Parkinson's Disease Health Center

Parkinson’s Disease: Driving a Car

How to Ease the Transition continued...

During the period when patients are engaged in limited driving, it’s important for family and friends to find ways that reduce the need to drive. These include arranging for groceries, meals, and prescriptions to be delivered to the home, or for barbers or hairdressers to come to the home.

It’s also important to get patients accustomed to using alternate methods of transportation, such as:

• Rides from family and friends
• Taxi cabs
• Shuttle vans and buses
• Public buses, trains, and subways
• Walking

The Yellow Pages are a good source for organizations that provide transportation services to seniors. You can find the names and telephone numbers of such organizations by looking under the headings “transportation” or “community services.” You can also call the nationwide directory assistance service Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1166 to find local agencies that provide transportation for people with special needs.

If your loved one refuses to voluntarily limit or stop driving, despite a demonstrated need to do so, you may need to take more aggressive steps, such as:

• Hiding the car keys.
• Disabling the car.
• Either selling the car or moving it out of sight.