When is it time to have ‘the talk’ with older drivers?

AARP

Free online seminar on how to talk about driving: www.aarp.org/weneedtotalk

Safe driving homepage: www.aarp.org/drive

Evelyn Kennedy took herself off the road.

The former mayor of Chamblee made the difficult decision to hang up her car keys about a year ago after she started having problems with her hearing and eyesight.

"Either of those should take a person off the road and I had both," said the 85-year-old Kennedy. Now she depends on family and friends to chauffeur her around or uses MARTA Mobility and a shuttle for seniors.

As the metro area grays, the issue of when seniors should give up driving — and what alternatives they’ll have — will become more important. By 2030, one in five residents in the Atlanta region will be over the age of 60, experts say. And, according to the 2010 census, people ages 45 to 64 make up the fastest-growing segment in the Atlanta region.

“I’m impatient and hate to wait,” Kennedy said. “It makes me mad occasionally when I have to go to the store to get something and can’t just get in my car and go. I’ve been out of 60-watt light bulbs for a week.”

Nationally, the number of licensed drivers ages 70 and older increased 27 percent between 1997 and 2011, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Whether mom and dad should hand over the keys can be a hard conversation for families to have. For some, such as Kennedy, it’s a question of safety. For others, it’s about freedom.

“Taking away the car keys is the ultimate issue with seniors because they lose their flexibility and their independence,” said Clarice W. Dowdle, author and founder of Senior Caregiving Today, a website for baby boomers and seniors about caregiving. “They don’t want to feel like they’re being treated as children. You don’t want to hurt their feelings, but you also don’t want someone to be hurt.”

There’s help for older drivers.

AARP, for instance, offers a driver's safety program to help older motorists refresh their skills. Most people haven't taken a driver's safety course since they got their licenses when they were teenagers, said Nancy Thompson, a spokesman for the AARP in Washington, D.C.

“Cars, roads and rules have changed a lot since then, and our bodies change as we age,” she said. “We start to take medications and certain illnesses occur. Flexibility, vision and some medications can complicate your ability to judge closing speed and decision making.”

That’s not to say all older drivers are risks on the road. “It’s more about your health than your birthdays,” AARP’s Thompson said.

In Georgia, once drivers reach the age of 64, they must renew their license in person every five years to complete the vision screening.

The Georgia Department of Driver Services’ medical advisory board does investigate cases brought to their attention by law enforcement and/or concerned individuals. The board will contact the individual to be evaluated by a physician.

But most people handle the issue within the family. To gauge whether it is time to hand over the keys, experts suggest relatives look for unexplained dents and scratches on the car or suggest riding along to personally see how that person drives.

Dr. David A. Palay, an Atlanta ophthalmologist, has had numerous discussions with elderly patients about leaving the driving to others. Usually, he said, those requests for such conversations come from concerned family members.

But in metro Atlanta, it’s hard for anyone to get around without access to a car or close proximity to MARTA.

Based on a recent survey commissioned by Pfizer Inc. and Generations United, an intergenerational advocacy organization, more than nine out of 10 Atlanta area residents believe they will live a long life, but less than one-third of metro Atlantans feel their community is ready to support an aging population.

A few years ago, the Atlanta Regional Commission began its Lifelong Communities initiative, which seeks to transform the region and create communities that better meet the needs of older adults and addresses such issues as transportation.

Older driver safety is “everybody’s issue,” said Carolyn H. Rader, principal program specialist for Aging and Health Resources for ARC. “Older adults are driving longer because they have to in many instances. One of the goals of Lifelong Communities is to provide our communities with a menu of transportation options for nondrivers or those who would like to transition from driving.”

Communities can help older adults by adding and repairing sidewalks, installing better directional signage, providing easy and safe access to transit and proximity to doctors, retail and other services, Rader said. Some counties and nonprofits offer vouchers using approved vendors, cabs and eligible individuals who want to be drivers.

Janet Hall, of College Park, a former principal, said her mother and stepfather, both in their 80s, aren’t ready to give up driving, although they do have some health issues.

Still, Hall and her brother encouraged them to change to doctors who are closer to their Cherokee County home, and sometimes they use a driving service.

“They’re very independent,” she said. “They enjoy living in their own home, but transportation is probably their biggest issue.”

A few years ago, Beth Wein of DeKalb County was at her wit’s end when it came to keeping her elderly father, Tom Turner Sr., from behind the wheel of his 2000 Infiniti. He had already been in two accidents. A retired traveling salesman, Turner once logged as many as 50,000 miles a year on the road, and he wanted to remain independent.

“I never knew when a car wasn’t a big part of his life,” she said. They asked doctors to talk to their father about driving, but most doctors hesitated because his health seemed so good.

When Wein and her siblings moved Turner’s car to a sister’s house in Kennesaw, that wasn’t the end.

Last year, when Wein and her husband returned home from playing golf, they found her car and her dad gone. About 40 minutes later, a man rang their doorbell. Turner had gone into a restaurant and asked patrons how to get home. The man searched his wallet, found an ID and brought him home.

Her father, 95, now lives in an assisted living facility.

During a recent interview, Turner said he could drive again if necessary. Wein rolled her eyes.

“There’s no question in my mind that he would be driving if we hadn’t stepped in,” she said. “He would still be fighting for the right to drive.”