Do you still have your driver’s license?

[Dan]

I still have my license. But I do not drive any more. It is difficult. I have a spouse that can still drive. I am afraid to operate a vehicle on the public hi ways, streets, freeways, ect. PD effects are far too risky.  One of the burdens – plus living in a rural ( frontier) setting complicates the matter.

Just being somewhat ambulatory is challenge a-plenty.

 

[George Sharp]

I still have my license i do agree that it is something you have to deal with in a induvial basic’, I have always promised myself that if the day comes i have any trouble i will stop. It is a hard thing to do but i would rather give up or be in a situation where i was forced into it. and when i think back I was driving at 14 and had a proper license when i was 16 so i turn 78 in a couple of months so i have had a good run with it , but will miss it when it is gone .George

[Beth T Browne]

I still can drive.  I live alone, so am not looking forward to not be able to drive.  My car may give out before me.

[Kenneth Campbell]

3 drive offs into fields, 2 totaled vehicles and a 3rd one where I was able to make a door in the wall of a wherehouse for the owners. Well, I parked my car in their building last Christmas Eve. As I sat there thanking God that no one was hurt, I calm voice said “it is time you leave the driving to others now.” I have not gotten behind the steering wheel since. I am so thankful that no one was not hurt because of me.

[Dan]

I voluntarily stopped driving. Conventional wisdom suggests that when everyone in the vehicle is afraid when a person drives, probably time to move that person to a seat with no controls.

 

 

[Ally]

That probably wasn’t an easy decision to make, Dan, but I applaud you for deciding for yourself when to stop driving instead of waiting for something to happen. I was visiting my parents in my rural hometown recently and we don’t have public transit or even Uber. It must be frustrating sometimes not to be able to get in your car and drive where you need to go, especially if services are far away!

[Deleted User]

good for you Dan, i still drive and hope that I can make the right decision to stop when the time is right. I can relate to living in a rural area.  mass transit leaves a lot to be desired where i live

[Jeffery Hill]

I’m still early stage, and still driving, however I’m carefully planning long distance drives:

1. If I leave in the morning, OK to drive alone

2. If I leave after lunch, I prefer to have a co-pilot with whom I can switch if I get drowsy

3. Never start a long distance drive in the evening.  Losing confidence in night vision.

[Ally]

That’s a great set of practices to abide by, Jeffery. Thanks for sharing.

[Deleted User]

Jeffrey, me too… I don’t like driving at night and love having a copilot especially on drives greater than 45 minutes

[Jo S.]

I’m still driving, but I don’t drive very often, and when I do, it’s only very close to home and never at night. I don’t see well at night and I don’t totally trust my judgment then. I’m also afraid of getting drowsy if I travel too far from home, so my husband (thankfully) does nearly all the driving.

[Ally]

Makes sense to me, Jo, and I’m glad your husband can help with driving too. Do you miss being able to drive more consistently/independently?

[Deleted User]

jo

i think that sums it up for a lot of us…. i am thankful it is not my gas pedal side (right side) that is affected by PD.. yet

[John]

Yes still drive. Tend not to drive after dark. If Symptomatic Will not drive or will pull over or time my Driving Accordingly Re. Meds

don’t drive on the highway anymore leave it to my wife or others.

[Jo S.]

Hi, Ally. Fortunately, my husband enjoys driving, so he’s always done the bulk of it. I work from home (I have done so for decades — long before it was cool — haha!), so I don’t really have to do much driving. Consequently, I don’t feel the pinch or the loss of independence the way that many other PWP might. I’m lucky in that regard. If I were navigating PD on my own, I think not driving would be significantly more debilitating.

[Deleted User]

hi john, it is good to know our limitations with this disease. i hope, when the time comes, that i can turn in my car keys..  i no longer drive at night and avoid long drives if possible

[Toni Shapiro]

Hi, I stopped driving almost 4 months ago. I was slower to respond to the brake and my anxiety when driving made symptoms worse including for a minute or two forgetting where I was going or where I was. I love driving and was the main driver in the family so it was very difficult to give it up voluntary, however, a car can be a killing machine and I needed to choose responsibility over my ego. I have found taking the bus makes me feel very good about myself and that I do have some control over my PD situation. Taking the bus gives me an independence without worry or concern and it turns out I like it. Now with may car sold and I see my empty parking space I can actually see the positives of letting it go.

[Deleted User]

toni, that is excellent you knew when the time was right to stop driving.  as it is with most things related to PD, we have to find workarounds and you using mass transit is good for you and the environment.  plus you are taking a positive attitude which helps tremendously.  good for you!

[Frank Mundo]

I drive night or day, no problems.  I feel some anxiety in large parking lots when backing out of vision restricted slots. I am ready to give it up when problems arise.

[Deleted User]

Frank, that is great that you can drive day or night with no problems.   i have had anxiety backing out of vision restricted slots before I had PD LOL

[UMAKANT PANCHOLI]

I gave up driving a year ago. My right side is affected and being driving in the UK it would have impacted my automatic car driving a little difficult. I have givenn up my driving licence as I did not want to risk the lives of people who are in my car and also the general public. My daughter is the only driver in my house, so she takes me to all my appointments.

[Ally]

Hi Umakant, thank you for sharing. How does it feel to rely on someone else for all the driving? Do you find it helpful and relaxing or do you miss the freedom / autonomy of driving yourself?

[Dresh]

In high school, I had a colleague with Parkinson’s. At some point, he understood he couldn’t drive anymore, and the doctors suggested he do the same. He tried to get a fake driver’s license without any restriction.

[Ron Lusk]

Two years ago, I decided to stop driving. It used to be about 90% of the driving for our family including road trips hauling a trailer. When we had to shut down the business because of my PD was when I also stopped driving. My wife does all the driving now and it limits what I can do like shopping for birthdays, etc.; but it is safer this way.

[Don]

I am still driving as normal including long trips and at this stage (8 years since diagnosis) PD seems to have had little, if any, affect on driving ability.

If/when it does I will find it very hard to give up a lifetime of mainly enjoyable driving but my wife is a good driver and will step into the breach.

[Dresh]

In high school, I had a colleague with Parkinson’s. At some point, he understood he couldn’t drive anymore, and the doctors suggested he do the same. He tried to get a fake driver’s license without any restriction. Even if the guys he bought the license told him they are extremely accurate, nobody can detect them. It was detected as a fake once he scanned it through the first id scanner https://www.idanalyzer.com/products/prime-id-scanner.html. So, it’s better not to try and know it’s safer for you and others to stop driving.

[Gauri]

Yes I do have a driving licence and I practice driving on a four wheeler as well as a two wheeler as a matter of fact I am very very stable while driving I enjoyed driving city driving as well as Expressway driving I am very comfortable driving a two wheeler as well.

[Sveinn Áki Sverrisson]

It is very good to read and participate in this discussion and be a member of this network. I am from Iceland and we don’t have any network the same as you have. I am not good at writing English so I hope you will forgive my Google Translate English.

I have my driver’s license but stopped driving 6 months ago and sold my car. I thought it was best for me to stop driving a car before putting someone in that situation to point out I could not be trusted to drive my grandchildren. We, men, think sometimes we know what is best for us and nobody can tell us how to live our lives, but when I was diagnosed with Parkins’s I stopped thinking that way.

Here in my hometown Hafnarfjördur we have a minibus service for disabled people to drive me where ever I will and need to go. I started using it in the same week I stopped driving and it felt relaxing.

I live alone but have had a female friend for 20 years with who I can shear my thoughts and feelings. We are in a “distance relationship” meeting at weekends and sometimes in the middle of the week. She is still working but I retired 2 years ago so it is good for me to be not so dependent on her asking her to drive me during working hours.

It takes the minibus half an hour to drive to Reykjavík where the doctors are and the hospital so all driving distances are not time-consuming.

It wasn’t very hard for me to stop driving but there are many other matters I am thinking about at the moment concerning my Parkinson’s disease so maybe It will strike me later.
Thanks.

[Jim Brennan]

I’m still driving thankfully and have had no significant degradation in skills while on Carba/Levodopa. However, the meds I started on, don’t remember the name, caused all sorts of problems including a real degradation in driving skills. Once moved to Carba/levodopa I saw immediate improvement.

[Ally]

Hi Jim, thanks for sharing. I hope you’re still doing well!

[Bill]

Yes, still have it and drive almost daily. At age 78, I have been doing so for most of the last 64 years.  I live in the sticks and almost everything one might need is at least 25 to 30 minutes from my home. Should I get to the point where I can’t drive, I imagine we would move into town. I was diagnosed 4 years ago and symptoms are pretty well regulated with medications. We live in a area with a large deer population and try to avoid driving at night because of the deer.

[Mary Beth Skylis]

Nsurit, my parents started out in rural Michigan. But now they’re in a small downtown area, which I think is helpful for my dad (PwP). He still avoids driving for any extended period of time, but I see how proximity matters.

[Bert Shure]

I’m still driving.

I’ve had my Tesla Model S for eight years, which is about the same time I became a PwP.

I enter the destination almost every time I get in the car. I don’t need directions, but getting an estimate of traffic on the route is nice. I usually know the expected arrival time. When it is longer, I think about alternate routes. I occasionally look at the screen and see how long it is to the next edit.

I use Autopilot when I’m on the freeway. It keeps the car centered in the lane and the right spacing from the car in front. I can ask it to change lanes when traffic permits. I focus on the cars around me and the road ahead. It is less tiring in stop-and-go traffic. It will slow the car to a stop and start up when the car in front moves and stays the proper distance behind as we get back up to speed.

This is not Full System Driving; I never use Autopilot off the freeway. I still use cruise control on surface streets.

I exercise six days a week, including two days of Rock Steady Boxing. I’ve been in research studies, given DNA & blood, filled out the Fox Foundation quarterly survey form thirty times, and am trying to eat better.

[Mary Beth Skylis]

Hi Bert-Shure, do you find that the autopilot feature helps a lot? I hadn’t thought about that being a potential bonus.