Elderly neighbour - dangerous driving

[Sazzle12345]

I hope someone can point me in the right direction.

We have an elderly (80+) neighbour. Single lady, fiercely independent. We get on fine (a good morning and quick chat etc and we also did all her shopping during lockdown) but are not close.

Recent interactions have made me fear that she may be in the early stages of dementia (I saw my Nan go through it). The same comment was made to me by a plumber who recently did some work for her.

My concern is that she drives, and it is quite frankly terrifying. It hasn’t been good for years, but is now at the point of being dangerous. Every panel of her car has damage on it and it is only a matter of time before something awful happens.

She does have children, but in the 10 years that I have lived next to her I have seen each of them once. She has friends, but they are all of a similar age.

As a mum of young children (and frankly as a person) I really worry about her driving and her hurting someone. It is a question of when rather than if.

Is there anything that I can do? Anyone I can contact? Any guidance would be appreciated!

[thatsn0tmyname]

Report her confidentially to the DVLA. She won't know it was you.

[DustyLee123]

I agree to reporting to the DVLA. I did it, and it works.

[Sazzle12345]

@DustyLee123 @thatsn0tmyname Thank you.

Does that work even if she does not have a diagnosis of a condition that would make her unfit to drive? Whilst I suspect she has dementia, I very much doubt she has seen her GP about it.

It feels like it would just be me saying she is dangerous with no proof, and surely that could be used maliciously?

Even without dementia, I suspect her eyesight alone would be poor enough for her to fail a test.

[DustyLee123]

What did the plumber say ?
Id say that from talking to her she seems to be having memory problems, like dementia. That there is multiple damage to the car that has happened at different times, and that from observing and talking to her you are concerned about her eye sight.
Its up to them if they do something about it.

[cherryassam]

They won’t just take your word for it, they’ll assess what you say and ask her to come in for a medical reassessment if they think there is cause for concern. It will be the result of this reassessment that determines if they revoke her license, I believe.

[Sazzle12345]

@DustyLee123

He asked me how she was. When chatting he explained that he had worked for her for years and recently fitted a new boiler. He asked where to put the controls, she told him, he fitted them, she then went bananas at him and said she wanted them somewhere else. He said she was angry and erratic which was not how he remembered her.

I saw my Nan go through personality changes when she was becoming unwell with dementia.

I will phone them in the morning. One look at her car would tell anyone that there is a serious issue. Thank you

[DustyLee123]

It was a form I filled in on line.