Any sort of evaluation, whether it is a work evaluation or a school evaluation, can be something stressful, and as a senior citizen, you may be stressed out about a driving evaluation. Driving is an incredibly dangerous activity that many people participate in on a daily basis, and as you get older, your reflexes diminish and you forget a lot of the basics that you were taught when you were young and just starting to learn how to drive. Going in for a driving evaluation for seniors process is relatively new, but it is important not only for your safety but also for the safety of the public, since we don’t want a bunch of people on the road that aren’t capable of driving. Here are a few ways that you can prepare for your senior driving evaluation.
Reflect on your health
Reflect long and hard on your personal health. While it may be a point of pride for you to drive, it doesn’t warrant you feeling unsafe while you are on the road. If you have any ailments or are worried about passing out while driving, or having a heart attack while you are driving, this should be something that you should be concerned with. If you don’t think you should be on the road driving around with the conditions that you have, then stopping driving, in general, is an option. If you’re not sure, then it’s a good idea to go for a driving evaluation for seniors.
Get a driving manual
There are a lot of laws that have changed in terms of driving, even within the past ten years. There are probably a lot of things that have changed, or that you have forgotten about, since the last time you’ve had a driving evaluation for seniors. Getting an up-to-date driving manual and studying it is probably the best way that you can easily pass a driving evaluation for seniors. Not only will it remind you of the small things that you may have forgotten about, but it might also make you a better driver in general, because of all the defensive driving techniques that are laid out within the manual.
Practice safe driving habits
Practicing safe driving habits is a good way to practice for your driving test. After reading through the driving manual, make sure that you are focusing on developing those good habits that you had when you were first getting your driver’s license. Don’t go out and drive more, but on your daily commute make a strong effort to not break any of the rules of the road, don’t speed, keep your hands at nine and three, and look around and always be aware of your surroundings. While these are habits that you should have anyways, as you get older, some things tend to be forgotten and you get lazier as you drive for longer periods of time.
Keep Up with the Current Laws
Traffic laws, while they don’t change that often, do change from time to time. For a majority of people, these laws aren’t that impactful, especially if you practice good driving habits and practice defensive driving. However, some things may have changed since the last time you checked, so it never hurts to look at the most recent changes and see if there are habits that you have in your driving that need to be changed.
A driving evaluation for seniors isn’t a bad thing, nor should it be scary. Don’t get too stressed out about it, and just know that whatever the outcome is, it will be the safest possible outcome. The possibility of losing your driving privilege isn’t something that anybody wants, but you will be able to get by, even if it comes down to that.