Caregivers' Concerns About Older Adults Driving -- and What to Do About It

Are you worried about an older adult's driving?

Caregivers say that talking to an older adult about giving up the car keys is one of the most difficult -- and important -- tasks they face, according to a recent survey by Caring.com in partnership with the National Safety Council. The full survey results are available for download here (PDF). One fourth of the adult children surveyed would like to see their parents limit their driving; others wish their parents would stop driving altogether. Many caregivers also want to see some type of mandatory testing for drivers over a certain age.

If you're having trouble talking to a parent or older friend or relative about driving safety, you're not alone. People are living -- and driving -- longer than ever before. According to Caring.com expert Elizabeth Dugan, most drivers will outlive their driving ability by about ten years. Accident statistics bear this out: Elderly drivers have more accidents than any other group of drivers except teenagers.

Despite the urgency of the issue, when it comes to raising it with someone they're close to, many people hope to avoid the topic as long as possible. More than a third of adult children surveyed said they'd prefer to talk to their parents about selling their home, or even about their funeral wishes, than about giving up driving.

• Before even broaching the subject, it's a good idea to consider the issue from the older adult's point of view.
• You may also want to assess the quality of his driving.
• You can give yourself a driving quiz to better understand the risk factors for older drivers.
• Once you've assessed the situation, it's time to bring up the discussion, approaching it with a careful plan of attack (so to speak).
• To prepare yourself for the conversation -- and to prevent it from becoming a battle of wills -- familiarize yourself with some of the inevitable back-and-forth dialogue that's bound to ensue.