Driving

[BeeBeeDee]

My husband is in early stages of Alzheimers, he was diagnosed in July and we declared to the DVLA. He got his licence back about 3 weeks ago and I have been putting off and putting off doing anything about it - i.e. letting the Insurance people know. Now my problem is that his insurance will be up for renewal in the next 3/4 weeks. If I dont insure the car then we will need to get rid of it (we have 2 cars), but if I tell the insurance people and he starts driving again I will be a nervous wreck that he will do something to cause an accident. He is not happy at all about not being able to drive and if the final nail in the coffin comes of getting rid of his car he is not going to go quietly. His licence is for a year - do I contact the Insurance and sort it so he can drive or insist he doesnt. I dont know how much more the insurance will be.
He is able to go out and about walking by himself and be left at home by himself.
Anybody else been in this situation.

 

[Veritas]

If DVLA renewed your husband’s licence without requesting an assessment, they must have been reassured by what his doctors told them. That said, are you worried by what he does when he’s driving? If you are, then he should stop.

His insurance is automatically invalidated if the insurers have not been informed of his diagnosis, so you (or he) must tell them straight away. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the premium will go up when his renewal is due.

Looking to the longer term, he may be safe to continue driving for a while. The best way to be sure about this is to be assessed by https://www.qef.org.uk/contact/qef-mobility-services/. They were great with my PWD - DVLA referred him to them and he had an initial assessment and two reviews. The last review took place two and a half years after his diagnosis, and it was only then that they kindly but firmly said it was time to stop. It helped me a lot that it was someone else making the call. The QEF service is free if DVLA refers you, but I don’t know how much they’d charge otherwise.

There are some on here who will say that a diagnosis of dementia should result in an instant ban on driving. I don’t agree, provided that there is some way of monitoring what’s going on and deteriorating skills will be picked up. I was not surprised that my husband was told to stop when he was, as I had begun to notice the same things that they picked up on in the assessment. He took it surprisingly well - I majored on how the last thing he would want is to cause an accident with serious consequences - and a year on he’s well beyond being safe behind the wheel. Immediately after his diagnosis, he was fine handling the car, but needed a navigator, so only did very short local journeys unaccompanied.

It is a big loss, for all sorts of reasons, but safety has to come first. If you don’t think he’s safe driving, at any point, get in touch with DVLA and ask for advice on what to do.

 

[BeeBeeDee]

If DVLA renewed your husband’s licence without requesting an assessment, they must have been reassured by what his doctors told them. That said, are you worried by what he does when he’s driving? If you are, then he should stop.

His insurance is automatically invalidated if the insurers have not been informed of his diagnosis, so you (or he) must tell them straight away. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the premium will go up when his renewal is due.

Looking to the longer term, he may be safe to continue driving for a while. The best way to be sure about this is to be assessed by https://www.qef.org.uk/contact/qef-mobility-services/. They were great with my PWD - DVLA referred him to them and he had an initial assessment and two reviews. The last review took place two and a half years after his diagnosis, and it was only then that they kindly but firmly said it was time to stop. It helped me a lot that it was someone else making the call. The QEF service is free if DVLA refers you, but I don’t know how much they’d charge otherwise.

There are some on here who will say that a diagnosis of dementia should result in an instant ban on driving. I don’t agree, provided that there is some way of monitoring what’s going on and deteriorating skills will be picked up. I was not surprised that my husband was told to stop when he was, as I had begun to notice the same things that they picked up on in the assessment. He took it surprisingly well - I majored on how the last thing he would want is to cause an accident with serious consequences - and a year on he’s well beyond being safe behind the wheel. Immediately after his diagnosis, he was fine handling the car, but needed a navigator, so only did very short local journeys unaccompanied.

It is a big loss, for all sorts of reasons, but safety has to come first. If you don’t think he’s safe driving, at any point, get in touch with DVLA and ask for advice on what to do.

Well the Dr did a phone appointment and asked some questions - do you get dizzy spells, feel drowsy, fall over, have severe pains anywhere, drop things - that kind of thing and all the answers were No. So it wasnt really a good assessment or anything. I would only let him drive locally, my concerns are things like if he suddenly realises he is going the wrong way and or goes to turn and does it suddenly in panic

If DVLA renewed your husband’s licence without requesting an assessment, they must have been reassured by what his doctors told them. That said, are you worried by what he does when he’s driving? If you are, then he should stop.

His insurance is automatically invalidated if the insurers have not been informed of his diagnosis, so you (or he) must tell them straight away. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the premium will go up when his renewal is due.

Looking to the longer term, he may be safe to continue driving for a while. The best way to be sure about this is to be assessed by https://www.qef.org.uk/contact/qef-mobility-services/. They were great with my PWD - DVLA referred him to them and he had an initial assessment and two reviews. The last review took place two and a half years after his diagnosis, and it was only then that they kindly but firmly said it was time to stop. It helped me a lot that it was someone else making the call. The QEF service is free if DVLA refers you, but I don’t know how much they’d charge otherwise.

There are some on here who will say that a diagnosis of dementia should result in an instant ban on driving. I don’t agree, provided that there is some way of monitoring what’s going on and deteriorating skills will be picked up. I was not surprised that my husband was told to stop when he was, as I had begun to notice the same things that they picked up on in the assessment. He took it surprisingly well - I majored on how the last thing he would want is to cause an accident with serious consequences - and a year on he’s well beyond being safe behind the wheel. Immediately after his diagnosis, he was fine handling the car, but needed a navigator, so only did very short local journeys unaccompanied.

It is a big loss, for all sorts of reasons, but safety has to come first. If you don’t think he’s safe driving, at any point, get in touch with DVLA and ask for advice on what to do.

Well he hasnt driven since July but my worry is things like if he realises his turn off is there and he panics and turns without checking properly.
With regard to the Dr - we had a phone appointment where he asked things like do you have dizzy spells, feel drowsy, fall asleep suddenly, fall over, drop things. That type of questions to which every answer was No.
I would only have him do short journeys, I would drive if both of us were going somewhere

 

[Veritas]

Hmmm. Doesn’t sound ideal. I agree with you that there is a risk of a dangerous manoeuvre if he realises he’s gone the wrong way or missed a turning.

I’d contact QEF and see what the deal is for an assessment with them. They do cognitive testing and also get them to do a test drive for about 45 minutes - different types of roads, different traffic levels, so they get a pretty full picture.

Is it possible that he’s got used to not driving? Four months is a while.

 

[Galloping grannie]

We had a Doctors’s assessment on Monday for the annual renewal. He basically only asked him how good his memory is. He replied that it was good, it is awful! However on Tuesday I decided it was not wise for him to carry on even though the doctor was happy with his replies. Since then I have just got in the driving seat and he hasn’t commented . I’m hoping deep down he has realised it’s not a good idea for him to drive.

 

[BeeBeeDee]

We had a Doctors’s assessment on Monday for the annual renewal. He basically only asked him how good his memory is. He replied that it was good, it is awful! However on Tuesday I decided it was not wise for him to carry on even though the doctor was happy with his replies. Since then I have just got in the driving seat and he hasn’t commented . I’m hoping deep down he has realised it’s not a good idea for him to drive.

My husband argues that he has been driving for over 50 years and the man next door who is 90 is allowed to drive so why can't he.

 

[canary]

Sounds to me as though it would be a good idea to get an appointment for a driving assessment @BeeBeeDee - perhaps you could tell him that the insurance people want him to do it (love lies)

Then if he passes, you can be reassured and contact the insurance people
And if he fails you can blame the insurers..........

 

[BeeBeeDee]

Sounds to me as though it would be a good idea to get an appointment for a driving assessment @BeeBeeDee - perhaps you could tell him that the insurance people want him to do it (love lies)

Then if he passes, you can be reassured and contact the insurance people
And if he fails you can blame the insurers..........

Good idea thank you
I had a look at the QEF link but they are no where near us

 

[Veritas]

My husband argues that he has been driving for over 50 years and the man next door who is 90 is allowed to drive so why can't he.

Well, perhaps the 90 year old shouldn’t be driving either….

I’m sorry the QEF don’t have a centre near where you are. Perhaps contact them anyway and see what they suggest? I’d say contact DVLA but my experience of them is that you might as well try using smoke signals.

 

[Veritas]

We had a Doctors’s assessment on Monday for the annual renewal. He basically only asked him how good his memory is. He replied that it was good, it is awful! However on Tuesday I decided it was not wise for him to carry on even though the doctor was happy with his replies. Since then I have just got in the driving seat and he hasn’t commented . I’m hoping deep down he has realised it’s not a good idea for him to drive.

Yes, he may have done. Either way, keep doing what you’re doing and he will get used to it. These GP assessments are a bit scary, to be honest.