Older Driver Safety Conversations

Beth Tracton-Bishop, Ph.D, Gerontologist with The Hartford Advance 50 Team provides guidelines for starting a family conversation on driving.

For older drivers, limiting driving presents practical problems and can cause strong emotions, from sadness to anger. Family members themselves may feel angry, frustrated, or guilty about depriving their loved one of the freedom of driving. Despite these concerns, family members and older drivers alike prefer to keep these conversations "in the family".

The Hartford Advance 50 Team and the MIT AgeLab developed information to help families initiate productive and caring family conversations with older adults about driving safety. These suggestions are based on our joint, original research with drivers over the age of 50, including:

• A nationally representative survey.
• Focus groups with older adults who have modified their driving.
• Interviews with family caregivers of persons with dementia.

Preparing for a Conversation

Successful family conversations begin with good preparation and caring communication.

Having a Conversation

Our research showed that older adults preferred that the majority of conversations about elderly driving be held with family members.

Help Beyond the Conversation

Most older drivers will agree to limit or stop driving after patient, caring conversations with family members.