If you have an elderly loved one that is still able to drive around their senior living community but has started to find it harder to maintain their own vehicle, there are things that you can do to help make this easier on them. Not only will you be able to ensure that their vehicle is working for them the way that it should be, but you can also use this as a way to check in on them and how they’re doing behind the wheel.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three ways to help an elderly loved one maintain their vehicle. 

Make It Easier For Them To See Clearly

As people age, it can be harder and harder for their eyes to see things clearly. In this situation, glasses or eye surgery are usually required, but there are things that you can do to their vehicle to make sure that it’s not making things harder to see when they drive.

To do this, you’ll want to make sure that their windshield is clear of any knicks or cracks. And so that they can clean it of any debris, always keep their wiper fluid levels full. You can also clean off the lights around their car to make sure that, if they drive at night, they have their full force of their headlights helping to lead the way. 

Make Sure All The Sensors Work Properly

Ideally, your elderly loved ones who still drive should have newer vehicles so that they can take advantage of any driving sensors that are available within the vehicle. This way, they can have some extra reminders to stay on track if their own driving habits get a little questionable at times.

While you can disable sensors like lane assist, blind spot warning, parking sensors, and automatic braking, for your elderly loved one’s car, you should make sure that all of these sensors are turned on and that they are working properly. 

Do Regular Inspections Of The Vehicle

Depending on how spry your loved one is, they may or may not be able to get down and do a lot of their own maintenance on their car, but you can. So whenever you’re close to them and have a few extra minutes, take the time to check out their vehicle and make sure that everything is  looking and running how it should be.

When you’re there looking at how the car is being cared for and functioning, you should also look to see if you notice any dings or damage from driving. This could be a sign that your elderly loved one can’t safely handle driving anymore and that they might need to hang up the keys. 

If you want to help your elderly loved one to properly maintain their vehicle, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you in doing this.