My husband had to go through an evaluation for driving skills. He figured it would be easy peasy as he has driven one sort of thing or another since he was a kid.
They went over doing tasks and he is not able to correctly complete a 3 step task.
They tested his reaction times with a fake gas pedal and a brake. His reaction times were just under the low passing.
His peripheral reactions were markedly slow on the right side but pretty good, he passed that.
The recommendations will be for him to be able to drive very locally in our rural area, only during daytime hours.
He was okay with that as he rarely drives now anyway.
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Yesterday my MIL went to court for her Guardianship hearing. She is 87 with moderate dementia and she insists on driving but we have her vehicle at the farm.
She will be scheduled by her Guardian to have a Driver's Evaluation. She is very unhappy with that decision and told me she can drive just fine.
Sadly, I don't believe she can even make the walk out to where her car would be in her parking lot!
So it should be interesting to see what her test will be like compared to my husband's test.
The driving eval took about 90 minutes. They test thinking skills, reaction times, and a short visual screening.
I strongly encourage anyone who thinks someone should not drive to have one of these tests if you can convince them to!
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my dear dad, age 80 with dementia, simply refused to give up driving. His brave doctor in NY suspended his license but he continued to hop in the car and lie about driving. We recently moved him to be closer to family out-of-state, and lo and behold, he’s applying for a new license, lying on the form where it asks “is your license suspended in another state.” He thinks no one will find out. The form is long and he can’t fill it out correctly, and as his daughter, I cannot in good faith allow him to get behind the wheel.
This is an ongoing saga, and I understand he needs to feel independent, but my advice- please look out for the safety of others. A car is like a loaded gun... capable of destruction when put into the wrong hands!
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You should've heard the language (from a man who once abhorred foul language) when Dad was told the first time by the Dr he really couldn't drive anymore. It didn't matter that he had no idea what to do at a gas station, couldn't even back the car out of the garage or pull it in without hitting the doorframe, or that the mystery scratches kept appearing- No amount of talking to him about it worked; he just turned around and accused me or my cousin of damaging his car. Of course we seldom, if ever, drove it, but in his world, he's the best driver there is, and it just isn't possible that he would do something like that, and "I know what I'm doing! YOU are screwed up in the head."
As you good folks know- with dementia, no amount of reasoning, logic, threats, showing them the damage they caused, etc, works, and even if:
Your state does have an elder evaluation, or
The Doc writes a "prescription" for you to post on the fridge telling them they can't drive anymore (that will just get ripped up and thrown away, anyway}, or if
You know police officers personally and have them come to your house and TELL the person they can't drive anymore (!)...
It's all for naught, as they just won't and can't remember that ANY of that even happened in the first place, and they think it's all just lies anyway. So we hid the keys, and came up with all kinds of excuses, and that was fine, until...
Let me just warn you that you had better make sure you know about any and all sets of spare keys/fobs there might be kicking around! Just disable the car or get rid of it!! I thought there were only 2 sets of keys, and they were well hidden and stayed hidden. One day, (before he had declined further and needed all day aides) while I was away and my cousin (we live with Dad) was upstairs, Dad found another fob that we didn't even know about that got him in the car, and since it had push-button start, that was all he needed to take off and GO. Dad disappeared, and was gone for almost 48 hours. I cannot even begin to describe to you all how it felt to drive around sobbing, looking DESPERATELY for someone for hours on end, and to drive under the highway information sign with the silver alert for your own missing parent. I wanted to die, and I aged at least 25 years in the span between finding him missing, and the police finding him in New Hope, Pa on the side of the road, cold, out of gas, hungry, and completely off the rails (It's truly amazing what 2 days without the exelon patch will do to someone that has been using it consistently- He was hallucinating and lost the ablilty to even form sentences on the way back home. Back to an even keel just 1 day back on!)
Of course, he had to have a hybrid vehicle that gets GREAT gas mileage, making it take as long as possible (and take him as far away as possible) to run out of gas. We're from Long Island. Thank God the tank wasn't full. God only knows how very grateful we are that he wasn't in an accident. I and my family owe the good police who found him and took him to the station, fed him and kept him company my heart and sanity. We also owe God and the angel that must've accompanied him. Now I'm crying as I type this to you and I REPEAT-
Forget the DMV. Forget the Doctor, police, anybody telling them anything. For God's sake, forget "How would YOU feel, losing your independence, dignity, blahblahblah." STOP THEM AT ANY COST, before very, very bad things (that can and will) happen.
I reported my mom to the DMV because she almost ran us into the cement divider on the Pennsylvania Turnpike going 92 mph. Leading up to that it was clear that it was time to stop driving. The DMV immediately ordered a visual field exam and it showed her to be 5/8 blind from glaucoma. Her license was revoked in July 2018. She threw away all the ride information I gave her and kept driving. My sister took the car keys from her last month, though this is not legal unless you are on the registration. But Mom quickly had another set made by a special locksmith for $340. Recently she drove my brother the wrong way down a one-way street. All the while she's claiming that her driving and eyesight are fine and that she's being picked on for her age. After this information circulated in our family my nephew bought her car and today is her first day without one. It is sad but the most important thing is that they be stopped before they kill or hurt anyone. There are many news stories on the internet of folks who were told not to drive for medical reasons but did anyway, hurt or killed someone and go to prison.
I believe the DMV needs to offer a nationwide marketing blast (from billboards to mailers) informing everyone that these tests are not only available, they are essential to the safety of all concerned - the driver, other drivers on the road - all pedestriains walking or near a car (people/kids on bikes, motorcycles). One of the most difficult aspects of an elder or anyone with dementia losing independence is their losing their ability to drive and their insistence (and fight) that they can drive okay. If necessary unplug or take out the part in the car that won't allow a person to drive. I've known elders (clients) who call the police (on their own adult children) complaining of their car not starting or a loved one took their keys away - or they hide the extra set of keys. Many elders will fight 'til the end' to continue to drive - putting themselves and everyone else at risk. Gena
My mom lives a few hours away and had hers revoked by the state after they receiving a letter from a local policeman (bless that man). She had to take the written and driving test and could not pass (several times). We are in Texas.
I absolutely won't let my MIL drive as she has had speeding tickets and accidents and I couldn't live with myself if I gave her the car back and she killed someone.
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