BY SHERI PORTER
Even folks who have been driving for decades eventually experience a decline in their ability to drive safely. Chalk it up to changes in vision, hearing and general physical ability -- unwelcome gifts that come with longevity.
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Family physicians who've had long-standing, close relationships with patients may be in the best position to broach the topic of when a driver should relinquish the car keys.
It's an important subject for family physicians to discuss with older patients and their families, said AAFP President Michael Fleming, M.D., of Shreveport, La. "Telling a loved parent that he or she can no longer drive is one of the most difficult issues a family faces. I tell my families to let me be the bad guy."
Fleming talks to patients about the real possibility of injuring themselves or others, and he explains the liability risk of losing everything after a lifetime of hard work should an accident occur.
A free patient education resource on this topic is available from the AAFP. "Decisions About Driving: A Toolkit for Older Drivers and Their Families" consists of five handouts that include information on how to get by without driving, checkslists allowing both patients and their families to assess driving skills, and tips on how to help a loved one make the transition from driver to passenger.
The kit was developed through a cooperative agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Kits are available in packages of 10. Order online at http://www.aafp.org/shop/978 or call the AAFP order department at (800) 944-0000 and ask for item #978. Expect a small shipping charge.
The handouts in the tool kit are also available as PDF files on the AAFP Web site at http://www.aafp.org/x23744.xml. Help using PDF documents is available at the site.
To reach writer Sheri Porter, e-mail sporter@aafp.org.
FP Report is published by the
AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2004 by
American Academy of Family Physicians.
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