Personally, I already avoid driving and would be happy to stop completely. However, I'm facing the same issue as many others concerning my grandfather. My grandparents live about 2000 miles away. They are both 86. My grandma has many, many health problem and can barely get around now. My grandfather still shovels his own snow, mows his own yard, cares for my grandma, and drives. He has heart surgery about 30 years ago. He has bad diabetes. However, he's still pretty together for his age. This doesn't stop me from concern over his driving. He just isn't nearly as quick as he used to be, and I worry.

The problem is that they live in a small town and aren't physically able to walk everywhere. The doctors appointments are in a nearby town (and some are about 40 minutes away). The grocery is a few minutes away by car. They have hard winters, so this limits things. There really aren't available car services. All of their children are deceased, and the only other grandchildren are my brother (who lives near me and is disabled) and my cousin, who lives about 20 minutes away from them, but he's very irresponsible and can't be bothered. Most of their friend have passed and they don't really have a strong community anymore because of their inability to go out much because of my grandmother.

Driving means life to my grandfather. I know he would deteriorate quickly if he wasn't able to drive. He also refuses to leave his home to go to any type of assisted living. They have been in the same house for 60 years and after losing all 4 of their children, they want to hold onto the memories, comfort, etc.

I tried to discuss the driving issue once, but was quickly shut down by both of them. It's a tough situation. Unfortunately, I think this is a common situation for a good number of our elderly population.