How to get someone over 95 to stop driving?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand old people who won’t give up their keys. With rideshare apps it’s not like they are losing their independence.

I am a passenger princess who hates driving (my DH drives whenever we’re both in the car). Once no longer have the regular demands of driving kids around in a minivan, I would gladly stop paying for a car, gas, insurance, taxes, maintenance, etc. and just hire someone to drive me around to the store or wherever I need to go.

And I know SO many older people who keep driving despite things like chronic back pain causing leg weakness, Parkinson’s, cognitive issues, etc. but it’s a nightmare to take their keys away. We need to do a better job of treating driving like a privilege and start doing more frequent testing once someone hits age 65 (it seems like late 60s to early 70s is where a lot of older people go from still being young-ish to old).

My mother has an iphone and is facile on the computer but has trouble with apps. She is constantly stumped by the uber app. It's easy for us but not for people in their 90's.

You don’t find it alarming that someone who can’t figure out a basic car ordering app can drive a 4,000 machine at high speeds capable of killing someone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand old people who won’t give up their keys. With rideshare apps it’s not like they are losing their independence.

I am a passenger princess who hates driving (my DH drives whenever we’re both in the car). Once no longer have the regular demands of driving kids around in a minivan, I would gladly stop paying for a car, gas, insurance, taxes, maintenance, etc. and just hire someone to drive me around to the store or wherever I need to go.

And I know SO many older people who keep driving despite things like chronic back pain causing leg weakness, Parkinson’s, cognitive issues, etc. but it’s a nightmare to take their keys away. We need to do a better job of treating driving like a privilege and start doing more frequent testing once someone hits age 65 (it seems like late 60s to early 70s is where a lot of older people go from still being young-ish to old).

My mother has an iphone and is facile on the computer but has trouble with apps. She is constantly stumped by the uber app. It's easy for us but not for people in their 90's.

You don’t find it alarming that someone who can’t figure out a basic car ordering app can drive a 4,000 machine at high speeds capable of killing someone?

I didn't say she was driving, just that rideshare apps are not the easy solution for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:take out the battery

If something like this actually worked, the person might be too far gone to be driving because even a person who’d lost half their senses would think to open the hood and check when the dash lights didn’t come on.

[Anonymous]

My grandmother lives alone at 94 years old and drives to a few places less than 2 miles away. Places she’s been going to forever.

She lost her husband 50 years ago and never learned any technology since. No internet, no Wi-Fi, no cell phone. She gets a lot of rides from neighbors and family. She’s too scared to completely let the car go.

[Anonymous]

When they get into an accident that is bad enough for their license to be taken away. A 95 year old is not going to be charged for causing an accident even if it causes a fatality. A 45 year old, not so much.

Consider what the report about Biden’s hoarding situation with documents said. This is how law enforcement views people like this.

Don’t worry about this. It’s not your problem and there is nothing you can do about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is she a safe driver? Not everyone ages the same. Look at Biden.

You just made her argument

[Anonymous]

I agree with pps that it’s not your business, but I’d be super uncomfortable too. I know someone who had to go through this with their parents. They got the doctor to write some sort of form that the elder had to redo a driving test. If they passed they got to keep their license. Failed, no license and car was sold. They failed spectacularly. Sold the car.

[Anonymous]

take out the battery

If something like this actually worked, the person might be too far gone to be driving because even a person who’d lost half their senses would think to open the hood and check when the dash lights didn’t come on

so ... the other/lesser option was: disconnect the battery
That worked for our family. That was enough of an unknown problem with the car, for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When they get into an accident that is bad enough for their license to be taken away. A 95 year old is not going to be charged for causing an accident even if it causes a fatality. A 45 year old, not so much.

Consider what the report about Biden’s hoarding situation with documents said. This is how law enforcement views people like this.

Don’t worry about this. It’s not your problem and there is nothing you can do about it.

Kill a kid and then grandma can stay at home? Do you people even hear yourselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand old people who won’t give up their keys. With rideshare apps it’s not like they are losing their independence.

I am a passenger princess who hates driving (my DH drives whenever we’re both in the car). Once no longer have the regular demands of driving kids around in a minivan, I would gladly stop paying for a car, gas, insurance, taxes, maintenance, etc. and just hire someone to drive me around to the store or wherever I need to go.

And I know SO many older people who keep driving despite things like chronic back pain causing leg weakness, Parkinson’s, cognitive issues, etc. but it’s a nightmare to take their keys away. We need to do a better job of treating driving like a privilege and start doing more frequent testing once someone hits age 65 (it seems like late 60s to early 70s is where a lot of older people go from still being young-ish to old).

My mother has an iphone and is facile on the computer but has trouble with apps. She is constantly stumped by the uber app. It's easy for us but not for people in their 90's.

You don’t find it alarming that someone who can’t figure out a basic car ordering app can drive a 4,000 machine at high speeds capable of killing someone?

I didn't say she was driving, just that rideshare apps are not the easy solution for everyone.

Uber has an number older people can call, bypassing the app.
https://www.uber.com/us/en/community/economic-opportunities/seniors/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:take out the battery

If something like this actually worked, the person might be too far gone to be driving because even a person who’d lost half their senses would think to open the hood and check when the dash lights didn’t come on.

Most women over 95 (and many men) won't even bother to open the hood. They will ask a relative or caregiver to check on it, and they need to be in on the battery disconnection.

We had to disconnect the battery of my 85 year old grandmother's car; she shouldn't have been driving at all. We're all in on it, including a cousin who was an auto mechanic. She called him, he declared the car inoperable and had it towed to sell for her.

Most people don't want to voluntarily give up driving because it does mean giving up a lot of freedom, but they may accept it's time if something outside of them prevents them from driving.

If they were in their right minds, they would stop driving on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they get into an accident that is bad enough for their license to be taken away. A 95 year old is not going to be charged for causing an accident even if it causes a fatality. A 45 year old, not so much.

Consider what the report about Biden’s hoarding situation with documents said. This is how law enforcement views people like this.

Don’t worry about this. It’s not your problem and there is nothing you can do about it.

Kill a kid and then grandma can stay at home? Do you people even hear yourselves?

That’s how the law works. It’s not my personal opinion?

Remember the elderly woman who drove into the grocery storefront in Bethesda last year? Just one example.

[Anonymous]

DP. It’s not my personal opinion. Full stop.

[Anonymous]

We finally got my dad to agree to give up his car. It was even still fairly new (just under a year old) but he agreed to sell it.

A few months later he met a woman on a plane and somehow got the idea that she was interested in dating him so as soon as he got home he immediately went out and bought another new car so he could take her out. As it turns out, nothing ever happened with the woman (no dates or anything) but we're back to square one with getting him to give up the car.
Things like disabling the battery wouldn't work with him because...he'd just buy a new car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they get into an accident that is bad enough for their license to be taken away. A 95 year old is not going to be charged for causing an accident even if it causes a fatality. A 45 year old, not so much.

Consider what the report about Biden’s hoarding situation with documents said. This is how law enforcement views people like this.

Don’t worry about this. It’s not your problem and there is nothing you can do about it.

Kill a kid and then grandma can stay at home? Do you people even hear yourselves?

That’s how the law works. It’s not my personal opinion?

Remember the elderly woman who drove into the grocery storefront in Bethesda last year? Just one example.

If you were the PP your personal opinion seemed to be “do nothing until grandma kills someone and then they’ll take her license and send her home.” And you think that’s not anyone else’s problem?