Driving Safety And Dementia Care

Dementia Care

A dementia diagnosis does not automatically mean that you should stop driving. One in three dementia sufferers still operates a vehicle. Whether or not the person can still drive safely is what matters most. If your senior loved one is suffering from dementia, their ability to drive can be negatively affected.

For those who drive frequently or have been driving for a long time, driving may feel simple and natural. It is a challenging task that calls for quick thinking in addition to sensory (hearing, vision) and motor skills. This is why many memory care and dementia care experts advise people suffering from dementia disorders not to drive.

Dementia And Driving

A safe driver should have a variety of cognitive talents, such as:

Focus and attention: Required to switch between driving activities while “reading” the road.

Visuospatial abilities: Needed to maintain the proper speed, distance, and road position.

Problem-solving abilities: Needed to handle any difficulties on the road like obstacles or diversions.

Judgment and decision-making skills: such as the ability to anticipate and plan for the activities of other road users

Reaction skills: such as the ability to respond fast to avoid an accident.

These skills are significantly more negatively impacted by the progress of dementia. This means that eventually, everyone suffering from dementia disorders will be unable to operate a vehicle safely. Each person has a different threshold for how rapidly this occurs.

In the middle stage of dementia, the majority of drivers with Alzheimer’s disease will need to quit driving. Early signs of some types of dementia indicate that driving may no longer be possible. Examples include visual hallucinations in dementia with Lewy bodies and impulsive behavior in frontotemporal dementia.

Other Conditions That Impair Driving

In the opinion of dementia care experts, many persons who suffer from dementia also have other medical issues that could impair their ability to drive. Arthritis is a prevalent condition in older adults, as are vision and hearing issues. A person’s ability to turn their head may be diminished if their neck is affected. Maneuvers like pushing out into traffic can become much more difficult as a result.

In some seniors, muscle weakness can make it challenging to perform bodily actions like steering or braking.

The ability to drive may also be affected by certain medications, such as those used to treat depression or to aid with sleep. The doctor will advise the patient if they need to let their driving license agency know they are taking these medications.