Driving is something that most adults take for granted. It’s a skill often learned as a teenager or very early adulthood, and it becomes a fixture of daily life. Driving enables you to go where you need to go, manage daily tasks, and participate in life as you please.
Homecare Syracuse NY – Is Your Senior Still Safe Driving on Their Own?
For your aging parent, however, driving can be dangerous. Seniors often struggle with challenges and issues that keep them from being able to manage the mechanics and other aspects of driving as safely and effectively as they once did.
As a family caregiver, it is vital for you to closely evaluate your parent and honestly determine if it is safe for them to continue driving on their own, or if it may be time for them to hang up their keys and rely on others for their transportation.
Some things that may indicate your parent is no longer safe driving on their own include:
- Development of wandering tendencies that frequently find your parent roaming around, unsure of where they are, or wanting to go somewhere but not knowing why.
- Increased instance of getting lost or not being able to remember how to get to places they have gone to many times before.
- Signs of their vehicle being damaged, such as scrapes, dents, or dings, that could indicate they are not driving safely and have been involved in minor accidents.
- Your parent not managing basic car-related tasks, such as their car running out of gas or them not following through with maintenance.
- Your parent not remembering what signs mean or not following them properly.
- Recent sensory loss, such as hearing loss or decreased vision, that can make them less aware of their environment, and make it more difficult for them to follow the cues of others.
- Development of cognitive functioning decline that makes it more challenging for them to remember how to drive, what signals mean, or how to handle various situations.
Not being able to get around independently can be an emotional blow for your senior. This can leave them feeling like they are no longer themselves and can’t live the life they want.
Fortunately, homecare can help. One of the personalized services of a homecare services provider can be safe and reliable transportation. This means your parent is able to go where they want and need to go, when they want and need to go there. Through this transportation your parent can run more of their own errands, get to their doctor’s appointments reliably, and participate in recreational activities as they want to. By working with their own schedule rather than always having to work around yours, they can experience a stronger sense of self and autonomy.
