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This is the second half of a two-part article on making decisions about driving as we age. Read part one.

It’s a simple but unfortunate fact: Driving skills can wane over time. Eventually, driving can become unsafe for an older driver, their passengers and others on the road.

If you notice a decline in driving abilities in a loved one or in yourself, what’s the best way to handle this?

If you’re an older driver: Create an action plan. Don’t wait for a near-miss or an accident to think about the next steps. Planning ahead can help you tackle fixable issues, make necessary transitions easier, and avoid harming yourself or someone else.

Here are six measures you can take right now:

Have a frank conversation with a trusted friend or family member. After driving with them as a passenger, ask whether they are worried about your driving. Don’t disregard their comments, even if they share things you don’t want to hear.

See your doctor and talk about your driving. Is it harder to see at night? Are you finding you’re slower to react? Ask your doctor about medical care that can help, such as cataract surgery, treatment for sleep apnea, or adjustments to medications that might affect driving.

Take a self-evaluation test or an on-road test. AAA has tools to help with this, or you can check with your local department of motor vehicles. Even if you feel it’s unnecessary, a driving test can be reassuring to your loved ones that you’re still safe behind the wheel.

Take driving classes. In many places, there are general refresher courses, courses for defensive driving, and even simulators that don’t require actual road tests. AAA and AARP offer online courses that can help you improve your driving. (And by the way, these courses reduce the cost of your auto insurance in some states, including Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.)

Consider alternatives to how you drive. Stick to roads that are close to home or to routes that have traffic lights (rather than having to decide when traffic is clear enough to make a turn). Consider giving up night driving if that is particularly difficult.

Make adjustments to your car that can help. Examples include using a steering wheel cover to improve your grip, or changing the position of your seat to improve your view of the road. Check out the CarFit program (car-fit.org) that aims to optimize the “fit” of a driver in their car.

Reduce your road time

In addition, explore options that don’t require you to drive as frequently or at all:

• grocery delivery
• public or senior transportation (if offered or available where you live)
• carpooling with friends or family
• ride-hailing services or taxis
• hiring a driver.

Cost and availability may be barriers, but it’s worth looking into these options.

Suggestions for family members

If you’re a concerned family member or friend: Start a conversation.

It’s best not to lead by criticizing driving skills. Instead, talk about driving safely, and come with solutions in mind, such as the options described above.

It can be helpful to remind your loved one how his or her parents or grandparents had to cut back on their driving, or perhaps how an older neighbor was an unsafe driver.

Focus on the risks posed by other drivers. Aggressive or unpredictable drivers can pose more danger to older drivers with slower reaction times.

Offer to go for a ride together and then to talk about specific concerns, such as staying in the proper lane, changing lanes, making left-hand turns, speed, or sudden braking.

Encourage consideration of a self-evaluation or on-road test and driving classes to help polish skills.

Other ways to be helpful:

• Ask their doctor to talk with your loved one or friend about their driving. State regulations vary on mandatory reporting of conditions that affect a patient’s ability to drive. Some doctors may be reluctant to report their patients to their registry of motor vehicles, due to concerns about patient privacy or jeopardizing the patient-doctor relationship.
• Look into rules and regulations around older drivers where your loved one lives. Many states require vision tests and in-person renewal with increasing frequency for older drivers.
• If your attempts have been rebuffed, consider reporting an unsafe driver to traffic safety authorities. This may feel like a betrayal, but if other efforts have failed, this option might be better than waiting until there’s a serious accident.

The bottom line

It’s not easy to address concerns about impaired older drivers. My best advice is that older drivers and their loved ones try to talk about ways to remain a safe driver and put a plan in place.

Ideally, we all would start the conversation well before any driving problems are evident. And it may take more than one conversation. Many more.

But let’s face it: Sooner or later, most drivers will have to stop driving. For some older drivers, that time may be now. For the rest of us, recognizing this eventuality could help when our time comes.

See the May Beacon for the first article in this series.

Robert H. Shmerling, M.D., is a senior editor and an Editorial Advisory Board member for Harvard Health Publishing.

© 2024 Harvard University. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.