Via Politico

By TANYA SNYDER

After experiencing two seizures while behind the wheel—first plowing her car into the side of a drugstore and then, less than a year later, into a stone wall—Connie Godby gave up driving for good late last year. Even when she can control her seizures, vestiges of a brain tumor she suffered more than a decade ago, the arthritis curling her left hand makes it hard to grip the wheel. She recently moved from Kentucky to the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., to live with her daughter and son-in-law, busy professionals with two small children and scarce time to ferry her around. So she does it with an app. She is now one of a growing number of seniors using ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft to get around.

A graying America is also an America that is gradually, reluctantly, sometimes painfully giving up its keys. Driving can be dangerous for people with slowed reflexes and cognitive functioning, but not driving can be dangerous too: A lack of independent mobility leads many seniors to miss medical appointments and can isolate them from the social support network that is clinically shown to prolong life. Unfortunately, the nation’s transportation infrastructure relies heavily on cars. Faced with long rides on multiple trains and buses with unpredictable schedules, many seniors end up just staying home.

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