Dementia & Driving Skills

Caregiving Services that Patients & Families Trust

When your loved one is living with dementia, it is important to recognize that their decline will inevitably impact driving skills and safety. If possible, it’s best to consider alternatives and have a conversation about relinquishing privileges early-on in the diagnosis, so that you and your loved one have time to come to terms with the upcoming loss of independence.

The Dangers of Driving with Dementia

Driving with dementia can be dangerous, and it becomes more dangerous as your loved one’s condition advances. How does dementia affect driving? Memory impairment can impact your loved one’s ability to recognize traffic signs and signals, drive too fast or too slow, or become confused while driving. As memory impairment worsens and dementia progresses, the senses are affected. Visual agnosia, caused by changes in the brain, may impair the ability to comprehend visual images, although there is nothing physically wrong with the eyes. Also, sense of perception and depth may be altered. These changes will cause safety concerns – especially when it comes to driving.

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When Should a Person with Dementia Stop Driving?

The Alzheimer’s Association offers the following signs of unsafe driving as evidence your loved one may need to consider staying off the road:

• Forgetting how to locate familiar places
• Failing to observe traffic signs and signals
• Making slow or poor decisions in traffic
• Driving at an inappropriate speed
• Becoming angry or confused when driving

Any one of these signs should be a signal that it’s time to have a discussion with your loved one about that fact that it’s time to stop driving. This could be an emotionally charged discussion, so it’s best to plan for it when there’s enough time and patience for everyone involved.

How to Stop Someone with Dementia from Driving

Losing driving privileges is a huge loss of independence and will inevitably be an emotional struggle for all parties involved. If diagnosed early enough, families should initiate a conversation with their memory-impaired loved one about driving abilities. 

If the person living with dementia is on board with maintaining his or her safety – and the safety of others on the road – she or he will be more likely to accept the revocation of driving privileges. When this time comes, families should offer alternatives for transporting dementia patients, such as helping with transportation for errands and doctor’s appointments or offering public transportation as an option. 

In the event that your loved one becomes angry or combative during this process, remember the 5 R’s. It may take more than one discussion. If your loved one is very insistent, you may have to get their doctor involved. In some states, upon a diagnosis of later-stage dementia, driver’s licenses are revoked. Check with your local DMV to learn more about your state’s guidelines.

If no amount of reasoning is working, it may be up to you or another loved one to take the keys away. There will undoubtedly be anger, but it might be the only way to stop a person with dementia from driving if they refuse to stop willingly. It will help keep your loved one, and everyone else on the road, safe. 

Let Us Help with the Driving

In addition to our dementia home care services, Homewatch CareGivers^® also offers transportation assistance. Your loved one may more easily accept help from a person outside of the family. Home care technology such as Homewatch Connect™ can reduce the need to leave the home for things like routine appointments. Plus, features of Homewatch Connect™ help those living with dementia stay connected with distant friends and family and stick to their medication schedules.

Contact us online or call (888) 404-5191 to schedule a free in-home consultation with your local Homewatch CareGivers.