What is dementia?

Dementia is a brain condition that can affect your:

• thinking
• behaviour
• memory
• mood
• ability to perform everyday tasks

There are many causes of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Dementia is more common in older people, but it is not a normal sign of ageing. Dementia can also affect people in their 40s and 50s.

Dementia can affect your driving ability in many ways.

How can dementia affect my driving ability?

Dementia can make driving unsafe because it affects your ability to coordinate multiple tasks. This includes:

• finding your way
• judging distances
• judging the speed of other cars
• hand-eye coordination
• reaction time

Being diagnosed with dementia does not mean that you must stop driving straight away. But as the disease progresses, you will eventually need to stop driving. This is for your safety and other people's safety.

What warning signs might I notice?

You may notice an increase in driving errors, such as:

• driving slowly
• car accidents and near misses
• traffic fines
• becoming lost on short trips
• confusing left and right
• finding roundabouts difficult to use

Driving and dementia — the legal requirements

If you have dementia, you are required by law to notify your local licensing authority. If you don't tell the licensing authority you can be charged with driving offences.

You also need to tell your car insurance company.

If you are living with dementia and want to keep driving, you will need a medical assessment. If you are safe to drive, they will give you a conditional licence. You will need to take the test every 12 months.

When should I stop driving?

If you're worried about the safety of your driving, it's time to stop. Your driving skills will get worse with time.

Your doctor may advise you to stop driving. But ultimately your state or territory driver licensing authority makes the decision.

Regular check-ups can help you keep track of your condition and whether it's safe to drive.

Dementia and Driving: A Decision Aid aims to support people living with dementia and their family members with decisions about driving. This is available in: English, Italian, Greek, Mandarin, Taiwanese and Vietnamese.

How else can I get around?

Stopping driving is hard, but there are alternatives, such as:

• using public transport, taxis or ride sharing
• walking short distances
• asking family or friends for a lift
• using home delivery services for food, medicines and your library

Starting a conversation about driving

It can be hard to talk about driving with someone who is living with dementia. They might see it as their right or as something they can do automatically.

They might see their inability to drive as a big loss and a decrease in their independence.

Here are some tips for having the conversation:

• Start discussions soon after diagnosis.
• Have short and frequent conversations.
• Try to normalise it — everyone will need to stop driving at some point.
• Acknowledge that giving up driving is hard.

It's best not to:

• have these conversations after a driving incident
• hide their car keys
• take away their licence

Resources and support

The Dementia Australia website provides information and resources about dementia and driving. You can also call the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500.

You can find the licensing authority for each state and territory here:

• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia

You can also call the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria). A registered nurse is available to speak with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.