Sprockhoevel.
In Sprockhövel, more and more seniors are going to driving school again. And then it’s often up to the family to convince them to give up their driver’s license.
Driving in old age is again an issue at the traffic court day in Goslar. Does a doctor have to report people who he/she does not consider fit to drive to the authorities? Automobile associations have spoken out against the obligation for doctors to report persons who are unfit to drive. In exceptional cases, there are already opportunities for doctors to pass on information to the authorities, according to the Automobile Club of Germany (AVD). He emphasizes that this is a sensitive issue that is becoming increasingly relevant in an aging society. How do older drivers in Sprockhövel see it, what can the social environment do to get aging family members away from driving when self-perception is no longer realistic?
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Older people speak to driving schools
At driving schools in Sprockhövel, too, it has become increasingly common in recent years for senior citizens to contact them and ask them to check their ability to drive. “Probably due to demographic reasons, more and more people have become,” observed Sascha Nippus, who runs a driving school on Hattinger Strasse. The customers are women and men alike, mostly over 70 years old. “We arrange two to three driving lessons and can then see where the candidates stand,” says Nippus. It is not uncommon for his driving school to recommend giving up his driver’s license because his ability to react is declining.
insisting on people’s personal responsibility
dr Klaus Befelein, a dentist from Sprockhövel, insists on people’s personal responsibility in this context. “I don’t believe in doctors breaking their silence to – as in many countries – forward data from sick patients to the registration authorities.” The 74-year-old doctor, who drives a lot, has his eyesight checked regularly and his ability to react. “My grandchildren haven’t told me yet that I drive strangely.” If he let up, he wouldn’t drive a car anymore either.
Families facing a difficult task
It is a difficult task for the family environment to persuade grandpa or grandma, or even elderly parents, to give up driving. That can put a considerable strain on a relationship, says the Sprockhöveler psychologist Rolf Schmiel, who is also known for his television appearances. “If the relationship is basically loving, the children can of course talk about anything,” he says. But if not, the important concern threatens to fail. “We have to consider that the senior citizen is being asked to admit their own incompetence.”
Rolf Schmiel differentiates between the reactions of women and men. “Female drivers are usually more sensible as they get older, because their caution and anxiety also increase.” It’s different with men: when the son or daughter of “high status”, i.e. from above, persuade the father to hand in the driver’s license better , this often triggers resistance (“reactance”). The person addressed blocks.
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Grandchildren have better access
Schmiel recommends involving the grandchildren’s generation better here. “If the grandson playfully persuades grandfather to race on the computer, he can see in the course of self-awareness that the necessary reaction speed is not far off,” says Schmiel. And grandpa is usually much more reassured by his beloved grandson than by his son or daughter.
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