Making sure your parent stays safe on the road
Taking away your teenager's driving privilege will
spark an argument, but taking away your own
parent's driving privilege is a whole different battle.
With four million people suffering from Alzheimer's,
a type of dementia, and others battling various kinds
of debilitating diseases, family members often have
to make that painful decision for their loved ones.
"Brain disorders can seriously affect a person's
ability to carry out daily activities including driving
a car," says Mitchell Rubin, MD, medical director of
Virtua Health's neuroscience program. "It's tough to
deny adults, especially those much older than you,
the right to drive - the right to their independence.
But there is a program that can help you make
that decision."
The Virtua Rehabilitation Network offers a Driving
Assessment Program that can help families and
doctors decide if a person can safely continue driving.
"This program was designed to provide an objective
assessment of a person's ability to drive," says Dr. Rubin.
"The individual takes a two-part test, and the physician
makes a recommendation based on the results. That
way, family members don't feel pressured to make
a decision alone, and the person in the program is
less likely too feel any anger or resentment toward
their loved ones."
Testing "motor" skills
The first part of the driving assessment is a one- to
two-hour clinical evaluation performed by a licensed
occupational therapist who assesses the person's
strength, vision, dexterity and reaction time.
"The clinical evaluation tests the person's functional
strength and thought process," says Heather Eble, PT,
supervisor of the Virtua Rehabilitation Network. "Using
special equipment, we test the individual's grip strength,
ability to see and identify road signs, as well as his or
her brake reaction time."
The second part of the driving assessment is a
one- to two-hour on-the-road assessment where the
individual makes an appointment with a certified
driving school instructor. People in the program are
tested on the rules of the road; their ability to get in
and out of the car; how well they know and use the
car's functions; and how well they obey traffic laws.
Heading in the right direction
"Not all people in the program have to hand over their
keys," says Eble. "Some improve their abilities through
physical or occupational therapy, which addresses
musculoskeletal or neurological issues; consultations
with eye doctors to get stronger prescriptions; driving
lessons with certified driving instructors; or even
adaptive equipment such as hand controls for the
gas and brakes."
Dr. Rubin stresses the importance of the program:
"Whatever the decision may be, it's intended to keep
older adults, pedestrians and other drivers safe. And
it provides support to families concerned about a
loved one's driving abilities."
All results are compiled by the occupational
therapist and delivered to the physician who makes
the final decision. This Driving Assessment Program
is offered at Virtua Health's outpatient rehabilitation
location in Lumberton. For more information, call
1-888-Virtua-3 (1-888-847-8823).
PHYSICIAN PROFILE
Mitchell Rubin, MD, earned his medical
degree from the University
of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine. He completed
an internship at Lankenau
Hospital in Pennsylvania,
a neurology residency at
Columbia-Presbyterian
Hospital in New York and
a teaching appointment at UMDNJ-Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School. He is a board-certified
neurologist and the chief of neurology at Virtua
Memorial Hospital.