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Safe Driving Tips for Seniors

by Kendall VanBlarcom
written by Kendall VanBlarcom

With increasing age, it’s important to stay aware and engage in safe driving tips for seniors. This is true if you are approaching in your senior years or if you are caring for an older adult.

Many people are reluctant to give up driving, which makes sense since driving can be a signifier of independence. If that is true for you or someone you love, know that you can identify strategies to help you or your loved. Then, it is possible to stay on the road, safely, for longer.

Plan Ahead

Just as with other changes in life, a little planning ahead can go a long way. So, while continued driving is the goal, one of the safe driving tips for seniors is to acknowledge that someday you may not be able to do so.

So, for example, when you are out doing shopping, notice ways to get your shopping done without traveling for a long distance. Maybe there is a market nearby you’ve never tried, or your favorite store might offer delivery. Similarly, take notice of carpool opportunities and let your friends and family know you are interested in sharing rides. This way, even while you are still driving on your own, you won’t need to do so 100% of the time.

Evaluating Your Driving

When considering a senior’s driving fitness, try asking professionals. Every driver needs good vision, healthy hearing, and awareness of how to manage any physical limitations or chronic conditions. Discuss the topic of driving at doctors’ appointments, when seeing therapists, and in family conversations. It can be awkward at first, but once the communication lines are open, the senior you love may find relief in being able to talk about the issue candidly.

After all, safe driving tips for seniors can come from the senior themselves. Once you are talking about their concerns, they might voice their own preferences. For example, an older adult may ask for help driving at night, or they might prefer to have a family member drive them to a weekly event for company. There are many senior transportation options to explore.

Stay Engaged with Safe Driving Tips for Seniors

Every adjustment in life can be uncomfortable, but as we age it can be essential to talk through the changes ahead. For some older adults, it may be time to stop driving completely. Both for their own safety and the safety of others. In different situations, implementing a few safe driving tips for seniors might allow the older adult you love to drive for a while longer on their own.

Whatever your situation, talk through feelings that come up. Enlist friends and family members to help the older driver you love to make these changes with confidence. Plus, know there are always professionals to talk to, therapists and counselors like Kendall who are familiar with the concerns and fears of senior citizens and older adults.

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Senior woman driving car
Driving

Road Safety for Older Drivers

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

Road safety is an absolute priority at every age with so many factors both inside and outside our control affecting our wellbeing while we’re traveling. The reality is that even with education and legislative precautions, road accidents happen and in some cases even fatalities. Regardless of how far we progress, road safety remains a community responsibility that we should all prioritize as more than 38,000 people still die annually in the US due to road accidents.

While we are all committed to prioritizing health and safety in our cars and other vehicles there is always more that we can be doing. Even with adherence to road rules and speed limits, making sure to take regular driving breaks, and observing road conditions, we can’t ignore the additional risk factors that affect our older drivers in particular. In fact, uniting around this and finding ways we can support our older drivers to stay safe without compromising their independence is an essential conversation for us to have with our family and friends, as well as our wider community. Keep in mind though, that these conversations centered around our older drivers need to be empathetic and inclusive. The organization Arrive Alive emphasizes that we can’t take a one size fits all approach saying, “Rigid age boundaries do not take into consideration the fact that aging is a process that does not start at the same age for each and every individual, nor does it progress at the same pace.”

To help make these conversations possible, the experienced team at Hussey Fraser Solicitors has shared this infographic, ‘Road Safety For Older Drivers’. The graphic explains different medical conditions that can affect older drivers, prompts for how to talk about safe driving, and essential statistics that can be used for health promotion no matter what age bracket you fall into. Above all, this helpful graphic is a great road map, if you will, to start working together to have supportive, informed conversations that encourage safe driving whether you’re behind the wheel, a passenger or a concerned relative. Stay safe and look out for the ones you love wherever they’re going and whatever stage of their driving journey they’re at.

Road safety for Older Drivers

 

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Exploring Senior Transportation Options
Driving

Exploring Senior Transportation Options

by Kendall VanBlarcom
written by Kendall VanBlarcom
It is important for seniors to remain active. So, senior transportation options are essential. Isolation can lead to loneliness, and isolation can occur when a senior or older adult stops driving. In addition, many seniors need reliable transportation in order to get to doctor’s appointments and purchase household items, such as groceries. Exploring Senior Transportation Options
Changes in life can bring discomfort. If you or an older adult you love has to give up driving, and fears losing their independence, talk through this transition with a counselor to explore options.

Connect with Friends and Family Members

Having active social connections is good for your health because you can help each other through good times (and bad) and offer support when needed. Sometimes that support can be transportation. Talk to friends and family members about their ability to help with errands, doctors’ appointments, and trips to social gatherings. Even if they aren’t able to help, they may know someone who can.

Besides, a weekly trip could be a wonderful way to strengthen relationships you already have or bond with new people. Taking the time to connect with others—and in this case getting needed errands accomplished—is an essential part of healthy aging.

Reach Out for Community Support

If you are involved with a senior center or a place of worship, ask about senior transportation options. Many of these organizations have buses or rideshare programs in place to help elder adults continue to live alone. Sometimes services ask for contributions. While it may not be free, it could be an optimal solution and could even lead to new friendships.

Even if you don’t have a relationship already in place, you may be able to connect with a senior living facility. Some organizations allow seniors outside of their communities to benefit from their senior van routes, too. There may be a route they already have in place that could be just what you or a senior you love needs. Contact senior services agencies in your areas for information.

Look at Public Senior Transportation Options

Depending on where you live, public transportation may be an option. In cities with large, local transportation systems, you may even have access to paratransit buses. Unlike fixed-route service, paratransit buses provide transit to individuals in need of pre-arranged trips.

Also, typically, there are senior discounts for public transportation services. And, most buses have the equipment to transport wheelchairs and individuals in need of special attention smoothly and safely.
If you are worried about your own driving or are concerned about the driving abilities of someone you care about, it may be time to explore alternate senior transportation options. There are plenty of reasons to leave the driving to someone else, from hearing issues to slower reaction times and medications.

Explore your options and weigh your needs before committing to a senior transportation option. Every change in life takes some adjustment. Kendall Van Blarcom is a senior helping seniors. A dedicated professional, Kendall can help you, or a senior citizen you love, through the transitions of older adulthood.

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Exploring Senior Transportation Options
Driving

Exploring Senior Transportation Options Copy

by Kendall VanBlarcom
written by Kendall VanBlarcom
It is important for seniors to remain active. So, senior transportation options are essential. Isolation can lead to loneliness, and isolation can occur when a senior or older adult stops driving. In addition, many seniors need reliable transportation in order to get to doctor’s appointments and purchase household items, such as groceries. Exploring Senior Transportation Options
Changes in life can bring discomfort. If you or an older adult you love has to give up driving, and fears losing their independence, talk through this transition with a counselor to explore options.

Connect with Friends and Family Members

Having active social connections is good for your health because you can help each other through good times (and bad) and offer support when needed. Sometimes that support can be transportation. Talk to friends and family members about their ability to help with errands, doctors’ appointments, and trips to social gatherings. Even if they aren’t able to help, they may know someone who can.
Besides, a weekly trip could be a wonderful way to strengthen relationships you already have or bond with new people. Taking the time to connect with others—and in this case getting needed errands accomplished—is an essential part of healthy aging.

Reach Out for Community Support

If you are involved with a senior center or a place of worship, ask about senior transportation options. Many of these organizations have buses or rideshare programs in place to help elder adults continue to live alone. Sometimes services ask for contributions. While it may not be free, it could be an optimal solution and could even lead to new friendships.
Even if you don’t have a relationship already in place, you may be able to connect with a senior living facility. Some organizations allow seniors outside of their communities to benefit from their senior van routes, too. There may be a route they already have in place that could be just what you or a senior you love needs. Contact senior services agencies in your areas for information.

Look at Public Senior Transportation Options

Depending on where you live, public transportation may be an option. In cities with large, local transportation systems, you may even have access to paratransit buses. Unlike fixed-route service, paratransit buses provide transit to individuals in need of pre-arranged trips.
Also, typically, there are senior discounts for public transportation services. And, most buses have the equipment to transport wheelchairs and individuals in need of special attention smoothly and safely.
If you are worried about your own driving or are concerned about the driving abilities of someone you care about, it may be time to explore alternate senior transportation options. There are plenty of reasons to leave the driving to someone else, from hearing issues to slower reaction times and medications.
Explore your options and weigh your needs before committing to a senior transportation option. Every change in life takes some adjustment. Kendall Van Blarcom is a senior helping seniors. A dedicated professional, Kendall can help you, or a senior citizen you love, through the transitions of older adulthood.

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