Marie-Belle Adrao
Purpose: To explore the impact of driving cessation on the everyday lives of individuals and family members so to identify ways in which to improve driving evaluation processes.
Methods: Sixty-minute, in-depth interviews were conducted with 6 individuals aged 50-91 who were no longer driving and some spouses. Thematic analysis guided the review of the transcribed interviews.
Findings: Individuals unable to drive and spouses with added driving responsibilities reported a reduction in their ability to participate in valued activities and increased apprehension with their new roles. The driving evaluation process was unclear to most participants.
Conclusion: Driving cessation negatively affects everyday life, especially for those without spouses who drive. Driving evaluation processes need to be shared with clients and strategies to compensate for driving cessation explored to minimize the impact of the increased responsibilities for spouses and the loss of independence for those unable to drive.