Commentary: How to stay behind the wheel safely

For many, especially seniors in our community, nothing defines independence more than the ability to drive.

The freedom to run errands at-will, visit doctors or meet friends for lunch is important for quality of life, but it does not upstage safety.

Safe driving practices protect the driver and the public.

There have been several tragic incidents in recent years in which an elderly driver caused death or injury because of a medical issue or diminished cognitive capacity.

In 2003, an 86-year-old accidentally hit the accelerator then panicked and drove his Buick through a busy open-air market in Santa Monica, killing 10 people and injuring 63.

A 100-year-old man in 2012 backed over and injured 11 children outside a Los Angeles-area school.

These accidents underscore the importance of getting drivers evaluated as they age or encounter any medical issue that could affect their abilities behind the wheel.

But it is a sensitive subject to approach and families may look for help.

Hoag Hospital’s Driving Assessment and Training Program can determine whether a person should stay on the road and what steps they might take to become a better driver.

While these tests often apply to senior drivers, they are also used to evaluate anyone with spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries, amputees, and those who suffer from epilepsy, Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis.

Drivers facing assessment are often terrified, sometimes angry and almost always defensive because they feel we are there to take away their independence.

This is not the case.

There are two things clients and their families should know about the occupational therapists tasked with evaluating driving: We are not the DMV, and our assessments are not pass or fail. We offer clinical and behind-the-wheel assessments, making objective recommendations.

Our goal is to keep drivers on the road for as long as they are safe to be there, supporting independent driving and promoting driving wellness.

Getting this across to a driver who is about to undergo an assessment may help put them at ease and make the process a little less frightening.

Determining what makes someone safe is an individualized program that includes a clinical assessment and an on-road test.

We screen vision, cognitive ability and review medical history. We check to see how a client functions, their driving habits and how independent they are.

If we determine someone is safe, they continue to have the privilege to drive.

For those who have some deficiencies in their driving ability, this test is not the end.

There are things a client can do to reestablish themselves as a safe driver, including exercises that may help them overcome some physical or cognitive roadblocks.

If it is safest for the driver to give up their license, we can help families find resources to adjust to this major life change.

When it comes to deciding whether or not a driver should continue, families do not need to make that decision, nor do their doctors.

Family members are responsible for supporting their loved one in what can be an emotional time, and physicians need only to determine whether someone is medically stable to drive.

From there, we will take the wheel.

PURNIMA KARIA is an occupational therapist and certified driving rehabilitation specialist at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach.