AOTA's Older Driver Awareness Week—Monday: Family Conversations
AOTA’s Older Driver Safety Awareness Week occurs each year in December because it is a time when many families come together for the holidays. The first step in older driver safety is having a conversation with the older driver. Although conversations about driving can bring about emotional or defensive responses, families can have a conversation that involves good communication by emphasizing ways to help the person continue driving safely for as long as possible.
Family and friends play a major role in discussions about older driver safety, and it is often better to start the conversation before a crisis or an older driver’s physician or drivers’ licensing agency broaches the topic. “When an older adult is given a ticket or has a minor accident, it may feel like a natural time to discuss safety in driving,” says Mary Jo McGuire MS, OTR/L, OTPP, FAOTA. “The problem is that this is when an older adult feels he or she must defend his or her ability to drive, and so the conversation with family members can become argumentative.”
Instead of waiting for a driving safety event or crisis to occur, family and friends should begin by asking the older driver questions such as, “how do you think a person knows when he isn’t able to drive safely any more?” or “do you think there will ever be a time when you cannot drive safely?” Because many older adults usually think about these things without wanting to discuss them, questions that focus on life after driving may be more appropriate, such as, “how do you think you could get to church if you ever quit driving?”
|
AOTA’s Older Driver Safety Awareness Week runs from December 5 to 9.
- Find articles on each day’s topic—Monday: Family Conversations; Tuesday: Screening and Evaluation; Wednesday: Driving Equipment and Adaptations; Thursday: Taking Changes in Stride; Friday: Life After Driving
- Click here for all AOTA Resources on Older Driver Safety Awareness Week.
|
|
“With this approach, the older adult is given hope of continued participation in community events after driving retirement,” says McGuire. “Older adults do not want to be a burden on others, so providing additional information such as offering to pick up the older adult for church and having brunch after the service can help an older adult prepare for a time when help must be accepted.”
When an older adult is still a competent driver, it is an easier conversation to have because it is not meant to threaten anyone, but to help the older driver prepare to make good choices, according to McGuire. She suggests using current events, such as reading about a car accident, as an opportunity to explore driver safety. This is also a time to emphasize that adaptations are available to allow an older adult to continue driving safely, despite physical or cognitive changes. These can be as simple as staying off highways and not driving at night, to more complex vehicle adaptations. |
Other opportunities for discussing driver safety include making comments when a family member is transporting an older adult somewhere, such as “it’s nice to spend time with you” or “I’m glad you let me drive today”; creating a positive attitude toward life without driving responsibilities such as not having the cost of keeping up a car and paying insurance; and discussing the possibility of limiting when or where he or she drives to stay safe on the road.
“Everyone is different and the solutions need to be custom designed for each individual,” says McGuire. “It is often hard for families, and this is part of the reason occupational therapy is an important part of society—occupational therapy practitioners have special skills for considering all the factors.” Occupational therapy practitioners can provide families with materials on older driver safety, can support families when bringing up the topic, and can look at older adults holistically to provide tailored information. “Driving is a critical occupation that we need to understand and analyze,” says McGuire. “It is one part of the larger issue of community mobility, which is a critical component of being able to live life to its fullest.”
Resources:
