There’s no doubt that how your parents live and what they do is entirely dependent on their choices. They’re adults and get to make decisions about their own lives.
However, as your parents age, your responsibilities toward them, particularly regarding the decision for them to stop driving, become more important. You may need to consider if they can continue driving safely as they become seniors due to potential changes in their ability to make quick decisions and actions while behind the wheel.
Are You Liable?
In most cases, you will not be held responsible if your elder parent causes a road accident especially if they drive and own their own car. After all, the senior driving wasn’t your decision and you certainly didn’t force them to do so. Each of us is responsible for ourselves.
That said, the court may hold you liable if you allowed your senior parent to drive knowing that they suffer from a condition that renders them unfit for driving or if you gave your car to your nonagenarian parent and they caused an accident.
Imagine how that would feel too, if your aging parent was injured or even caused someone else’s death, because you didn’t have the heart to take away their keys.
Consider Getting a Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney
If you live in the state of Texas, you may consider hiring a Personal injury attorney in Houston to help you acquire a Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney (POA).
A Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney allows you to have your elderly parent redirect all matters related to driving their vehicle to you. This can be especially helpful because, at their senior age, your parents may not be able to attend to their vehicle’s needs.
Are Senior Parents More Prone to Car Accidents?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise that if your senior parent suffers from conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or cataracts, they are more vulnerable to car accidents that could lead to death or leave them severely injured.
However, not all senior drivers are unsafe and your parents may continue to drive safely well into their older years. Your senior parents may continue to drive safely as long as they take regular health examinations, vision assessments, and hearing checks.
At What Age Should Elderly Parents Stop Driving?
Technically and legally, there is no set age when your elderly parents should stop driving. Your senior parents can keep driving until the day they die as long as their health is good enough and they keep taking visual and written tests to verify their driving abilities.
Specific medical conditionsare the only reason that the law acknowledges that could keep your elderly parent from continuing to drive.
Depending on where you live, senior parents over the age of 70 may be mandated to review their driving licenses in person before they can legally drive again. If you or your doctor wants your senior parents’ driving abilities evaluated, their driving license may be suspended until your state’s DMV confirms the results.
Can a Doctor Stop an Elderly Parent From Driving?
Your doctor can notify the health department in your area whenever they diagnose your parent with a disorder that can impair their driving. If your senior parents pass health checks and a driving test they can continue to lawfully enjoy driving around to run their errands.
If you have a reason to believe that your senior is no longer physically or mentally capable of operating an automobile, you should request a wellness assessment and have your doctor immediately notify the DMV of any condition that can make driving risky.
Endnote
You should respect your senior parent’s privacy and find a polite way to discuss their driving capabilities in an understanding manner to help you handle the situation tactfully. You may opt to have someone else like a lawyer or doctor talk to them because your elderly parents may be more receptive to the opinions of people they don’t know personally.
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