Parkinson’s driving dilemma

First I would speak to the wife maybe it’s just wishful thinking
If that fails and he does start driving I d alert the authorities nasty as that seems with advanced Parkinson’s he’s not safe to be on the road

How old is he? Over 70 and the licence has to be renewed each year. DVLA list a number of conditions that if you have you are not allowed to drive and you sign a declaration to that effect.

If you speak to the wife she can ask their GP to have a word with him as well.

Good advice to speak to the wife.
If he's serious, tho, I'd report him straight away and not wait till he starts.
It's not nasty if you are aware he'd be dangerous and could injure someone.

Every 3 years not every year.

He would also invalidate any insurance.

Report, anonymously, on the DVLA website!

I would have thought he would have to report to DVLA himself about his condition.

Hi, there seems to be an awful tendency for lots of people on gransnet to want to report others, or encourage others to report. What is it that would be reported here?

As far as I am aware, it is not a crime to say that you want to drive again.

Ali23, would it be possible for you to download information from the DVLA site that covers the requirements for drivers in respect of age and illness related conditions, including the additional driving test that is sometimes required to establish fitness to drive, and pass this to the man? Or maybe fnd a leaflet at the gp surgery or library and pass that to him? I think that would be a really helpful thing for you to do.

I'm also not really in agreement with involving his wife at this point unless he has obvious mental incapacity issues and cannot follow a conversation on his own. In which case you could mention that he had told you this recently and thought it would be helpful to pass on the information/ leaflet.

I hope that this might help solve the current dilemma.

My OH had PD. Luckily he recognised the point at which he was not safe to drive and I helped him to take the right steps to revoke his licence. He became completely insane not long afterwards, so we just got it sorted in time.

You are allowed to drive with PD - he did so legally to begin with. Many people with early PD are driving legitimately.

Presumably this information came from his wife - has she decided to take any steps over this? If not, try GP = although I know they are loathe to intervene.

Hi everyone
Thanks for the replies. Yes he has declared his PD to the DVLA in the past but he was actually capable then. He runs his wife around in impossible circles and it’s entirely possible that this is one of them. She was there during the conversation.

I will take her to one side if I can though, and talk to her about it.

It’s a good idea to print out the information and share it with them. Thanks for that idea Baggytrazzas. His wife doesn’t read well but she might feel able to share it with her son.

Thanks again.

You are welcome and good luck Ali23

A friend was worried about her father's driving. He was in his 80s and determined to continue. His GP would do nothing, so she reported him anonymously herself. She felt awful doing it but he was a menace on the roads and liable to kill others and himself.

there seems to be an awful tendency for lots of people on gransnet to want to report others, or encourage others to report. What is it that would be reported here?

What would be reported is the man's medical condition making it dangerous for him to drive.

Why is it to be left to someone whose judgement is faulty, to decide whether to endanger others?

Is it really the case that GPs stand back and do nothing if they know someone is unfit to drive?

I would hate to have to stop driving but I hope that others would make me do so, if I became a risk and didn't realise it.

Sparklefizz

A friend was worried about her father's driving. He was in his 80s and determined to continue. His GP would do nothing, so she reported him anonymously herself. She felt awful doing it but he was a menace on the roads and liable to kill others and himself.

Hi, and what investigations took place and how long did it take before he stopped driving? There would have been requests for forms, medical reports etc meanwhile he would still be driving.

If anyone is genuinely worried about anyone else's ability to drive then best and immediate thing would be to "mislay" the car keys until the medical assessment takes place or the would be driver agrees they are no longer fit to drive.

We removed my Mum’s car keys as her dementia took hold and in conjunction with her GP notified DVLA. She wasn’t best pleased, but needs must.
DVLA have medical advisors to ring if there is uncertainty.

Hi, there seems to be an awful tendency for lots of people on gransnet to want to report others, or encourage others to report. What is it that would be reported here

If the man starts driving again and has advanced Parkinson’s what would you think is the right thing to do ? You can’t mislay his keys if he’s a neighbour !!! ?‍?

I don’t understand your post I ve never reported anyone in my life but if I knew someone was putting himself and others in danger I wouldn’t think twice and hopefully nor would any other person who was caring

BlueBelle

*Hi, there seems to be an awful tendency for lots of people on gransnet to want to report others, or encourage others to report. What is it that would be reported here*

If the man starts driving again and has advanced Parkinson’s what would you think is the right thing to do ? You can’t mislay his keys if he’s a neighbour !!! ?‍?

I don’t understand your post I ve never reported anyone in my life but if I knew someone was putting himself and others in danger I wouldn’t think twice and hopefully nor would any other person who was caring

Hi, yes I too am confused by the " reporting" aspects here. If anyone reports that someone else is unfit to drive to the DVLA, either the DVLA will already be aware of the position OR will need to begin an investigation which could take weeks or months. They can't simply take anyones word for it ( unless they are the persons GP) - it could be malicious. meanwhile the person is still driving whether unfit or not. So, the first resort should, in my opinion, not be " reporting" but considering what others actions might be more helpful. And whilst you can't mislay a neighbours keys, in this case his wife could. There are other ways of dealing with the matter at least initially apart from " reporting" .

BlueBelle

*Hi, there seems to be an awful tendency for lots of people on gransnet to want to report others, or encourage others to report. What is it that would be reported here*

If the man starts driving again and has advanced Parkinson’s what would you think is the right thing to do ? You can’t mislay his keys if he’s a neighbour !!! ?‍?

I don’t understand your post I ve never reported anyone in my life but if I knew someone was putting himself and others in danger I wouldn’t think twice and hopefully nor would any other person who was caring

Also, in my earlier post, I pointed out that at this stage the man is not driving, he has only mentioned that he intends to. He might only be saying that. For all we know he may already be revoked and his wife may already have "lost" the car keys. My point is that its not a crime for anyone to SAY they intend driving.

Ask his wife if they see in Parkinson's related doctors or nurses on a regular basis then perhaps you can encourage them to discuss it with them , she could bring it up by saying something like " x is thinking about starting to drive again" and perhaps the conversation can be opened up that way. They can then get the appropriate advise.

Huh ! Ask the Doctor ! My OH had PD but drove at speed , he was a very slow driver before the onset ! ,
I pocketed the keys , the safe had been lost ages before , initially he asked where were the keys , I said I hadn’t seen them , he wandered off , asked a few more times , but forgot all about it , a different mania took over
I hid them in my dressing gown pocket and neither he nor anyone else thought of looking there

aggie are you saying the doctor knew of the danger and did nothing?

Baggytrazzas

Hi, there seems to be an awful tendency for lots of people on gransnet to want to report others, or encourage others to report. What is it that would be reported here?

As far as I am aware, it is not a crime to say that you want to drive again.

Ali23, would it be possible for you to download information from the DVLA site that covers the requirements for drivers in respect of age and illness related conditions, including the additional driving test that is sometimes required to establish fitness to drive, and pass this to the man? Or maybe fnd a leaflet at the gp surgery or library and pass that to him? I think that would be a really helpful thing for you to do.

I'm also not really in agreement with involving his wife at this point unless he has obvious mental incapacity issues and cannot follow a conversation on his own. In which case you could mention that he had told you this recently and thought it would be helpful to pass on the information/ leaflet.

I hope that this might help solve the current dilemma.

Because we all have a responsibility to stop people who are dangerous drivers.

Baggytrazzas

Sparklefizz

A friend was worried about her father's driving. He was in his 80s and determined to continue. His GP would do nothing, so she reported him anonymously herself. She felt awful doing it but he was a menace on the roads and liable to kill others and himself.

Hi, and what investigations took place and how long did it take before he stopped driving? There would have been requests for forms, medical reports etc meanwhile he would still be driving.

If anyone is genuinely worried about anyone else's ability to drive then best and immediate thing would be to "mislay" the car keys until the medical assessment takes place or the would be driver agrees they are no longer fit to drive.

Baggy I only know what my friend told me, but what I do know is that he had a number of serious health conditions and was driving very erratically.

You seem to be implying that she reported him maliciously which could not be further from the truth. She agonised over doing it but knew he was an "accident waiting to happen".

Sparklefizz

Baggytrazzas

Sparklefizz

A friend was worried about her father's driving. He was in his 80s and determined to continue. His GP would do nothing, so she reported him anonymously herself. She felt awful doing it but he was a menace on the roads and liable to kill others and himself.

Hi, and what investigations took place and how long did it take before he stopped driving? There would have been requests for forms, medical reports etc meanwhile he would still be driving.

If anyone is genuinely worried about anyone else's ability to drive then best and immediate thing would be to "mislay" the car keys until the medical assessment takes place or the would be driver agrees they are no longer fit to drive.

Baggy I only know what my friend told me, but what I do know is that he had a number of serious health conditions and was driving very erratically.

You seem to be implying that she reported him maliciously which could not be further from the truth. She agonised over doing it but knew he was an "accident waiting to happen".

HI, I'm not implying that she reported him maliciously. I'm saying though that people COULD submit malicious reports. It probably took some time between the reporting and when he stopped driving permanently. It might have been better to have considered other actions to take.

A question for anyone here - how would you feel if you received notification from DVLA advising that they were concerned about your ability to drive and that you had to complete forms/tests/provide medical records etc? You might not know WHO had reported you but would know it was someone close either family friend or neighbours. And no one had mentioned it to you previously that it might be an idea to stop driving?