What Does Defensive Driving Mean for Your Elderly Adult?
Elderly Care Modesto CA – What Does Defensive Driving Mean for Your Older Adult?
Defensive driving is a specific type of driving that helps your elderly family member to be safer behind the wheel. This style of driving keeps your elderly family member engaged in the driving process and aware of what’s going on around her.
She Needs to Leave Space Around Her
Driving defensively means that your senior is leaving herself an out in any driving situation. If she needs to brake suddenly or switch lanes to avoid another car, she can do so if she’s leaving enough space around her. This is not as easy to do in crowded driving situations, but it’s something she needs to be actively trying to do.
Intersections Require Additional Attention
Even if your senior has the right of way at an intersection, she may need to let someone else go if they’re an out of control driver. This is why paying extra attention at intersections is so important. Knowing the rules of the road is definitely important, but avoiding an obstacle is just as important.
Distractions Should Be Reduced as Much as Possible
The phone, the radio, and even directions from a mapping device can all be a distraction. Encourage your senior to reduce her use of these types of items. GPS devices are wonderful and can be very helpful, but she needs to program the address into the device when she’s sitting still and not when she’s driving.
She Needs to Move with the Flow of Traffic
Many elderly adults become frightened behind the wheel. They don’t want to get into an accident, so they drive more cautiously than they really should. This can lead to your senior holding up traffic or needlessly slowing down the lane that she’s in. If your senior is having trouble staying with the flow of traffic, she might need to consider other options.
She Needs to Acknowledge When it’s Better Not to Drive
Having other options, such as elderly care providers who can handle the driving, can be tremendously helpful if the weather is bad or if your senior is uncomfortable driving during heavy traffic. Keep in mind that if your senior is able to drive safely at other times, that doesn’t necessarily mean that she shouldn’t be able to. Giving her safe alternatives can help her to make better driving decisions overall.
If your senior needs even more help with defensive driving, it might be time for her to take a defensive driving course designed specifically for aging adults. Many insurance companies will also offer a discount for taking these types of courses, so that’s added incentive.