A friend told me the story of how he helped his mom to find a way to live without her car,  I asked him to write it down.  If you have a story to share, please email me at mdragony@livetodie.net

I experienced what a loss of freedom having to give up driving is as there was a period of time when I could not drive for medical reasons. Having received my driving privileges on the first day that I was eligible and knowing the joy and freedom that it brought me, it was a depressing experience to have to be driven for several months and not to be in control of my own schedule.

When it came time to begin a conversation with my mom about suggesting that she give up her car and stop driving herself, I knew that feeling of loss of independence. Knowing the emotional baggage of this discussion, I started to have the conversation with my mom a year before I really wanted her to stop.

I did five things. First, I planted the seed gently with no deadline. Second, I pointed out to mom that she had other easy transportation options available to her where she could be driven instead of driving.  Third, I followed up with some of the stories that have been in the news about older drivers getting into terrible accidents. Fourth, I made it clear that it was her decision….with my advice…but her decision.  Lastly, I found an easy way for her to do something good for someone else by giving her car to someone in need, even being an electric car as anyone can get a charging station from sites like https://home-ev-charger-installation.co.uk/.

Mom worked through the issue and made the decision to stop driving and give her car to someone else who needed one. She went through an emotional roller coaster about the decision but, over time, came to the conclusion that she did not need to stress or expense of a car when she has other viable options available to her. And, she knew that she had me as a back up to help her of she needed to.

My conclusion is that for this difficult decision time and viable alternatives, combined with some altruism, lets a person make the right decision and ultimately feel good about that decision.

Hunter G.