Not unlike senior housing, your ability to drive safely is something that might need reassessment as you age. You’ve been driving for decades, so it’s second nature—but changes in vision, reflexes, and overall health can impact your driving skills in ways you might not immediately notice. Instead of waiting for a family member to awkwardly bring it up, why not check in with yourself? 

Here are 3 simple ways to self-evaluate your driving ability.  

Pay Attention to Your Reaction Time  

One of the biggest factors in safe driving is how quickly you can react to sudden changes. Do you notice that stop signs seem to pop up out of nowhere? Are other drivers honking at you more often because you hesitated at a green light? These small delays can indicate that your reaction time isn’t what it used to be.  

A quick way to test this is to go for a drive on a familiar route and take note of how often you feel caught off guard. If unexpected braking, last-minute lane changes, or delayed turns are becoming a pattern, it might be time to assess whether you’re still as sharp behind the wheel as you used to be.  

Check Your Comfort and Confidence  

Driving should feel natural, not stressful. If you find yourself gripping the wheel too tightly, feeling overly anxious in traffic, or avoiding certain roads altogether, that’s a sign your confidence is slipping. Sometimes, these changes happen gradually, making them easy to dismiss.  

Think about how you feel when you drive at night, in bad weather, or on the highway. Are you comfortable merging into fast-moving traffic, or do you avoid certain times of day because the roads feel overwhelming? If you’re adapting your routes or schedules to avoid tricky situations, your comfort level is telling you something important.  

Evaluate Your Awareness of Surroundings  

Good driving isn’t just about controlling your own car—it’s about noticing everything around you. If you’ve been getting more close calls, missing street signs, or misjudging the speed of oncoming cars, your situational awareness may not be as strong as it once was.  

Try this: On your next drive, focus on scanning your mirrors, watching pedestrians, and keeping an eye on the flow of traffic. Are you catching everything in time, or do things seem to surprise you? If you’re struggling to keep track of everything happening around you, it may be time to consider alternative transportation options.  

Assessing your driving ability isn’t about giving up your independence—it’s about making sure you’re staying safe on the road. If you notice small warning signs, you might just need some adjustments, like driving only during daylight hours or taking a refresher course. But if driving is becoming more stressful or risky, knowing when to step back is the best decision you can make for yourself and others.