Older adults' perspectives on driving cessation

Relinquishing the privilege to drive is a difficult issue for older adults. To better understand factors that influence driving decisions and to identify approaches that could help ease the transition to a non-driving status, we conducted focus groups with elders who had recently stopped driving. Results demonstrate that the decision to stop driving is reluctantly made by elders on their own or after prompting from others. While all have other means of transportation, a sense of loss of independence remains. Participants urged policy makers to address older driver issues and were proponents of developing procedures to identify at-risk drivers. They also stressed the importance of making plans for retirement from driving. Findings suggest that while there is “life after driving,” efforts are needed to help older drivers, and their families develop a plan for driving cessation that includes identifying the appropriate time to stop and acceptable transportation alternatives to driving.