department of Motor Vehicles to find out what else you can do. This may be enough to convince your senior to stop driving.

Offer Other Options for Transportation

When other options for transportation are too easy for your senior to dodge or ignore, she may feel a little better agreeing to use those options. Elder care providers can take over the heavy lifting part of actually driving, which allows your senior to still be as mobile as she wants to be. They can help with other tasks, too, which can lighten your senior’s load in a lot of other areas.

Look at What You Can Do with the Car

If your elderly family member is particularly stubborn, you might have to do a little more. Keeping the car around could be the worst idea because when she sees the car your senior remembers that she wants to be driving. Disabling the car can be one solution, but that may not be enough. Many family caregivers find that selling or giving away the car helps to take it out of a senior’s daily view, which can help.

Lots of times these issues come down to control and to independence. If you can find ways to help your elderly family member to feel both in control and more independent while still not driving, you might make some progress.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring a Caregiver in Piedmont, CA, call the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care.
Call today: (415) 795-2203

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Evan Loevner

CEO at Aviva In-Home Care

As a former hospital administrator, I launched Aviva with the goal of having a more focused, direct impact on the delivery of care than I could ever accomplish within a hospital setting. For me, the joy of running an organization like Aviva In-Home Care is having the ability to positively improve the lives of individuals needing customized care. As a passionate Bay Area resident, I know that many local seniors can benefit from new approaches to in-home care, that will bring them more connection to the community, and provide families with a greater sense of comfort that their loved one is indeed matched with an ideal caregiver.

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