For two years, her son had pleaded with her to stop driving. But it's only voluntary that you're facing up to the inevitable. Giving up the cars keys in old age has become one of the final passages of life, and for today's elderly people, accustomed to suburban living and a driving culture, it is a depressing passage indeed. People react to the end of their driving days much as they react to the loss of anything precious. There is frequently depression, a withdrawal from social life and other activities, and sometimes increased drinking, say elderly people and those who care for them.
People get angry and grief-struck about it.
Some will fight it tooth and nail. More and more elderly Americans and their families will struggle with these issues in the coming decades. There are 35 million Americans 65 and older, and 18.5 million of them drive. Like the nation as a whole, elderly people are more likely to live in suburban areas where access to public transit is limited. But even when older people can rely on relatives, friends or a retirement community's shuttle bus to get around, they often cling tenaciously to the car keys.