Last week, I spoke about a patient and her ailing husband. I referenced the fact that he still was driving. What I don't think I shared with you was what I experienced and observed when I wheeled him out to his vehicle. The fact that I even use the word "Wheeled" should make antennas go up for some. Here I was wheeling this 90 year old man out to his car, so he could get into it and drive home.....hmmmmm. I maneuvered the wheelchair as close to his vehicle as possible. It was now time for him to get up and be on his way. Well, it became quickly apparent that he required assistance even standing up. I gave aid and he finally stood although requiring the use of his cane to mobilize. With one hand on his car and the other on his cane he made his way to the door of his car. He gingerly moved his way into the drivers seat closed the door and started the engine. While all of this is going on I am thinking to myself, gosh should he even be driving? This was reinforced to me when an observer sitting on a bench having a cigarette said to me...."is he going to drive?" Yes was my response....the bystander then feels it was his duty to tell me that I could be held liable for allowing him to drive. I was taken aback....."Yeah" he said....it's like giving keys to a drunk and telling him to go drive. There was a part of me that couldn't argue with him.
So today I thought I would see what our Motor Vehicle Branch has to say about that.....and this is what I found...."Class 5 to 8 drivers are required to have a Driver's Medical Exam at age 80 and every 2 years thereafter because this is an age where medical conditions affecting driving are more common. Even though you may be in good health, and believe it is unnecessary, the Driver's Medical Exam form must be completed and sent to us. The form is mailed out about 6 months before the 80th birthday, then every 2 years after that. For further information concerning this requirement, please carefully read the instructions on the back of the form you've received."
So basically, what they are telling me is that this guy is ok to drive. He obviously passed his medical test within the past 2 years. What also amazes me with the Motor Vehicle Branch is that they say you can "mail it in" so they don't even have to see you. I know if they saw this man they would revoke his licence on the spot. But you see this is the loop hole. If you have a sympathetic GP he might respond vaguly on the form thus giving the individual the green light, the individual then mails in the medical form and voila his licence is renewed for another two years. This bothers me. I personally don't think this man should have been driving. I don't think his reaction time was good. Should he have had the misfortune of having to deal with a situation immediately I don't think he could have. I did feel bad about assisting him to his car and letting him drive. If that was my father, I wouldn't have let him drive. It truly did seem to me like I was letting a drunk get behind a wheel. But he wasn't breaking any laws. What was I legally 
allowed to do in this situation? I personally think his licence should be rescinded. But then that opens up a whole new ball game for them. What would they do then for transportation? In that little town there aren't any regular buses, taxis are rare and expensive they don't have any family around. So how do they then get out and about and to appointments? Oh it all seems just so complicated.
allowed to do in this situation? I personally think his licence should be rescinded. But then that opens up a whole new ball game for them. What would they do then for transportation? In that little town there aren't any regular buses, taxis are rare and expensive they don't have any family around. So how do they then get out and about and to appointments? Oh it all seems just so complicated.What would you have done in this situation?
Hope you all are having a great day! Cheers!
15 comments:
That's thought provoking. You're right, though we feel that he shouldn't be driving, it's the only way to move about. Pity.
The Motor Vehicle branch should only renew licenses once they've seen them or their authorised GPs or clinics. If anything happens, then they should answer for gross negligence. There are people who could get away with the system.
While I agree that he shouldn't be diving I think I would have done the same thing that you did. You do not after all have the authority to tell him that he can't drive or take away his license.
Reading this reminded me of something I saw a few weeks ago. I was going towards my car in the parking lot and noticed an old man trying to get out of his car...it took him forever and he needed a cane to walk and was almost bent over in half. I thought to myself...and he was driving???? At that age they should be tested every year and be seen in person by the license bureau!! You can't tell me these drivers have the fast reaction time it takes to avoid certain accidents and such. It really is scary to see who's allowed on the road these days!! xox
Dealing with this issue in a big way with my mother who should not be driving.
Very difficult to pull the plug.
A lot of places have transportation services for people who cannot drive, though, it's more geared towards medical care...getting them rides to their doctor's appointments until they are physically able to drive again. Since you live in a small area though, they might not have that. You should still check in.
If they don't...and even though the patient tells you not to bother the rest of the family, I think that you still should. Call them up and let them know what is going on, that their mother/father is going to need help or at least transportation for a little while. According to the law they might be allowed to drive, but according to common sense they shouldn't. You have to go with common sense.
Mary Anne, well, I think in your position as a nurse, you should have someone investigate whether he is capable of driving, which clearly he is not. The thing is, when these old folks have an accident, they usually take a bunch of people with them, i.e., they plow into a bus stop filled with school children, etc. It's quite a common occurrence, so if you can prevent that from happening, it's a good thing. Don't feel guilty about it. He obviously slipped through the cracks somehow. Good luck, and keep us posted.
Josie
Since you are in Canada -I'm here in the States - different agencies may be available to provide some assistance but I don't know if there are counterparts in Canada to what some places in the states have. In Penna. we have the Area Agency on Aging which has mini-bus services for the elderly, for shopping, doctor visits, etc. For those not fitting that category, some healthcare facilities actually provide transportation services -even out in the boondocks, such as where I live. When I had to receive radiation treatments 4 years ago, Monday thru Friday, for about six weeks at a hospital about 50 plus miles from where I live, the hospital had a van service which circled through our county and picked up patients, took us all to the hospital and back home -from my front step for pick-up and delivery and all at no cost to me. (Can you imagine what, with the price of gasoline today -even then -that would have cost me/my daughter?
Churches sometimes provide help and assistance in transportation but that generally is available for parishioners but who knows, maybe if some churches were aware of the need, they would help, perhaps start a service for elderly of their own on a volunteer type basis. I dunno. Our church, when I had to have chemo plus physical therapy for months following my surgery four years ago, often coordinated with my daughter, who was pregnant at the time, had to get to her own appointments, and was also still working and those things often conflicted with my appointments and I was in no way able to drive for several months due to the issues with my back and the need for physical therapy so our church stepped in and got parishioners to transport me when needed. Later, when I was able to drive again, I provided the same service to others who had no means of transportation to get them to doctor visits and such. Not an easy thing to work out, but if enough are aware of the need, often there is help available. But people need to let their needs be known or others step in for them sometimes too. I definitely agree this gentleman most likely should not be driving though!
My late father-in-law would not give up his driver's license... although we all tried to get him to stop driving... and, eventually, he rear-ended a police car at a traffic light.
Nobody was hurt. But that finally did it: He stopped.
But the loss of independence was terrible for him.
You did nothing wrong in helping the old fella to the car... but I agree I wouldn't want to be on the road at the same time as him either.
I know how difficult it must be to have to give up driving - I know I'd feel housebound - but really, some seniors ARE dangerous on the road, especially the freeways. When they were younger, the speed limits were much lower than they are now and they tend to drive well below the limit in the left lane. The frustration of other drivers can lead to accidents while the seniors chug along on their way, totally oblivious to others OR, as in the case of my own Dad before he had to give up driving, cursing the young "yahoos" who speed.
Thank you all for your great comments. There are charitable organizations in their area that do offer services for picking up people and taking them to their destination. Like the cancer agency. If they had to go to cancer appointments the agency would arrange to have a driver pick them up and return them home after their appointment. But you have it ask and if you are not incline to do that then it is of no use. Also, these folks live in an area which has a very large retirement population and their is a lot of use of such services and hence planning ahead of time is a must.
If I had nursed the patient any longer I would have spoken to her about her husband and asked if they had alternative way of getting around....I would have explained to her what I observed....and my safety concerns....to determine my next step I think would have totally depended on her response to what I had said.
Again thank you all for your comments.....
You were certainly between a rock and a hard place on that one. Where do you draw the line between care giver to his spouse and the police who should be monitoring his ability to drive? And like you said, if he were your father he wouldn't be driving. Unfortunatly he isn't your father and those to whom he is a father don't seem to feel the need to acknowledge that their parents are aging and in need of some assistance. If my parents were still alive, I would do anything I could to help them out!
Hugs my friend!
A very difficult situation smalltown. I am over 70 and am still a good driver. I drive almost every day and am still sharp. But I see some of my older friends having had to give up driving and the loss of independence has had a huge effect on their lives. Even here where there are taxis, they don't want to take people on short journeys. Our whole way of life is geared towards the car. We live 1.5 Km from the bus stop, 3 km from the nearest store. I hope I know when I shouldn't drive anymore but I dread it happening for it will be truly difficult.
Oh gosh.. what a hard predicament! I probably would have done the same as you, though. It does seem od that people can mail in the form!
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my grandpa will be 96 July 19th and he just lost his liscense on Tuesday-he failed his road test(forgot to do a shoulder check, went 3km over the speed limit-on 200th in langley at lunchtime. if you know the area, he had to speed to survive lol, and for not signalling on a turn)
honestly i am amazed it took them this long. i can remember driving with him about 18yrs ago and he went through 2 stop signs-ack!
RN, I answered this when you first posted it as a comment at my place, and I'm glad to see you have brought it home.
There is no right answer that is fair to all. Clearly he has no business driving and must not be allowed to do so. However the entire infrastructure of both our countries centers around the use of the automobile. With the scarcity of energy and global climate change, that needs to change anyway over the long term, but for now, if we are going to deprive such people of their driving privilege as we must, we are responsible to also see that they are provided with the means to obtain the goods and services for which they depend on their cars.
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