I enjoyed the Alzheimer's Partnership conference yesterday. Elizabeth Dugan, author of The Driving Dilemma shared some very scary photographs of accidents caused by elders and discussed the types of assessments available to determine driver safety. Testing assesses the person's vision, cognitive and mobility abilities needed to quickly respond to driving demands. States greatly vary in regulations related to who is responsible to report a dangerous driver.
My own mother's doctor reported her early stage Alzheimers to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles. They suspended her license but that didn't stop her from driving. I called the police near her home in Connecticut and they wouldn't do anything unless she was caught in the act of driving. The transition between respecting the person's rights and taking them away is the most emotionally wrenching stage of the disease. Fortunately, after my husband disabled her car, she forgot about the whole issue and my sister moved it to her own back yard. Technically- did my sister steal? Good material for an ethics class.
Resources:
The Driving Dilemma
Caring and Driving
SeniorDrivers.org
ITN America(transportation alternatives)
thehartford.com/alzheimers/
Driver Rehabilitation Specialists
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