How to Know When It is Time to Stop Driving

As you get older, there may come a time when driving is no longer safe and you need to know when it is time to hang up your car keys. When it comes to retirement communities West Bloomfield residents can get transportation, so they can still get around easily without having to drive themselves. This ensures that you maintain your freedom and independence without taking the risk of getting behind the wheel.

What Can Cause Seniors to Give Up Their Keys?

General health issues are the most common reasons seniors have to stop driving. A variety of health conditions can impair your ability to drive safely and when you continue to drive, you are putting yourself and everyone who shares the road with you at risk.

The following health conditions can cause symptoms that make driving unsafe: arthritis, dementia, stroke, diabetes, hearing or vision deficits and Parkinson's disease. Medication side effects can also be a reason why seniors need to give up their keys because certain side effects, such as dizziness and drowsiness, can make driving unsafe.

Signs that You Are Already Not Driving Capably

As people notice that their driving abilities are not as sharp as they once were, they start to change their driving habits. This is a good thing, but once you start changing your habits significantly, it is time to start thinking about giving up driving completely. Some driving habit changes that might indicate a need to retire your driving privileges include: not driving at night because it is hard to see, forgetting how to get to familiar places, no longer using highways due to fear or anxiety, no longer driving outside of your community, no longer listening to the radio when driving because it is too distracting.

Signs Indicating It is Time to Stop Driving Right Away

The above signs show that you might want to reconsider driving. However, the following signs indicate that it is time to stop driving completely because it has become too dangerous. These signs include: running traffic lights or signs, getting lost driving to places that are familiar, getting confused by traffic lights, hitting other vehicles, veering into other lanes unintentionally and not being able to see or hear what is around you. All of these are dangerous and can result in a serious vehicle accident.

As you can see, retirement communities in West Bloomfield make it easy to make the transition from driving independently to giving up your keys to ensure safety. You can still get around, but will not have to put yourself in danger by getting behind the wheel when it is no longer a good idea.