What will happen if I contact the DVLA to say I don’t think they should be driving?

[WhiteboardMarker]

NC

Just that ☹️ eyesight has gone badly downhill the last few months

Feeling absolutely wretched, car is their last lifeline

Will they have to do a test?

https://www.gov.uk/driving-eyesight-rules

There's a section on here if you need to report them as you are concerned they aren't fit to drive

https://contact.dvla.gov.uk/driver/capturetransactionntype?transactiontypeeid=drivers_medical

MNers can't tell you what would happen as DVLA have their own processes to follow and it varies on the individual medical details. PP can only say anecdotally but you won't know specific circs of how their relatives might differ from that of your relative 's

My MIL lived right by a bus stop, but as she got older she couldn't walk far and without a car had to take taxis for everything or just stay home. Really difficult.

I suppose the harsh truth is that as you age you are less and less able to do things for yourself and if you are to have any quality of life if you need a personal attendant/carer with you for most of the time and that's just not going to happen 🤷
In the 'old' days when only a few people reached frailty and there were lots of young people (or rather lots of women who could be press ganged into sacrificing their time and their mental and physical health) back then if you are elderly you might get the help that you needed but these days ... where's it going to come from?🤷

IME, if they're used to driving everywhere, they lose fitness and so by the time they get to the stage of needing to stop driving, physically getting to the bus stop and getting on the bus becomes an issue, even when there's one nearby.

DM moved house to close to a bus route but still drives (locally only now). On the few occasions she has used the bus to go into town for shopping she's struggled because it's a bit of a walk from the bus station to the shops, she's then got to carry what she bought and heave it onto the bus, and it's then uphill home from the bus stop carrying what she bought. For years she's just driven to shops, parked right outside and put any purchases straight in the boot. In contrast elderly relative who'd never driven stayed fit and able to shop on the bus into his 90s because he'd retained a level of fitness.

Although, thanks to this thread, I now know I can report her anonymously to the DVLA if I have any concerns!

I completely understand not wanting to give up independence but I also commend anyone who has reported concerns to DVLA. I have MS and as it can affect sight I was advised to self report. DVLA asked my GP to assess me and he did so over the phone and took my word that I was fit to drive (I am but he had no proof!). I'm now on a 3 year license so will continue to get checked when renewal is due presumably. It isn't an automatic right for anyone to be allowed to drive and we are all responsible to keep other road users and pedestrians safe.

My experience is that the DVLA are absolutely no help whatsoever. DF has dementia we knew his driving was dangerous and we suspect he lied about what he was told by an eye specialist at the hospital.

We were so scared of his driving we reported him anonymously to DVLA as DF refused to accept he was unsafe. We reported DF several times and all the DVLA did was send him a firm asking if he was safe to drive and he'd complete it and say yes as he always got to post before us. The situation was ridiculous!

We spoke to GP who said it wasn't up to them if he drove and not their responsibility to advise the DVLA! We did in the end manage to get the DVLA to write direct to GP who said DF should not be driving and we hid the car keys.

DF was furious and is obsessed with getting his licence back. He is currently in a MHU as his dementia is severe and he still asks about driving.

We did everything we possibly could to intervene and have been genuinely shocked at how unhelpful GP and DVLA were and yet if he had killed someone the family would have had fingers pointed and been told its our fault. It took us about 6 months of constant badgering before that licence was removed, luckily DF didn't drive in that time as he was too ill

No idea what will happen, but you are doing a loving thing and may save their life.

This came up with my father recently. He has been having regular dementia checks/ assessments by the GP surgery. He also fell over recently and so has not been driving due to hip pain.

After the most recent check the GP rang me up and said he would be recommending removal of the licence as he was worried about the cognifitive abilities.

The Dr said that he would write to my father and he would then have two weeks to object/ submit himself for assessment of his driving abilities before the matter was referred on to the DVLA after which his licence would be withdrawn. The Dr said he could write to the DVLA straight away if I wanted but I thought it best to to allow my father to consider the matter and feel some 'ownership' of the decision.

I was beginning to have discussions about this with my father before but found it quite hard. Having held a licence since 1956 he is very reluctant to give up and perceives taxis to be too expensive - this is despite me arguing that the £10-20 cost of taking a taxi once a week is far less overall than the cost of insurance/ road tax/ fuel/ maintenance he was paying for the 1000 miles a year he drove

The report section on the DVLA site isn’t anonymous, you have to give your email address and surname 😫 I daren’t give any detail. There has to be a way around this. Should I ring our GP?

They won't reveal your details OP

They don't reveal your details.

However you do need to have a story ready if the person you report asks you if it was you. My MIL asked if it was me, I swore blind it was not, suggested someone might have seen him bump the car and they decided it must have been a nurse they saw in clinic. Which was fine with me.

Seriously, it’s fine - FIL has never discovered it was me, they keep your info completely secure.

As Anna says above you just need to practice a convincing deflecting story in case they ask you straight. (Mine never did, I didn't tell anyone I did it, even DH, and I seeded the story that it was probably the GP or something).

Or is there anyone else you can ask to do it for you? A friend?

I'd do absolutely nothing. Leave her alone and let her come to her own decisions.

Great idea, who cares if she kills someone?

I’d report anonymously to dvla. They can get taxis if they need to go out, that’s what my grandad did when he decided the time was right to stop driving.

DVLA will want a report from GP.

Do they see their GP or another medical person regularly @WhiteboardMarker ?
We had this with FIL who was becoming a bit confused and getting lost when he was out in car.
We alerted GP before his next review appointment for heart condition and GP did some general tests during the consultation and told FIL he shouldn't drive. Although he was devastated he accepted it from Dr whereas he wouldn't listen to us.

They don't just take licences away because bossy relatives say that they should. They may recommend she has a gp check.

And it's extremely unlikely she'll kill anyone.

Far more likely that she has a prang in a carpark and decides to stop of her own accord.

My mum has just been told by two consultants that they are not happy with her driving. I have managed to get her to promise me not to drive but I know she will 'forget'. I'm reporting her now.
I asked her how she would sleep at night if she hurt someone, her answer was she was never in the car by herself and the passenger could pull the handbrake.
Like pp's story, her right to drive trumps others right to safety.
Unfortunately this is not unusual behaviour for her

"What happens if someone refuses to stop driving?
If you're seriously concerned about an older person's driving, you should write in confidence to the DVLA. They may then follow up with the local police. Think carefully about how this would affect your relationship with the person and whether there is another way for you to get them to think about giving up."

From Age UK. Might be helpful.

And the DVLA will only rescind a licence after investigation IF the older person has a medical condition that they list as making it dangerous to drive. If they do not have such a condition they are free to drive.

Most older people come to the conclusion they are unfit to drive by themselves.

We had to persuade DFiL to stop driving, he was very reluctant. We went through the cost of owning a car, insurance, petrol, maintenance etc. versus getting a cab 2 or 3 times a week for the, mostly, sort journeys he was making. He bought into this when the financial benefit was shown. Now he is more than happy to pay for a longer journey as he is saving money not having a car.

I think this an excellent way to do it.

When my father had dementia over 25 years ago we simply removed his car - for a few weeks he thought it had gone to the garage and then just forgot about it - he was very amenable though which made it easier to do.

That doesn't work when the person in question is in complete denial. Dementia is cruel.