Even though people have concerns about older adults driving who have cognitive impairments, those seniors are still driving, according to a new study.
That means caregivers need to start discussing driving and safety while the person with cognitive impairment can still get in on the discussion. Michigan Medicine conducted the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Researchers looked at more than 600 adults who were over 65 in Nueces County, Texas. The participants went through cognitive testing that showed they were likely cognitively impaired. Of them, 61.4% were still getting behind the wheel. This occurred even though about one-third of their caregivers were concerned about their ability to drive.
The team wanted to see how many older Latino and non-Latino white adults were driving and then look at the differences in those groups. But there were none, they say. They did find, though, that the more cognitive impairment any individual had, the less likely they were to be driving.
Many older people who were driving said they limited how much they drove, and tried to avoid driving in the rain or when it got dark.
“It is likely appropriate that some with mild cognitive impairment are still driving, but for some it may not be,” according to senior author Lewis B. Morgenstern, MD, professor of neurology, neurosurgery and emergency medicine at University of Michigan Medical School. He’s also a professor of epidemiology at the U-M School of Public Health.
“Patients and caregivers should discuss these issues with their health care providers and consider on the road driving evaluations to ensure safety,” Morgenstern added.
About 1 in every 9 Americans who are over the age of 65 — that’s about 6.7 million people — live with Alzheimer’s disease. Experts say that millions more have dementias related to Alzheimer’s disease. The conditions impair neuropsychological and visual skills that a person needs to drive safely.
In fact, a 2017 review of driving crash risks said that dementia had medium to large effects on driving impairment. It also found that people with dementia had a higher chance of failing a road test compared to those who don’t have the disease.
Start talking to people in your life who have cognitive impairments while they can understand the matter.
“Close family may have discussions with aging loved ones about Advance Driving Directives,” Morgenstern said. “These are agreements between an aging person and a loved one about having conversations about driving cessation.”
