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Villarreal & Begum Last Updated Date: April 9th, 2020

How to Break the News That An Elderly Relative is Too Old to Drive

multi-vehicle crashes

Last week, a San Antonio car accident was caused by an elderly man driving on the wrong side of the road. He didn’t cause much harm to the people he crashed into. Unfortunately, he had to get airlifted to the hospital because his health was in danger. This should be a huge warning to San Antonio drivers who drives on a consistent basis. Elderly people driving isn’t always a bad thing. But, for some people there comes a time when you have to simply cut down on the driving. Sometimes you just have to stay at home or have someone else drive you.

The big problem is that very few elderly people want to admit that they are poor drivers or that they are losing some of the cognitive and responsive functions that help them while driving. It’s very similar to explaining to a child that they can’t do something. Except this person has lived for a very long time, and their pride is in jeopardy.

Let’s take a look at some ways you can break the news that an elderly relative is too old to drive.

Show Them The Damage They Have Done

Has your elderly relative knocks over the mailbox or a plant when cruising out of the driveway? Try showing them the damage they have caused. If you simply tell them that they are no good at driving anymore, they’ll most likely just brush you off. When you give them the tangible evidence of their poor driving it becomes real for them. They start to see that their driving is reckless.

Bring People They Love Into The Equation

An interesting technique that works is bringing up the safety of their loved ones. Let’s say the elderly person has grandkids. A good way to explain the danger they are causing is by talking about how their own grandkids are just getting started driving on the road. When they start to realize that they could hurt their own grandkids or other people’s grandkids it becomes more personal and dangerous to them.

Propose Alternatives Solutions To Driving

There are plenty of alternatives to driving yourself. For example, you can volunteer your own driving services whenever the person wants to go to the store. You might also look into public transportation so that they can quickly hop on a bus in order to run errands. Nursing homes are also a viable option. Many people really enjoy the comfort and hospitality they can find in a nursing home.

Let us know in the comments section if you have any questions. Are there any other techniques that you have used in the past? If you have done this before, how did it go? Drop a line below and let us know your best approaches.