Given that the US is so spaced out and that you need to drive in the country almost everywhere, how do old people get around when they can’t drive anymore? I would assume that at some point they lose their license or just can’t drive so what do they do, stay home all day? Or maybe they ask people to drive them places? When I visited the US many places didn’t even have sidewalks, so I’m just baffled. Where I live old people just walk everywhere and get on buses and trains.
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Have someone give them a ride. There are also senior services that offer free rides.
You have identified a major problem! Those who can afford it might rely on Ubers and taxis. People might rely on friends and family for rides. Some medicare advantage plans cover transport to the doctor and other healthcare professionals. Of course, plenty of old people just keep driving even if it’s unsafe to do so. But yeah a lot of elderly people are just housebound.
Like one example from my life, my wife’s grandma lives by herself in a small town about an hour away from any close family. She leaves the house once a week, when my wife’s mom (grandmas daughter) drives over to take her to the store and run errands. Otherwise she is totally housebound.
This is a major part of the reason I want to leave Houston, I don’t want to age out of mobility altogether when I age out of driving.
Some seniors live in communities which offer transportation services as part of their community dues. My folks live in a 55+ community which offers transportation on various schedules for entertainment/activities, medical appointments, or grocery shopping etc. Beyond that there are private transportation services which offer transport for seniors to medics appointments and such. Or they might use friends or family to take them
places when needed. Or they might use Uber like services. Finally, plenty do ride buses or light rail (sometimes for free depending on the agency) if the routes are convenient.
Family members. Or friends, one of my grandmas had a friend who shared all the same doctors and still drove, so they’d just cruise around together.
Then there’s also private transport options for seniors as well, and nowadays things like Uber and Lyft. A lot of retirement communities also operate private shuttles for residents.
Usually at that age they move to senior housing, where they have people to drive them around. They can also get rides from family, and there are lots of volunteer services that can drive the elderly to doctor’s appointments and stuff.
In the case of my mother she gets everything delivered. God bless Amazon Fresh and all the other delivery services which have gotten substantially better because of COVID. Nothing she cant get delivered now.
Have somebody give them a ride, use elderly transit services, walk or bike.
They usually get a friend or family member to drive them around. My wife regularly gives rides to a very elderly woman we know from Church.
In some communities there’s special shuttle bus service for the elderly and disabled that they can call for a ride to places, but that’s far from universal.
Sometimes people at that age move into a living facility for the elderly, what’s often called a “retirement home”, but I know a lot of people see it as dehumanizing and demeaning to be confined to such a place. My mother’s made it clear that if she was ever in a place where she thought she’d wind up in “a home” she’d eat a bullet first.
ALOT just keep on driving
Not sure about other states but we have a have a tax funded service that takes Seniors to the mall, grocery store, etc.
This is actually a big issue in Indiana as increasingly more people are “aging in place” rather than moving to retirement communities like those in Florida where everything is set up for the elderly. People are in these huge houses in the burbs that they raised a family in, but have no need for the 3-4 bedrooms and may eventually not be able to climb the stairs needed. I know of one couple who sold their house in the burbs and “retired” to downtown Indianapolis so they could walk to many places, and be close to the major hospitals which would be a quick bus or Uber ride away.
1- live with family members who can
2- move to a nursing home
3- have a care taker/nurse hired
4- be ubergrandparent and drive anyways lmao
> I would assume that at some point they lose their license or just can’t drive so what do they do, stay home all day?
This is a faulty assumption. Most states don’t have strict re-education or competency courses that one must take to retain their license. We don’t re-take driving exams at any interval nor when we reach a certain age.
If they’ve stopped driving for some reason, they make other arrangements. Even communities that have poor transit still operate programs for seniors and handicapped people. It may not be very convenient, but theres probably a small county or town owned bus service that goes to the pharmacy once a week, the grocery once a week, etc. Seniors can also arrange for transit with medical facilities in many cases. Relatives, neighbors, friends, charities, churches, etc. People figure it out.
My grandma just moved into a senior retirement community because she couldn’t drive. She is here in town with us so we get her for family things. There are multiple shuttles to different shopping centers, doctors offices, and her church.
We have plans to move to a continuing care community. But fortunately our state has effective senior centers (Councils on Aging) at least in this region, that are good at providing transport to seniors as well as other services.
Medical transport itself is an entire somewhat shady industry
Family members, caregivers, medical transport.
[Paratransit services specifically offered to those who cannot drive (as required by the ADA)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paratransit#In_the_United_States), as well as some volunteer programs, special senior community transportation, and some communities are experimenting with free on-demand services, such as [Wake County’s GoWake SmartRide](https://www.wakegov.com/departments-government/health-human-services/programs-assistance/gowake-smartride-ne) pilot program.
Some counties have transportation services for the elderly/disabled. They take you to the store, pharmacy, senior center, doctor’s appointments, work, etc… I don’t know if the rides are in every county but all of the ones around me offer it. It’s free for seniors and disabled people depending on income. Even at $2 a trip, what I would pay, when you can’t drive it is cheaper than an uber.
Most keep driving long past the point they should
It’s not uncommon for people to continue driving into their 80s and 90s.
My grandma moved in with my parents long before she stopped driving. She’s 96 and maintains her drivers license, but prefers to have someone drive her at this point in her life.
She didn’t stop driving regularly until around her 90th birthday.
You wouldn’t believe how common it is for old people that shouldn’t be driving to drive and have issues. They need to make license testing a requirement for older drivers.
In my grandmother’s case, she lost the ability to drive after a hip surgery had complications. She moved into an assisted living facility. They provided transportation to church, the grocery store, and a nearby shopping center. But other than that, she relied on her kids.
My grandfather (other side of the family) just kept driving even though he shouldn’t have been. He still had his license. But he’d routinely lose the car by driving to the senior center and walking home, or walking there and wanting to drive home. He lived in his own home with his kids visiting daily to take care of him, but by the end, he probably should have had full time care. It’s just that no one wants to force their parent to leave their home.
They don’t.
They have family or care givers drive them. Retirement communities will have shuttles.
Taxi funded by the state
Friends, relatives, charity shuttle services, they move to places with assistance so they don’t need to get out much.
We also don’t have retesting so plenty are driving past when they should be.