Giving up the keys is rarely a single conversation. Here's how San Diego families can get an objective evaluation and line up alternatives before a crisis forces the issue.
By Diane Whitfield, CSA · August 20, 2026
Driving means independence, and most seniors (and their families) know that intuitively, which is exactly why the conversation about stopping tends to get avoided until something forces it: a fender-bender, a scary near-miss, or a diagnosis like dementia that makes the decision more urgent. Family members often hesitate to raise it because they're not medical professionals and don't want the conversation to feel like an accusation. That's where an objective third-party evaluation helps enormously — it takes the judgment call out of a son's or daughter's hands and puts it in the hands of a professional trained to assess it.
Age alone isn't a reliable predictor of driving safety. Some drivers in their late 80s remain sharp and safe; some drivers in their early 70s have vision, reaction time, or cognitive changes that make driving risky well before typical retirement age. The goal of an evaluation isn't to take away independence prematurely, it's to get a real answer instead of a guess.
A Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist (CDRS) can perform a comprehensive evaluation that includes both a clinical assessment (vision, reaction time, cognitive screening, physical range of motion) and an actual behind-the-wheel road test in a dual-brake vehicle, so the evaluator can safely intervene if needed. Several San Diego-area hospital systems and rehabilitation programs offer this service, often through occupational therapy departments — Scripps, Sharp, and UC San Diego Health all have rehabilitation therapy programs that can either perform this evaluation directly or refer to a CDRS in the area. Ask a primary care doctor for a referral, since many insurance plans require one for the evaluation to be covered, and confirm coverage in advance since some plans treat this as an out-of-pocket assessment.
The California DMV also has its own process: anyone (a physician, family member, or law enforcement officer) can request a driver reexamination through the DMV's Driver Safety Office, which can result in a written test, vision test, or in some cases a required driving test. Physicians are legally required to report certain conditions, including specific stages of dementia, to the DMV under California law, which can trigger this process independent of what the family decides to do. The San Diego DMV Driver Safety Office handles these reexaminations locally; contact information is available through dmv.ca.gov.
Geriatric care specialists generally recommend framing this as a series of check-ins rather than a single ultimatum. Bringing up a professional evaluation as a neutral, third-party opinion — 'let's just get you checked out, like an eye exam' — tends to land better than a family member declaring a parent unsafe based on personal observation alone. If dementia is part of the picture, understand that insight into one's own driving ability is often one of the first things affected, meaning a parent may sincerely and confidently insist they're fine even when they're not; this is a symptom, not stubbornness, and it's a strong argument for getting a clinical evaluation rather than relying on self-report.
If an evaluation does recommend stopping, having a concrete transportation plan ready before the conversation, not after, makes the transition much smoother. Seniors who stop driving without a replacement plan are at meaningfully higher risk of social isolation and depression, so the plan matters as much as the decision itself.
San Diego County Aging & Independence Services (AIS) can connect seniors with local transportation resources, including subsidized senior transportation programs that vary by city and are often income-eligible or age-eligible with a simple application. MTS (San Diego Metropolitan Transit System) offers a reduced-fare Senior/Disabled Card for bus and trolley service, and MTS Access provides ADA paratransit service for those who qualify due to a disability, including some age-related conditions, with advance scheduling required.
Ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft, including their senior-friendlier phone-dispatch options in some markets, have become a practical bridge for seniors who don't drive but don't need paratransit-level support. Some assisted living and independent living communities also include scheduled transportation to medical appointments and errands as part of the monthly fee, which is worth asking about specifically if a driving evaluation is prompting a broader conversation about a move.
If a family has a genuine safety concern and a parent won't cooperate with an evaluation or won't stop despite a DMV or medical recommendation, options narrow but aren't zero. The DMV reexamination process can be requested by a family member confidentially in many cases. A primary care physician can also document concerns in the medical record, which matters both for the DMV reporting requirement noted above and for any future legal or care-planning conversations. As a last resort, some families work with an elder law attorney or geriatric care manager to navigate this, particularly if cognitive decline is involved and a broader capacity conversation, not just a driving conversation, is needed.
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