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Please don't let the fact that the person in question is a total prick cloud your judgement.
He has been diagnosed with dementia and within seconds of his diagnosis his wife has got carers allowance for him and the holy grail of a disabled badge.
Question is ,should he still be driving?
( Currently driving to norfolk towing a caravan)
I appreciate you have good and bad days but would someone with dementia know a bad day?
Given that two of the symptoms listed on the NHS website are
difficulty concentrating
finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks, such as getting confused over the correct change when shopping
I’d say no.
Depends very much what type and stage of dementia he's got.
once diagnosis is made they have to inform DVLA and their insurer - decisions of those 2 bodies will then decide their driving future
My guess is father in-law?
Very much depends on the stage. The licence will be taken off at some stage. Not sure how it’s determined. Presumably a medical is required to retain the licence
My Dad was suffering from the early stages of dementia, unknown however to us at the time. He wrote off one car and managed to set fire to another in quick succession.
It's easy for me to look back on it with the benefit of hindsight and much more awareness of dementia (this was 20 years ago now), but at the time he shrugged it off as bad luck (he was on his own both times) and we accepted it.
Sadly, if you've got dementia, you shouldn't be driving IMHO.
Same with my dad, bi~polar and early stage dementia. He wouldn’t give up driving, my brother said it was scary as hell in the car, just drove out onto roundabouts with out looking etc. Had driven for a living all his life.
Its just too dangerous out there.
Conversely my bro in law has early onset dementia, initially manifesting when it affected his problem solving skills. 2 years later he's still driving legally and apparently competently. It's not a one size fits all diagnosis, same as whether partiality sighted people should be allowed to drive.
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">If diagnosed with dementia you have to inform DVLA.
</span>
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">DVLA then ask your psychiatrist to assess your ability to drive.</span>
If you’re subsequently assessed as not fit to drive then you have to surrender your license. since there’s no getting better your driving license doesn’t come back.
not sure how frequently you’re reassessed .
https://www.gov.uk/dementia-and-driving
My neighbour had to give up his licence because of memory problems of early stage dementia. This was in that brief period between Prince Phillup crashing his car and giving up his licence, he was moaning that it's one rule for them and one for us.
He then told me of a time Phillip nearly ran him over leaving a naval base in Plymouth and he had to dive out of the way at the last minute and the n got told off for not saluting
This one wasn't dementia but shows what can go wrong.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-49005858
Managed to get fil to take extended driving test, they took his licence off him there & then, he still thinks he can drive (but doesn't) because he thinks he has an international driving licence
Some places have off-highway driving assessment centres to assess driving competence for people with disabilities eg Devon Drivers Centre. Can be useful in the early stages if the person is receptive to going, which isn’t always the case. They do need to inform their insurers and the DVLA of the diagnosis and the GP or specialist will be required to fill out quite a basic questionnaire for the DVLA medical assessor - it’s not a quick process. What is put on this often relies on what the Dr has been told so do let them know if you have any concerns. The whole thing can be really messy and difficult for the driver, families and Drs (I’ve been threatened several times). Even if the licence is taken away I’ve had patients continue to drive and we’ve had to work with the family to disable the car and preferably get rid of it and the community police can be great to assist in the whole process.
A colleague took his fathers battered Audi TT away in these circumstances but was stopped by the police a mile down the road as his father had called them to report his car had just been stolen off the drive by a crook!