Driving and Dementia

Patients with more advanced stages of Dementia should not be driving: it is simply unsafe. In very early Dementia driving is often not safe. The best way to decide whether a patient with memory concerns can drive safely is to ask the DMV to evaluate driving fitness. Clues to difficulty with driving include;

• Driving at inappropriate speeds, too fast or too slow.
• Scrapes or dents on car, garage, or mailbox.
• Minor fender benders, near misses, or other accidents
• Stopping in traffic for no apparent reason
• Getting lost in familiar places
• Incorrect signaling
• Trouble navigating turns
• Moving into a wrong lane
• Confusion at exits
• Parking inappropriately
• Hitting curbs
• Delayed response to unexpected situations
• Not anticipating dangerous situations
• Increased agitation or irritation while driving
• Tickets: moving violations or warnings
• Confusing gas and brake pedals

The State of California requires physicians to report to public health any patient with Dementia with suspected possible impairment in driving fitness. See DMV Information for more details about DMV policy on this topic.