What do you think?

Please, just accept your neighbour's apology. My husband did many strange things in the early stages of his 'young onset dementia'. He even walked into the wrong house on one occasion. Hopefully parking on your drive was a genuine mistake which won't happen again.

I would worry that he's not safe to drive.
If he is like that, even some of the time he really shouldn't be putting himself and everyone else at risk.

NotSpaghetti

I would worry that he's not safe to drive.
If he is like that, even some of the time he really shouldn't be putting himself and everyone else at risk.

This. I agree.

I don’t want to do anything, but I didn’t understand why he would park on my drive and then walk off down the road to my neighbour’s house.
My neighbour is in her late thirties, so I imagine her uncle is in his fifties. That’s really sad, but I wonder if he should be driving. Wrong house this time, could be wrong road or wrong motorway next time.

Mollygo, I share your concerns. I remember being shocked when a dear friend who was receiving chemo told me that her volunteer driver had informed her that he had ' mild dementia '. I really don't know what the guidelines are about dementia sufferers continuing to drive.

This is Kitty's area of expertise, maybe she'll see this thread and advise.

could you say to the neighbour, is he safe ro drive ?
after all, sadly dementia is a progressive disease, and who's to tell the exact moment when he fails to read the road correctly, mounts the kerb, drives against the on-coming traffic, endangering himself as well as others.
if she is young, neighbour may not understand all the implications of dementia.

I thought if the Memory Clinic said you had dementia, your licence was immediately suspended until you had a full assessment. That is what happened to my uncle.

If your house was a distance form this neighbours and he still parked there, I would think he was unfit to drive.

If she has only fairly recently moved in maybe he wasn’t sure where she lived?

Oopsadaisy1

If she has only fairly recently moved in maybe he wasn’t sure where she lived?

But then he walked to her house, the OP has told us. So how did he know where to walk to? He couldn’t have asked at the house he had parked at, as she was out.

?

I would stroll down to the new neighbour and say you have been pondering on the situation and think she (or another family member) should gently and kindly suggest he may need to ask his doctor or the memory clinic about driving.

I think she hasn't really thought this through.
Just say it's been on your mind and you are concerned about both him and other people.

I would accept your neighbours apology an keep quiet....I'm sure his family will be aware of his situation...Sometimes families get angry if you poke your nose in....If the man keeps parking on your driveway then that's a different case...

I agree Mine.

My friends husband has been diagnosed but is allowed to drive after an assessment.

kircubbin2000

My friends husband has been diagnosed but is allowed to drive after an assessment.

That’s why I don’t really want to step in and suggest anything. I often see my neighbour whilst walking the dog, so I thought I’d just ask her how her uncle is. If something happens though . . .

I agree with Mine. If the family know of his diagnosis it is up to them to decide how to handle it. As you say, Molly, if there are further incidents it might make a difference, but for now I would say nothing.

When my mum was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the consultant told us that she was fine to continue driving as she was at a very early stage. She did not have to go for an assessment. We informed her insurance company and they were fine with it. Mum did make the decision to stop driving a few months later as she had an incident when she could not remember where she had left the car and it worried her. Luckily she was then 84 and had enough money to afford taxis and was confident shopping online. Her AZ did not really impact on her ability to live independently for over four years but she did go downhill really quickly at the end.