The management of Alzheimer’s patients is known to place a heavy burden on caregivers and family – and this is evident when communicating to the patient that he or she is not allowed to drive anymore. There is significant differences in the ways families approach this difficult task – No two families dealing with dementia will resolve transportation issues in exactly the same way. Roles and relationships within families can affect decisions about when and how a person should stop driving.
Where the caregivers are not the family members it is important for the caregivers to be aware that family members tend to follow long-established patterns for making decisions. It is unrealistic to think that patterns will change when handling a difficult issue like driving safety and that disagreements might be rather intense.
Disagreements in families are often the result when individuals do not have the same opportunities to assess driving abilities. Having factual information about driving behaviour does not guarantee families will reach consensus on when to limit driving. However, frequent, open communication about specific, observed behaviours and concerns may help to reduce differences.
Everyone involved in caring for the person with dementia can help by focusing on the key issues – the self-respect of the person with dementia and the safety of everyone on the road.
The Developers of the Arrive Alive website has decided to assist our caregivers and family members by adding a section to the website titled “Alzheimer’s and Road Safety”. This will provide guidance on how to communicate with the Alzheimer’s patient and how to approach the transition from driver to passenger.
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