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Recently, I was thumbing through a magazine and there was an article about how to tell your elderly parents that you are taking away their car keys. That is definitely a touchy subject.

Although we have never managed to discover the fountain of youth, we have made enough advances in medical technology to live a lot longer than our ancestors. This longer life expectancy is paired with another expectation: that we can and should remain independent for as long as possible.

Last week, I wrote about how GPS tracking systems can make parents feel more comfortable letting teen drivers out on the road. Now it is time to look at the other end of the spectrum, what happens when you are not inexperienced, but very experienced? Really it is two sides of the same coin. If you are a part of the sandwich generation, you’ll find that your teenage children and your own parents both desire independence, while you desire to keep them safe.

I don’t need to tell you that as we age our faculties slow down and don’t work as they used to. But aging doesn’t mean we need to give up all of our activities. Many senior drivers drive with no difficulty. There are some people who continue to do so well into their 90s and beyond.

Still, aging does mean that we need to be more careful. If your parents or elderly relatives are competent drivers, you should still consider installing a GPS tracking device in their vehicles as a precaution.

Or perhaps you are a happily independent older driver…you don’t want to admit that you worry about being out on the road alone, but sometimes you do. Having a GPS tracking device installed in your car could give you a little piece of mind. If something were to happen, someone would know how to get to you.