Quotes: Trying to Take Away the Keys

(Nov. 13) -- Families are generally the first to spot the dangerous older driver, but they have a hard time dealing with the problem. A recent survey found that 75 percent of baby boomers say they have not spoken to their parents about driving safely, primarily because they don't want to start a fight. Here are some reports from the front.

"My 85-year-old mother sometimes drove erratically after taking medications for her arthritis. I suggested that driving while she was dizzy wasn't such a good idea. That didn't stop her. Even when her license expired, she kept going; she said she could always talk a policeman out of giving her a ticket. Then I told her she might not be covered in case of an accident. That did it."

"My Dad began showing signs of Alzheimer's in his 80s. He'd be out driving and get lost, or he'd get into a minor accident and want to pick a fight with the guy in the other car. My mom would have to ride shotgun, making him stop at red lights. We tried everything to get him to quit, but nothing worked. We'd hide the car keys, and he'd find them. Finally we just removed the distributor cap."

"I was with my mother when she went to renew her license. She was 92. They didn't give her any tests, but they did ask if she wanted to donate her organs. She said, 'Who would want them?' Not long after she renewed her license, she bumped into someone waiting in a line of cars. The driver claimed whiplash. My mother wouldn't drive after that."

"My mother was driving locally and quite safely into her late 80s, but then her driving deteriorated. I took the keys from the bowl by the door when she was sick for a few days, and we agreed maybe she could drive again when she felt better. We both understood this was a face-saving fiction. But months later, she got someone to drive her unregistered, uninsured old Volvo over to an insurance company so they could get her back on the road. I sold the Volvo the next day. Having it sit in the driveway was just too much of a temptation."

ALSO SEE: Why Older Drivers Need to Be Tested