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Advice & More December 2013

Aid for Age

Boomers Have to Move from the ‘Safe Driving Talk’ with Their Kids to Their Parents

By Tait Trussell

I stopped driving a few years ago. I was somewhat persuaded to make this difficult decision when my wife told me she was “terrified” to ride with me. There was not even a shade of exaggeration in her description.

One of the most wrenching decisions so many seniors must make is to give up driving.

Ending what has probably been a lifetime behind the wheel is not quite as severe as being sentenced to prison. But certainly it snatches away an enormous measure of freedom.

Fortunately, a number of opportunities exist to help seniors preserve some level of mobility and independence. More about that later.

So, is losing your car worse for men? Not for my mother. She began driving as a teenager and drove the family car into her 80s. My father didn’t drive. Mother was a skillful and enthusiastic driver who loved to be at the wheel on many long trips she made with the family and with her cousin, Ann. During World War II, mother drove a Red Cross bus, transporting blood donors.

But finally, when she realized that arthritis prevented her from turning far enough around to see what was behind her and she knew her reaction time had begun to slow, she painfully decided to sell her car.

I stopped driving a few years ago. I was somewhat persuaded to make this difficult decision when my wife told me she was “terrified” to ride with me. There was not even a shade of exaggeration in her description.

I did back into the steel pole holding up the basketball hoop in our driveway turn-around, and I got a ticket for speeding. But I always thought I was a reasonably competent driver. In my 20s, one night I drove from central Florida straight through to Washington, D.C., without stopping. Darned fool.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Company found in a new survey of 1,000 baby boomer children of senior drivers a marked hesitancy to discuss the matter of driving with their parents. The boomer children’ ages ranged from 40 to 65.

Although 55 percent of the children were concerned about their parents driving abilities, only 23 percent are actually having discussions with their parents, Twenty-nine percent of the children said they were likely to avoid such a conversation entirely.

This indeed presents the potential for danger on our roads and highways. The U.S. population aged 65 and older is predicted to increase from 47 million in 2015 to 72 million in 2050. Obviously, more seniors will be wheeling around the roadways.

The survey of boomer children of senior drivers indicated that they were more concerned about their parents driving (55 percent) than about family members driving under the influence (43 percent).

These are the concerns boomer children cite as top concerns connected with their senior parents’ driving:

  • Poor eyesight—47 percent
  • Drives too slow—38 percent
  • Hearing difficulties—30 percent
  • Distracted while driving—25 percent

Less than 38 percent of boomer children of senior drivers believe that their parents would be open to a discussion about giving up driving. Most of the boomer children reportedly are afraid the outcome will be negative, resulting in the following actions:

  • 46 percent believe their parents will be angry or hurt.
  • 31 percent think their parents will say it is too hard to find other means of transportation.
  • 22 percent think their parent will be more determined to continue driving.

Any concerns about senior driving are valid, Liberty Mutual said, with “17 percent of all U.S. traffic fatalities happening to older individuals,” according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Each individual situation is unique. But aging is inevitable and brings changes that have an impact on a person’s driving abilities. That’s why the insurance company encourages talking with loved ones about driving.

Some options for non-driving seniors to continue to have a measure of mobility: Liberty Mutual has partnered with ITNAmerica, the first and only national and nonprofit network for the country’s aging population. It promotes community-based transportation schedules for seniors.

Through volunteers from the local community, ITNAmerica provides rides for seniors in private automobiles 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For additional information, you can contact www.LibertyMutual.com/seniordriving. The organization has a toll-free call center called Rides in Sight (855-607-4337).

The organization offers an interesting way to pay for rides by trading in your car for credits to pay for rides. Many home care agencies that provide companionship and care also provide transportation services.

Under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, public transit services are required to provide transportation options for people with disabilities, including frail older folks.

So, if you must quit driving, options do exist that still provide some measure of mobility.

 

Tait Trussell is an old guy and fourth-generation professional journalist who writes extensively about aging issues among a myriad of diverse topics.

Meet Tait