At some stage, you and your senior may need to come to a compromise about driving. There may be times she’s more willing to be a passenger than others and that may work out for both of you for the better.
Make a List of Weather Conditions to Avoid
Weather can be a tremendous problem, especially if your senior is a nervous driver anyway. Sit down with her and talk honestly about which weather conditions make her the most uncomfortable and which ones you’d rather she didn’t drive in. Once you’ve got a solid list, she’ll need to stick to it.
Check out Sunset Times
Times for dusk and dawn vary from day to day, but most people don’t tend to notice that much. If your elderly family member shouldn’t be driving at night or doesn’t feel comfortable doing so, then knowing when true sunset and dusk times are can help you both by giving you a solid time. Most weather forecasting sites have this information listed each day.
Pad Travel Time
The more extra time your senior can add to her travel time, the better in terms of her comfort during the trip. If she’s feeling rushed or as if she doesn’t have time, she’s more likely to make a mistake or experience difficulties. Work with her to figure out how much extra time she’d like to add to her regular travel time.
Get an Agreement about Routes
Some roads and routes are much easier to drive than others. If there’s a specific road you’d prefer your senior avoided, make sure you mention it. There may also be roads she doesn’t enjoy driving. Helping her to avoid these roads can give her a much more pleasant driving experience overall.
Offer an Easy Alternative to Driving Herself
The best thing that you can do for your senior is to not make a big deal if she decides that she’d rather not drive. If you celebrate too much, you might remind her that she actually doesn’t want to give up driving. Instead, make it easy for your senior to access other transportation options, such as having elderly care providers drive for her.
Deciding to quit driving is not easy. Give your aging adult time to come to terms with this new reality.