DRIVING

&DEMENTIA

This information is provided as a service by:

Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of the Medical Inspector &

Geriatrics and Extended Care Strategic Healthcare Group

810 Vermont Ave NW

Washington, DC 20420

Some drivers with dementia 

absolutely refuse to give up their 

cars. For their own safety, they may 

require active intervention to prevent 

them from driving, including hiding 

the keys, disabling or hiding the car, 

or selling the car itself.

Resources for Assessing Skills

• State Motor Vehicle Departments 

can review a person’s ability 

to drive. Family members can trigger a reevaluation by the state 

licensing office. 

• VA Medical Centers often have 

staff available to evaluate skills of 

a driver with dementia. Ask your 

primary care provider to request a 

screening.

• Community organizations in your 

area may offer a driving skills 

evaluation program. Check with 

the Association of Driver 

Rehabilitation Specialists. 1-800-

290-2344 There is usually a fee for 

this service.

Identification Cards 

• All states provide identification 

cards to non-drivers. These are 

similar to a driver’s license and can 

be used for identification purposes. 

Finding Transportation 

Services

Families and friends are often willing to 

assist with transportation needs, if asked.

Specialized transportation targets 

groups such as the disabled or 

elderly. Such services can provide the 

supervision and personal assistance 

often required by persons later in the 

disease. Check with the Area Agency 

on Aging for assistance at 1-800-

677-1116.

Public transportation, including city 

buses, taxis, and specialized vans, 

may be an option for those with mild 

dementia. For most older and disabled 

people there are special fares that 

make this an attractive option.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Office of the Medical Inspector
The family of a person diagnosed 

with dementia must act upon 

many issues: medical, legal, financial, 

and social. Of all these, driving is 

the one that must be confronted most 

immediately. The dementia patient 

operating an automobile may put him 

or herself and others at risk.

This guide helps persons with 

dementia and their families as they 

consider safety and driving risk. It 

provides suggestions for monitoring, 

limiting, and stopping driving.

While medical care can help manage 

dementia, it cannot cure it, and 

eventually individuals with the disease 

must stop driving. However, there 

is no easy answer as to when this 

decision must be made.

Difficulties 

American life is built around the 

car: distances between home, work, 

shopping, and school are measured 

in miles, not blocks. More than 

just getting around, driving has an 

emotional component. It represents 

competence, independence, and 

freedom: drivers have choices that 

nondrivers lack. Drivers with dementia 

often change their driving patterns, 

driving only during daylight hours, for 

instance, or driving only on familiar 

routes to keep using their cars as long 

as they can. It is hard to quit driving, 

but quitting is something they and 

their families must consider sooner or 

later. 

Warning Signs

• Getting lost in familiar places

• Near misses

• Moving violations or warnings

• Crashes

• Confusing brake and gas pedals

• Incorrect signaling

• Trouble making turns

• Driving in a wrong lane

• Confusion at exits

• Parking poorly

• Hitting curbs

• Driving too slow or too fast

• Reacting slowly

• Not seeing danger early enough

• Being angry while driving

• Not obeying traffic signs 

It is important for family members 

to pay attention to these driving 

behaviors and take the wheel if 

necessary. If the warning signs persist 

on other trips, the family should 

discuss the dangers with the driver, 

other relatives, and the health care 

team to decide whether further 

monitoring, limiting the driving, or 

giving the car up entirely is 

appropriate.

Easing the Transition

It is best to start such discussions 

early in the disease before any 

warning signs appear. This allows the 

person with dementia to participate 

fully in the plans before the disease 

makes such participation difficult, and 

it allows the whole family to look into 

transportation alternatives and become 

comfortable using them while it is 

still a choice and not a necessity.

Short-term counseling can help some 

mildly impaired persons understand 

their driving problems as well as 

helping them cope with their very real 

sense of loss.

As the disease progresses, many 

persons actively resist making 

changes. They may require more 

direct approaches. Meeting with 

respected figures such as doctors, 

lawyers, or police officers can help. 

Written instructions may be necessary 

to reinforce the message that the 

driver should not drive.