Not fit to drive…but what to do?

I think you've made the right decision OP. I feel for your predicament, it must seem like a "betrayal" of your relative. But it's really not. If you saw a little toddler about to put their bare hand into a pan of boiling water, you would stop them and take away the pan. It's a bit like that - they aren't able to see the danger and make the decision to prevent the consequences themselves, so someone has to do it for them.

A difficult and distressing decision and simple action taken now is likely to save you - and your relative - suffering and anguish later on, as well as removing the potential dangers to others.

Best wishes to you. x

My family had this issue a few years ago. We pleaded/reasoned and begged my great aunt to stop driving.

Offered to take her where ever she needed to go. She was an insistent, stubborn woman.

In the end my brother picked her car up and drove it to his house. She stopped talking to us all for a few weeks, but soon got over it.

None of us family would ever have forgiven herself if she had got into an accident and injured herself or anyone else.

One of the young female surgeons at my hospital narrowly escaped being killed by a demented old lady who drove 5 miles up the wrong side of the M90.
The surgeon swerved in behind a van when she saw the car oncoming, and it smashed head on into the car behind her, killing both drivers outright. The innocent victim was only in her twenties. Please remove the car keys OP - don’t wait to hear back from the DVLA.

running a car and insurance etc isn’t cheap. Maybe add that up and think how many taxis they can get instead. Might help to soften the blow.

Also have to inform DVD's of any new medical conditions

One of my demented relations killed herself losing control of her own car in her own yard.

She didn’t have Alzheimer’s that badly - but she forgot how to drive.

So yes, take action.

Aren't people to get an eye test every ?3 years over 70 - have they done that ?

Report to dvla.

Get rid of car - if they’re demented they’ll forget they can’t drive and set off merrily.

If they do this, call the police to get them stopped.

It’s not the GPS responsibility to inform the DVLA. They are not the SS. Patients are supposed to contact the DVLA themselves, but members of the public can if they are concerned.

My DP has an autoimmune condition and on diagnosis his consultant said he would be contacting DVLA about it.
DVLA then took months to send paperwork for further investigations and reports from various sources (GP, optician, consultant)
At one point we discovered his license had in fact been taken away. You can look up the DVLA website I think to check this.
It got reinstated after all the reports finally were checked by DVLA.

Many years ago a neighbour managed to drive 100 meters across a dozen gardens after pressing the accelerator and not being able to work out how to stop. Fortunately nobody was injured. 2 years later he was killed at the wheel in a similar incident involving no other drivers/pedestrians. Undisclosed seizures.

Please report OP and disable the car. The consequences are unthinkable.

I had this problem with a family member and had made the decision to report him. We told him knowing their might be massive fallout but he took it amazingly well and didn't drive again. He knew he wasn't fit to drive.

If you know he is unfit then I think you have to report him to dvla.

You explain that as they haven’t reported to DVLA their health condition they are driving illegally and therefore the insurance and drivers license is invalid

or report to DVLA yourself that this person needs their licence removed Here

Report to DVLA. If they then ignore then report to the police. They will be done for driving without insurance (as it will be invalid) and the car confiscated.

inform the police.
or crimestoppers. anon.

If they don't care about the dvla, then notify their insurance also

If her licence is removed and she still drives then report to police

Contact the DVLA. GPs have no clout over this and better to come from family.

Time to start talking to the relative about moving.

The DVLA wrote to my aunt to say that her licence was to be renewed. She was indignant when family members had refused to get in the car with her because they felt unsafe. Her GP had referred her for a memory test but said she could keep driving until the results came through!
I filled in the licence form on my aunts behalf and added a covering note about her failing a memory test that week and said the memory clinic recommended that she gives up driving. She had sadly lost her spatial awareness as part of her dementia (really obvious in the memory test), and clipped wing mirrors, took bends on the wrong side of the road, forgot where the windscreen wipers/indicators were etc. Was also getting lost regularly on familiar routes.

She took the news about her licence being rescinded better from the dvla than she would take notice of the family! Do contact the dvla as his insurance and licence won't be valid if he's not declared a medical issue.

3 years ago in our town an elderly driver hit the accelerator rather than the brake when driving past our local shops, mounted the kerb and killed a man sitting on a bench.

After the elderly dementia struck lady killed a baby in his pram a couple of weeks ago do anything you can to stop the driving .

I live rurally without public transport and just have to accept the day will come when I have to move to a town or similar when I'm no longer safe to drive .

Please take the car keys away and sell the car.

What are you going to do then? Just let them still drive? You want that in your conscious if they kill someone? If you think they need stopping then someone needs to do some thing. Is it you or someone else?

Report to DVLA, then to the police if you see or hear of them driving.

You're absolutely right there is a moral obligation to do something. Imagine facing a family that have just lost a parent, child or sibling in court when asked to provide any evidence or insight into this relative's prior driving incidents.

The police will normally handle this pretty sensitively - if you know they're going out at 9am to the shops every day - tell the police and they'll park in an unmarked nearby and stop them before they do any damage.