Poll Results: “How should we as a society determine when someone with dementia should stop driving?”
A recent poll of 119 American people were asked the question: “How should we as a society determine when someone with dementia should stop driving?”
The results were:
Regular testing after a certain age 63% (75 votes)
Doctor’s recommendation 19% (23 votes)
Caregiver’s recommendation 15% (18 votes)
Senior’s own determination 3% (3 votes)
Total Votes: 119
Caregivers who feel a patient or family member’s dementia interferes with their ability to drive safely are usually correct in their assessment, new guidelines suggest.
The American Academy of Neurology released new guidelines Monday to help doctors and caregivers determine when people with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia should stop driving.
Forcing an Alzheimer’s sufferer to stop driving is one the most difficult decisions families have to make and needs to be handled with sensitivity, said Dr. Donald Iverson of the Humboldt Neurological Medical Group in Eureka, Calif., the lead author of the guidelines.
“Loss of autonomy is particularly difficult for people of this generation,” Iverson said at the Academy’s annual meeting in Toronto.
Not only did the generation of people who are getting Alzheimer’s today survive the Great Depression and the Second World War; they have spent more than 50 years behind the wheel.
“To have to face giving up the keys is an admission of their own mortality,” Iverson said.
However, families and caregivers often feel guilty of “dobbing in”, or may suffer retaliation from the relevant family member. Often they also feel too close to the issue to make a justified decision. That is where an assessment with the patient’s doctor, or a referral to a specialist driving assessor may lead to the most suitable result.
There are the cases where the person is able to continue driving for a period of time, or is able to drive under certain conditions. If this is the end result, careful and frequent monitoring is essential to minimise the risk as symptoms progress.
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