When age starts to cause problems while driving

Most doctors will agree that the first warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia may be though to establish, but what may be even more difficult is making of the decision on how and when to take the car keys from a driver who counts on his vehicle in their day-to-day life.

The MIT (Hartford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s) Age lab is meant to help families recognize the signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia in one of their family member’s life. One section on their Age Lab website named, The Talk with Older Drivers offers ideas on how to clear up the situation and what to talk about with a driver you think may have one of these severe maladies.

Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and dementia can confuse the driver enough for him to make some drastic mistake and have an impaired judgment which can affect the his perception of distance, block him from having a fast reaction on the road, and ultimately make them a driving danger not only to themselves, but to other people driving on the same road as well. This make car insurance companies refuse to insure these people.

Although it may break your heart stopping one of them from driving and taking away their right to be independent and free on the road, you must know that you’re doing this only for the best. The decision is made to stop sick people from getting into some sort of trouble they cannot control or cope with.

A few steps that may be taken to ease the transition from driver to passenger are to:

• Limit driving to daylight hours only with the max amount of hours
• Only permit driving on roads they know well
• Try to ask your friends or relatives to help with transportation and never let them drive alone
• Arrange to have groceries delivered if it is necessary

You should test their driving if you have this possibility. There isn’t any test that would show if the driver has or doesn’t have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia but you could try to make some assessment and judge their driving abilities.

There are different sorts of online tests for those who want to try them on the members of their family. We will tell you how to do the tasks. Here are other things to read about:

• Do not hesitate to speak to other family members about your concern. Make sure everybody in the family is involved and wants to help the driver. Keep an eye on him.
• Try to pay attention to all of the mistakes the potential ill person makes on the road. Note them and talk to other members of the family about them.
• Be sure to discuss the alternatives to driving when you speak to the person that needs help. Don’t get them on the defensive, and reassure them that their freedom isn’t being taken away
• If needed, get assistance from a doctor or health care provider to help explain to the person that there may be a serious problem.

Please protect those who need your help. Some of them might not even realize they are in danger. Auto insurance was made to keep people out of risk. Remember it.