As our population ages, the issue of driving becomes a focus of independence. We live in a state where you can’t walk to get out. Everything has to be accessed by car or bus. Many seniors are still pretty independent and can drive. However as health issues become an issue, that may be a difficult topic to brooch with them.
One of the common issues that seniors state is that they only drive in town. They don’t go far and run errands. One statistic to note is that those who self-limit driving tend to have a higher likelihood of an accident when measured per mile.
There are many factors that play into this including a lack of confidence.
A secondary factor may be their functional endurance and cognition that makes one limit their community mobility.
So how do we know when someone needs to be assessed on their fitness to drive? Assessing driving takes a significant amount of data collection and looking at what is happening and can’t be determined by a single year. Many factors come in to the picture.
The issue of driving can be assessed by a trained professional such as an OTP or. Others trained in assessing the skills needed to safely perform the tasks needed.
Creative Caring Works 