THE NEW YORK TIMES – When my father was declining from Alzheimer’s disease, my family often talked about when we should make him stop driving.
Of all his children, I held out the longest, hoping to preserve his freedom even as we gradually decreased the distance we would let him drive.
One day, while driving on a busy street, he asked his caregiver which was the gas pedal and which was the brake. Not long after, he hit a neighbor’s car while backing out of the driveway. That was when we put his old Audi up for sale.
Over the course of those years, I don’t remember my father’s doctors ever asking about his ability to drive, let alone advising him to stop.
Being a doctor myself, this did not come as a surprise. Few of us have the time or inclination in a brief office visit to wade into a fraught subject like when a patient should stop driving. Many doctors are also wary of breaching patient confidentiality by reporting impaired drivers to state authorities.
Yet doctors are perhaps uniquely qualified to address this issue. We treat many common conditions that affect the ability to drive, including seizures, heart arrhythmias, eye diseases and dementia.
We are privy to our patients’ abilities and to medications that may affect their driving. Our patients also tend to follow our advice on matters of health and lifestyle.
For all these reasons, states should make it mandatory for doctors to report medically impaired drivers to the Department of Motor Vehicles, while at the same time providing legal protections to those who do.
A final determination regarding fitness to drive would be made by the state. Society cannot leave a matter that so affects public health to family judgment.
Of course, revoking someone’s driving privileges is no small matter. In most of America, driving is essential for mobility and independence …
