Keep Your Elderly Loved Ones Safe on the Road

As a person ages, reduced vision, delayed response time, hearing loss, even a stiff neck can dramatically impact driving ability and safety on the roadway. Take steps to protect your elderly loved ones.

Protecting Your Loved Ones: Safety Tips for Senior Drivers

If your parent, friend or other loved one is an active senior, driving may provide valuable independence. The road is a hazardous place for anyone, but a senior experiencing reduced vision, delayed response time, hearing loss, even a stiff neck, may need to take extra measures to drive safely.

The experts at AAA have provided, in the Senior Driving Tips section of their website, safety tips expressly for senior drivers:

• Consider the impact of medications: As we age, we may require medications for any number of conditions. These medications may have adverse impacts on our driving ability and our mood. If your loved one is on medication, be sure to understand the side effects and any limitations the drugs may place on their driving ability.
• Find the right fit: Putting your loved one behind the wheel of a vehicle that they do not feel comfortable in is dangerous. The next time your loved one purchases a vehicle, make sure they are comfortable with it. In the meantime, be sure that your loved one has adjusted all seats and mirrors to their liking. After all, even a minor distraction like fixing a mirror can be dangerous to all of us.
• Make concessions:  If your loved one has decreased night vision, it may be helpful to plan a driving schedule that keeps them off the roadway after sundown. Planning a shopping schedule, making medical appointments and offering rides at night can help to decrease danger to your loved one.
• Challenge their skills: Keeping your loved one’s driving skills fresh is important. Challenge their driving skills by asking them to drive you to the store or take a nice relaxing weekend drive. The more they drive, the better their skills and roadway awareness should be.

Do you have any senior driving tips? Share your advice with your Long Island neighbors by posting in the comments section below.

Source: AAA Senior Driver Guide — http://seniordriving.aaa.com/