Telling DVA about dangerous driving

[Isabella41]

Having agonised over this all weekend I weighed up that if my aunt were to kill or injure someone when she was out in her car I'd never forgive myself as I did nothing to stop her.
I rang the DVA. I spoke with someone who told me I could either write or email them. He said they would write to her and ask her to fill in some paperwork. I explained she would not be able to complete forms but would put them in an envelope and send them to me. As she doesn't have a dementia diagnosis and is not on any meds for it I fail to see what this form can do. He also said they would write to her GP. Again auntie is very plausible and how can the GP possibly know what my aunt's pracitical driving skills are like. I asked if they could not just send someone round to my aunt or invite her to an assessment centre. They said while this was possible there were other steps to take before this. I suppose from my point of view once I notify them and I am also going to speak to the GP then if something happens its not on my conscience.

Has anyone else on here reported someone and been through the process?

 

[jan.s]

What a quandary Isabella, but I think you're doing the right thing.

I agree that it would be hard for your conscience if aunty had an accident, but once you've informed dvla, the ball is in their court and you can do no more.

I must say, it's good to hear from you again, but I'm sorry that once again you're dealing with another relative with dementia. I was pleased to see though that the relationship with your daughters has defrosted to some extent.

Wishing you well, as you start yet another journey.

 

[joggyb]

Having agonised over this all weekend I weighed up that if my aunt were to kill or injure someone when she was out in her car I'd never forgive myself as I did nothing to stop her.
I rang the DVA. I spoke with someone who told me I could either write or email them. He said they would write to her and ask her to fill in some paperwork. I explained she would not be able to complete forms but would put them in an envelope and send them to me. As she doesn't have a dementia diagnosis and is not on any meds for it I fail to see what this form can do. He also said they would write to her GP. Again auntie is very plausible and how can the GP possibly know what my aunt's pracitical driving skills are like. I asked if they could not just send someone round to my aunt or invite her to an assessment centre. They said while this was possible there were other steps to take before this. I suppose from my point of view once I notify them and I am also going to speak to the GP then if something happens its not on my conscience.

Has anyone else on here reported someone and been through the process?

Yes, been through that process. DVLA excruciatingly slow to act. In the end, other events intervened before they did (Dad sectioned and taken to care home).

Dad first completed their form (with assistance from neighbour) and predictably denied any problems. We contacted DVLA again, and contacted GP at the same time. GP reluctant to do anything. Finally - and after Dad assessed by Memory Clinic - GP expressed doubts about Dad's driving ability to DVLA.

Even so, they took far too long between them, and - as I say - events intervened.

Others on here have had similar experiences and have resorted to e.g. disabling the car, removing the keys, etc...

 

[henfenywfach]

Having agonised over this all weekend I weighed up that if my aunt were to kill or injure someone when she was out in her car I'd never forgive myself as I did nothing to stop her.
I rang the DVA. I spoke with someone who told me I could either write or email them. He said they would write to her and ask her to fill in some paperwork. I explained she would not be able to complete forms but would put them in an envelope and send them to me. As she doesn't have a dementia diagnosis and is not on any meds for it I fail to see what this form can do. He also said they would write to her GP. Again auntie is very plausible and how can the GP possibly know what my aunt's pracitical driving skills are like. I asked if they could not just send someone round to my aunt or invite her to an assessment centre. They said while this was possible there were other steps to take before this. I suppose from my point of view once I notify them and I am also going to speak to the GP then if something happens its not on my conscience.

Has anyone else on here reported someone and been through the process?

Hi! This is the biggest quandry we faced. My dad had a diagnosis of dementia...and his driving concentration was bad! No matter how much i pleaded ...he wouldnt listen..i too decided to ring dvla..as the consultant only told them he loses concentration and we the family were worried...its a good job i helped him fill in forms. He was about to mislead them..and the reality is that he was unaware he was driving bad due to dementia...i would rather he not speak to me and be alive than kill someone!..its that simple...he two years later still protest now and again...but hey hes alive...i would do what ever i needed to!
Best wishes

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Talking Point mobile app

 

[Isabella41]

Now that I have done the deed so to speak I am afraid that the ineptitude of governement deparments will kick in and they will tell her who reported her. If they do she will go mad and disown me. As I'm the only able family member she has this would provide all sorts of problems. Of course aunty thinks there is nothing wrong with her driving so would see what i've done as cruel. She has a disabled badge and the council painted a disabled bay outside her house. How she managed to get this badge is beyond me as she walks for 2 miles every day, does not have a limp and can do the stairs with no issues. She had a hip replacement about 10 years ago but apart from that is physically in great shape.
I have also ran the GP and am waiting on them to call me back. As I don't have POA as yet I am expecting them to refuse to talk to me. I know it will probably take weeks for the POA to get registered and sent back to me.
I suppose now that I've passed the info on to the DVA if something awful happens it won't be on my conscience and I will know I did my best to inform them. I can't do much more.

 

[Katrine]

They won't tell her who reported the issue. She might guess it was you, but that's as far as it goes. It could just as easily have been a neighbour or a friend; someone who has seen her erratic driving or been a passenger in her car.

She will get a letter from DVLA informing her that someone has reported concerns about her driving, with a form enclosed for her to tell them of her medical conditions and medication. She will be advised to contact her GP. If your aunt rings DVLA they won't tell her who reported it. They get hundreds of these reports every week. Anonymity is guaranteed to the reporter - see their website.

 

[AlsoConfused]

Not a technical person ....

Would a dashboard camera mounted on your aunt's car highlight some of the risky driving practices (eg wandering over the road, etc)? Could you send this record to the GP and DVLA, to encourage them that a formal assessment of your aunt's driving ASAP was absolutely essential?

Could you persuade your aunt to accept and use the camera by saying it was there to protect her against other bad drivers?

 

[Isabella41]

Hi Also Confused. I don't live close to my aunt so fitting the dashboard camera would be a problem. She doesn't go out in the car every day but it only takes one 'bad' day's driving to change both her and possibly someone else's life forever. She has a disabled badge and has a disabled bay outside her house. I have no idea how she pulled this off as she walks about 2 miles every day!!! She has often said if she lost the blue badge she'd be forced to get rid of the car as getting a parking space on her street is a nightmare. Perhaps this is another avenue I could explore but I'm not even sure if this is something you can report and more importantly would she get into a whole lot of trouble if it were discovered she had a blue badge she never should have had in the first place. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[Katrine]

Hi Isabella. Check out the information on this site: http://www.disabledmotoring.org/blue-badge/eligibility-and-use?gclid=CJu8h-_U8MUCFcnKtAodtHkAGw

You could contact the blue badge administrator at her local council to let them know she has been reported to DVLA as a potentially unsafe driver.

I wonder how long your aunt has had this blue badge? It is quite possible that it has expired. When it is time to renew a badge the applicant has to qualify under the new procedures. A relative of mine works for a company that organises OT assessments for blue badges and he tells me that many people now have to go for physical assessments to qualify (not driving tests). Since your aunt appears to be quite spry, she wouldn't be assessed by the OT as needing the badge, I would think.

 

[carol4444]

18 months on and my mum is still cross about being stopped from driving. I tell her that even if the dr had not informed the DVLA i would not be able to obtain motor insurance anyway. She seems to have accepted that argument.


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[Isabella41]

The Blue badge is current. Apparently she was initially turned down but she went to a local counsellor on the advice of one of her friends and it was this counsellor who then got the badge for her. My late uncle had a badge but he more than qualified for it. She then applied after he died so that she could keep the disabled bay outside their house. Without this getting a parking space would be a nightmare and with car perhaps streets away it would stress her out wondering if it had been damaged or stolen.

 

[Lawson58]

Perhaps 'losing' your aunt's car keys might be a good option until DVLA can get their act together.

OH failed a driving assessment in August last year and was devastated at the time. But in true AD denial style, he tells every one that he is not allowed to drive because he had a cardiac arrest and never mentions his dementia.

Other people's lives are far more important than your aunt's resistance to losing her licence.

 

[Katrine]

She then applied after he died so that she could keep the disabled bay outside their house. Without this getting a parking space would be a nightmare ...

I can understand your aunt's POV but it sounds as if she wants this badge and parking space for purely social reasons. I am sure the authorities would not approve of that. I would ring the blue badge administrator at the council.

 

[Isabella41]

While I want to stop her driving from a safety point of view I don't want to do anything that would get her in trouble such as the council fining her for having a badge she was not entitled to. My aunt is a stubborn woman with a strong sense of entitlement (just like my own mother). Honestly auntie is just a younger version of my mum just not as bad tempered. Once I get the registered POA papers back I can do alot more. I'm aprehensive at the minute to rattle too many cages in case someone raises objections and the POA doesn't get registered.

 

[Countryboy]

I’m not actually getting what this thread is actually about on Talking Point , I would like to know has this person been Diagnosed with Dementia , if not how a person drives a car then its up to the Police to pull her over if she is driving dangerously , if we all go around reporting what WE consider dangerous diving to DVLA well I for one could be reporting up to a thousand a day give me a full time job unless this person has been DIAGNOSED with DEMENTIA by a Mental Health Clinic or Hospital if she hasn’t then she isn’t breaking any road traffic Laws

 

[Isabella41]

Tony. Its not to do with whether my aunt has dementia or not. I have sat with her in the car and I was scared witless. She drives in the middle of road, cuts people up at junctions and thinks all the other road users are at fault. She reported that recently when she was pulling out of a side road someone accused her of hitting them and asked her what she was going to do about it. She told him "nothing" and drove on.

 

[Countryboy]

Thank you Isabella41 I was concerned re: the dementia because for over 10 years on T.P I have defended the right of people with a diagnosed of dementia being allow to drive if they have the ability and can satisfy the Professional examiners by driving to the correct standards, I realize from the thread you are worried about you Ants ability to be driving , having said that it’s my Opinion and view the DVLA should only take call or information about a person ability from the Medical procedures or the Police and Courts , as I said previously I see bad / dangerous driving every day , but I also see bad and dangerous cyclist and walkers every day using our roads as well by the way I’m so passionate about the subject of Dementia and Driving because I have been Driving myself for 16 years with a dementia diagnoses and health willing will go on driving for another 16 years , personally bad / dangerous driving doesn’t bother me I know its out there on the roads so I need to be more vigilant myself weather Driving or walking { well I don’t really walk anywhere )

 

[AlsoConfused]

DVLA act oddly sometimes.

I told them (years ago) I wasn't safe to drive and wasn't driving because of a (relatively) short-term but major sight problem; as I'd be driving again at some stage in the future were my present problems something they needed to be notified about?

DVLA sent me a new (short term) driving licence!

 

[Countryboy]

DVLA act oddly sometimes.

I told them (years ago) I wasn't safe to drive and wasn't driving because of a (relatively) short-term but major sight problem; as I'd be driving again at some stage in the future were my present problems something they needed to be notified about?

DVLA sent me a new (short term) driving licence!

yes they do Alsoconfused like you DVLA took away my full driving license after I informed I had dementia and issued me with a 12 month driving license every year for 12 years , I decided to challenge that decision in court I’m glad I did because now I have a Full driving license again , that not because I no longer have dementia it’s because there is nothing wrong with my ability to drive here in U.K or in Europe we must be treated as individuals and not as a person with a dementia dig noses , shame we have to go into battle and fight for that right though