Dementia and Driving
When my grandmother got old enough to officially be considered "blind" we decided it w
as time to take away her car and driving ability. First off, I bought her the car a few years ago and so she spent her last years driving a new sporty car as opposed to the 20 year old Toyota her late husband left her. And second, I moved her in with me to help make up for the transportation burden. We drive her wherever she needs to go. But a responsible decision needed to be made to get her less than safe driving skills off the road. For her sake, our sake, and most importantly, for the sake of other drivers and passengers including little babies.
But taking away an elder's ability, or right, to drive is a dire move. It supports the reality that as we age, more and more is taken away from us.
Dementia from normal aging also requires difficult decisions regarding driving. Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior.And since, statistically, those who suffer brain injury are more likely than not to develop dementia, driving may be an issue for those with mild and moderate brain injury.
Caregiver.org blogs "As a general rule, individuals with early stage or mild dementia who wish to continue driving should have their driving skills evaluated immediately (see “Arrange for an Independent Driving Evaluation” below). Individuals with moderate or severe dementia should not drive."
Insurance Company studies state Yes, there is enough small-scale research to tell us that over time, driving and dementia don't mix. The harder question is exactly when driving skills deteriorate? This question is harder to answer and the research is not clear enough to give a simple answer. That is why we recommend an approach that includes observation of driving skills right from the point of diagnosis and planning ahead for the time when the person must stop driving.
The American Academy of Neurology has issued a new guideline to help determine when people with Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia should stop driving. The guideline is published in the April 12, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Dementia reveals itself in many ways. For example Dementia symptoms include difficulty with many areas of mental function, including:
Language
Memory
Perception
Emotional behavior or personality
Cognitive skills (such as calculation, abstract thinking, or judgment)
The guidelines also found that caregivers should trust their instincts. A study found that caregivers who rate a patient's driving as "marginal" or "unsafe" were often proven correct when the patient took an on-road driving test. On the other hand, patients who deemed their own driving as "safe" were not necessarily accurate in their own assessments.
Caregivers and family members play a role in identifying warning signs from unsafe drivers with dementia. These include:
Decreased miles being driven
Collisions
Moving violations
Avoiding certain driving situations, such as driving at night or in the rain
Aggressive or impulsive personality traits.
Read the full report and guidelines at www.neurology.org/cgi/rapidpdf/WNL.0b013e3181da3b0fv1.pdf.
