Harriet Kelly has one word to describe the day she stopped driving four years ago: miserable.
"It's no fun when you give up driving," she says. "I just have to say that."
Kelly, who lives in Denver, says she was in her 80s when she noticed her eyesight declining. She got anxious driving on the highway, so decided to stop before her kids made the move for her.
"I just told them I'd stop driving on my birthday — my 90th birthday — and I did. And I was mad at myself because I did it," she says, laughing. "I thought I was still pretty good!"
Kelly is now 94. She says her last traffic accident was in the 1960s. But, she says, "I think it's just better to make up your own mind than have your kids go through trying to tell you, and end up with arguments and threats and everybody gets mad."
Her daughter Leslie Kelly says she's grateful she and her siblings didn't have to have that tough conversation. Still, she knows it's been tough for her mom.
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I'm sorry to disagree with this story on only one issue -- from my own personal experience with other drivers and driving in general -- I will celebrate the day I no longer have to drive! After surviving two no fault head on collisions and witnessing first hand how people, insurance companies and the legal system treat accident victims, I cannot relate to this story because my own experience has been far more negative. To this day I struggle with permanent injuries from the experience after barely being compensated for my suffering, which do this day I still continue to endure. Driving to me is far from something to enjoy, it's more like a task and a hard one at that. And from what I have seen people don't respect each other on the road or care about their safety, so discontinuing driving is something I'm looking forward to if I live that long.
ReplyDeleteI personally beg you to talk to your family about it first! My In-Laws just decided on their own at 65 they weren't driving anymore! Nice to know! Now that they DEMAND we take them everywhere - not ask - DEMAND!!!!! Please remember when you make the decision to give up driving it NOT ONLY AFFECTS YOU!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy mother drove until she was 85,it wasn't until she rear ended her next door neighbor that she finally quit.She had a 10 year old ford pinto with about 10,ooo miles on it. Talk about a car only driven by a little old lady. I had a hell of a time convincing her that the only place she ever went anyway was to the grocery store and the drug store once a week she should should start using a taxi,she could afford it, and I was always around if she wanted to go some place else. She finally realized she needed to quit driving. I'm getting up there myself,near 80 so I know i'll have to quit someday befor long. I support the idea of mandatory testing after a certain age,80 maybe sooner.
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