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Driving With Dementia

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 26, 2008

Monday's article regarding the frequency of Silver Alerts in the state of Florida left me afraid to drive on our roadways. It is hard to believe that there have been 19 alerts in less than 60 days.

The majority of these alerts involve elderly Floridians suffering from various stages of dementia. It seems to me that the most efficient way to tweak the Silver Alert system in the state would be to monitor the elderly drivers more closely. My mother in law suffers from Alzheimer's, and we took her car keys away when she displayed the first signs that her cognition and reflexes were deteriorating. Perhaps other families of elderly drivers should be as proactive.

Or perhaps the state should step in and restrict the driving of elderly Floridians with dementia. Drunk driving is not allowed on our roads. Perhaps driving while impaired by dementia should be just as serious an offense. Restrictions need to be levied on these impaired drivers for their safety as well as the safety of all Florida drivers.

LINDA HACKER

Valrico

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