{"id":7521,"date":"2026-05-18T15:31:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7521"},"modified":"2026-05-18T15:31:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:31:48","slug":"a-nightmare-to-think-about-driving-behavior-may-be-early-warning-sign-of-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7521","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A nightmare to think about.\u2019 Driving behavior may be early warning sign of dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When the red light turned green, Christine Burger found herself unsure what to do next.<\/p>\n

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Burger, 73, had driven the streets of Delray Beach for many years, and had traveled often through the intersection where she was now stopped. Yet she was unsure which direction to take.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are times when I\u2019m with my husband, and I\u2019m driving, and I\u2019ll stop in an intersection, and I think, well, which way am I supposed to go?\u201d Burger admitted.\u00a0 \u201cI think to myself, well, I know either way I\u2019m going to get where I have to go, but why don\u2019t I know where I\u2019m going when I have gone that same route the whole time I lived in South Florida \u2026 and it\u2019s very frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

The personal and family struggle over when to stop driving is increasingly common in Florida amid the highest number of senior drivers ever recorded in the United States. A decision to take away car keys or give them up often comes after an accident or driving scare \u2014 typically when Alzheimer\u2019s disease is further advanced. Yet more subtle changes in how people drive may be early warning signs not to be ignored.<\/p>\n

New evidence in a study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University and the University of Central Florida found that changes in driving behavior can act as biomarkers indicating a decline in mental clarity that pre-dates major signs of dementia.<\/p>\n

The three-year FAU\/UCF study of 450 seniors in South and Central Florida found that drivers with mild cognitive decline exhibited less control of the gas pedal, took shorter or more fragmented trips, engaged in frequent hard braking, and drove lower average speeds. Overall, drivers with mild cognitive decline were less confident and less responsive on the road than those without it.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryday driving habits \u2014 captured passively through in-car sensors \u2014 may offer a powerful new way to detect subtle cognitive changes long before they become obvious,\u201d said Ruth Tappen, senior author and professor in FAU\u2019s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and a member of FAU\u2019s Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Tappen and her team of researchers studied driver behavior in real-life traffic conditions using the in-vehicle sensors: one for telematics data and one for video. Participants also underwent regular tests of thinking and memory skills.<\/p>\n

Researchers found that it was the combination of behaviors \u2014 not any single action \u2014 that most effectively distinguished those with impairment from those without.\u00a0 In the past, studies have mostly used driving simulations and questionnaires.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a suggestion that you be more aware of what\u2019s happening to you cognitively, and if you become more aware of changes, get tested,\u201d Tappen said. \u201cWe\u2019re not doing this to get people off the road. We\u2019re in the business of letting people know what may be happening with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tappan said seniors with some early mental decline may self-regulate, possibly unconsciously. They may exercise greater caution while driving \u2014 remaining in the slower lanes and staying in familiar neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThese attempts to compensate for accumulating deficits eventually become insufficient to allow the individual to continue to drive safely,\u201d Tappen\u2019s research found. Studies have shown that individuals with Alzheimer\u2019s are at an increased risk of at-fault crashes, according to the Alzheimer\u2019s Foundation.<\/p>\n

Study participants weigh in<\/h4>\n

Lorraine Marchand, 80, of Sunrise, participated in the FAU study.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody my age is interested in cognitive decline. We all watch ourselves to see what we\u2019re doing. Are we forgetting things? It\u2019s just very common to be concerned,\u201d she told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. \u201cI think that driving is complex and people with really serious problems know it, but people who don\u2019t have a really serious decline, they don\u2019t really know how it affects their driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marchand said she has noticed behavior changes in friends who seem unaware. \u201cThey don\u2019t get lost and anything obvious like that, but they\u2019re more cautious in their driving,\u201d she said. \u201cThey stick to the right-hand lane all the time and go really slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

She understands, though, that losing access to a vehicle in car-dependent Florida poses huge challenges.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s like a nightmare to think about not being able to drive here in Florida,\u201d Marchand said. \u201cHow do you get around? What do you do? How do you function? I can\u2019t walk to Publix, and I can\u2019t certainly can\u2019t carry my groceries back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Family members often share how challenging it is to tell their loved ones to stop driving.\u00a0 Some seniors become angry and refuse.<\/p>\n

Priscilla Jean-Louis of Tallahassee says her mother, Vera Johnson, drove until she was 70, even though she should have given up her keys a year or two earlier. By the time Jean-Louis disconnected her mother\u2019s car battery to derail her, she was driving in the wrong direction, stopping at green lights and running red lights. \u201cMy daughters were scared to ride with Granny,\u201d she said. \u201cIt prompted me to pay attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking away a family member\u2019s keys is emotional, said Jennifer Braisted, the Alzheimer\u2019s Association of America\u2019s territory advocacy director for the Southeast Region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you notice something is different when driving with mom and dad or a spouse, have those conversations and get a plan in place,\u201d she said. \u201cI have seen many instances where the family wished they had done something sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giving up driving is not a given<\/h4>\n

While over time, dementia affects the skills needed for safe driving, not everyone with a diagnosis needs to give up driving. One in three people diagnosed with dementia still drives, particularly with new medications and treatments that are preventing the disease from advancing.<\/p>\n

About 1 in 9 people age 65 and older, or about 11%, are diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s dementia. About 35.8% of people over 85 have Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Burger said she has a diagnosis and takes medication. So for now, she continues to drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am fortunate,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m still aware of stop signs and red lights. I\u2019m still aware of a lot, and that\u2019s only because I went to a neurologist. I was tested, and I am on medication, and I\u2019m starting cognitive therapy to keep this at bay so that I can drive as long as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

She plans to monitor her own driving habits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe minute the neurosurgeon surgeon or any doctor involved in my treatment says \u2018you can no longer drive,\u2019 I will not drive,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we are planning because that might happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tappen said the study is ongoing and the video data still needs to be analyzed. However, she said research indicates that seniors should use their cars, equipped with many sensors, to monitor their driving.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur cars talk to us these days, so pay attention,\u201d she said. \u201cThe car can provide you with some feedback and let you know that you might want to be more aware and have an evaluation done.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Greenland\u2019s prime minister tells Trump\u2019s envoy self-determination cannot be negotiated<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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