to report my aunt to the DVLA?

[IrrelevantPeasant]

My aunt is fast approaching her 70th birthday and has various medical conditions which means she is no longer fit to drive. She has no intention of declaring this and intends to carry on as she currently is. I’m concerned she causes an accident and she/ someone else gets hurt/ killed. WWYD?

Hate to say it but yes I think you should for her own sake and other people's. The DVLA will decide anyway.

Handhold from me, its difficult but report. Be cruel to be kind, its the best thing.

My own experience, less than a quarter of a mile from home downtown i got into my car and "lost" an hour, 2 friends came over to speak to me and i was very off with them, they didnt realise it fully but i was having some sort of attack and didnt have a clue who i was, where i was, how to get home or where i even lived. I did get home safely and parked the car at side of house and it remained there until i sold it 8 months later as things were getting worse not better. The GP knew i had taken myself off the road so i was no danger to anyone.

another year on, i was quite a bit better and decided to drive again, my GP said she didnt see a medical reason not to, i had the car for 11 months and put less than 150 miles on the clock as every journey made my health worse and there was longer and longer gaps between each one, physically i was falling apart, i gave up driving at the start of december that year and havent been behind the wheel since.

Thats the last 9 years in summary, i feel safer not putting people at risk as i couldnt live with myself if i hurt / killed anyone, its mega inconvenient for me but i rarely leave the house now anyhow and when i do its hospital appts so not exciting

Sounds like you need to pass on your concerns OP. You would feel so guilty if you didn't and she caused an accident.

This is something that concerns me. My MIL is 78 and hasn’t driven since she had a fall and broke some ribs a year ago. We convinced her to sell her car 6 months ago but she’s now decided that she can’t do without it and wants to buy another.

The thing is she has admitted to having cataracts and watching her move around she’s so slow that her reflexes just won’t be good enough to drive. P,us everytime I’ve been in a car with her in the last few years (very rarely and not for a long time!) I genuinely fear for my life!

Unfortunately 2 months before her accident her Dr signed the DVLA form to say she was fit to drive

I’ve nagged DH about getting her licence removed and he and his brother agree she shouldn’t drive but don’t want to upset her. I’ve had to wash my hands of it all and say that I’ve said my piece and if she does start driving again and has an accident they will have it on their conscience.

Ive been thro the assessment for my license with DVLA and i still hold mine even tho im choosing not to use it, its a 3 part assessment which took almost 2 full hours, the 3rd section is the practical.

Mine was a medical licence in the 1st place but last time it was away i know they went thro every single thing and medication effect as well as they had it from August 16 - July 17

I work in care and we are encouraged to talk to service users who are approaching the stage where there is a question mark about driving to contact SAGE, I think they are all over the country here is the Wiltshire leaflet SAGE They work with the older person to deal with issues about driving - for example a diagnosis of dementia is not necessarily the end of driving. this sort of approach often works better than a clash of views. Many doctors seem to just sign off for new driving licences.

Report by all means as she shouldn’t be driving if prohibited from doing so on health grounds. But don’t just leave her without transport. Be prepared to take her to the shops or arrange for someone else to do so. Isolation is a major problem for the elderly and infirm.

Please report her.

@Cavemum unless the GP mentions something about is she getting out and about, how would be travelling? etc, then she might say driving and GP is then primed by a note in advance from the family to say about cataracts and reflexes, cos (of course) being the GP they got a letter and he / she needs to check all that out before they can approve your MIL to drive again. Sometimes you have to play a bit of a game

@Pearlsaringer agree, op can you check is there something like community transport services or dial a lift in your area? As rather than giving your MIL a full on dependence on you it might mean she is meeting other people on her travels and they are heavily subsidised

You can file an anonymous report online.

I wouldn't be so sure that anything with happen though. I reported a family member with a history of blacking out at the wheel. Nothing came of it as far as I know, and they went on to black out at the wheel again and crashed into another car on a roundabout. Thankfully no one was hurt and they continue to live in denial about their alcoholism/withdrawal symptoms.

Please report her.

If she were to cause an accident and kill someone would you be able to live with knowing you could have prevented it?

Yes, report online. I would also try and persuade your relative to stop driving. Assuming she drives because she can't walk to the shop, perhaps help her find an alternative way of shopping e.g. online or taxis (this may be cheaper than running a car). Also check whether there are any services in your area for elderly or disabled people who have problems using public transport.

Report to DVLA they deal with it anonymously.Had to do this with neighbour unfit to drive, each time he scraped car, went wrong way down dual carriageway.Admitted he had no intention of stopping though Dr had told him to.Think how you would feel if she killed someone?

Has her GP said that she is not fit to drive?

GPs have a duty to inform DVLA if a person is unfit to drive. They have to tell the patient that they are going to do this.

As well as your Aunt being unsafe she is also uninsured if she is driving against medical advice - is she aware of this?

IrrelevantPeasant in what way is she not fit to drive?

^^Do this. We had to report my dad when his dementia worstened and he was in denial. Be aware that the process takes months and months (we had to hide my dad's keys while we waited and then get the community police to have a word when he tried to keep driving after loosing his license).

I know too many people who won't get into a car with their elderly relative because their driving is so bad yet won't report them.

Although I think OP should report there is nothing to stop her continuing to drive without a license anyway. If she knows she can't drive because of her medical condition she has already demonstrated that she is not honest if she continues to drive after her 70th. It is a difficult situation but I think persuading her that there are alternative ways to shop would be helpful.

Age is irrelevant, it’s her medical conditions that are key.

It sounds like, due to them, she is no longer fit to drive, but she knows this so she lied to the doctor that she did not drive so that he did not declare her unfit to do so.

Sneaky, and dangerous.

There was a case of a pensioner who lied to doctors about his failing eyesight because he wanted to continue to drive who killed a pedestrian.

You don’t want that to be your aunt.

If she shouldn't be driving report if you wish but make sure she's not stranded. Will you be able to offer her lifts when she needs them?

Please do. And take the keys now. Also some home truths - she could kill someones breadwinner, spouse, parent, sibling or child . who does she think she is?

One day the lot of you, if you’re lucky, will be 70 and you will then understand.

Being ' stranded' is trivial. There are taxis, transport schemes etc etc.