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He blacked-out a couple of times recently. The last occasion he "parked" his car in the middle of the road before passing out inside Waitrose.
His driving has been pretty shaky for years - I personally would not want to be driven by him.
But going on the DVLA website, merely blacking out a few times doesn't seem to be enough to need reporting.
Should I just wait until he mounts the kerb and wipes out a family?
He only really thinks of himself, so as far as he is concerned, avoiding a bit of inconvenience at the risk of killing a few people is easily worth it.
Talk to him first.
why is he blacking out? - needs to see his GP, perhaps?
Could you express your concerns to his doctor? Not sure if they will take any action but they might want to do a checkup once covid has gone.
Having a major seizure, a Grand Mal as it used to be called, is grounds to have one’s licence revoked until proof can be supplied that none have occurred for twelve months. My g/f gets them occasionally, and now refuses to drive at all.
I think this situation comes under that heading, and needs to be dealt with immediately.
Blackouts are caused by chronic sodium deficiency. Any infection will push him below the level needed for his body to carry on working properly. It also affects his behaviour when this happens, as he gets even more unreasonable and irascible than usual.
Pretty sure if you have two incidents within a short timeframe of any neuro issue that could cause you to lose control of a vehicle you are meant to report yourself to DVLA and surrender licence.
In short, yes 100% you should help him get medical treatment and get him off the road. Sounds like he should be driving a mobility wagon or using Uber.
Wally
SubscriberTalk to him first.
Easier said than done.
My father in law temporarily lost his license after having a blackout. Think he got the all clear after a year and got it back
6 replies and only one " yes defo"
Scary times we live in indeed.
Yes, please do it soon.
To make it topical, the NHS cannot cope currently with unnecessary RTAs caused by stuff like this. Get it sorted.
i was hit by an elderly driver last May. I was OK, some damage to the bike and some bruises.He surrendered his licence afterwards.
One simple question,if your dad hits and seriously injures/kills,knowing what you know how will you feel?
Discuss with him by all means, but i would suggest giving him a choice, voluntarily surrending or you report him to DVLA/police.
Yes you absolutely should. Good use of irascible as well.
Having seen similar with my grandfather, yes absolutely get him off the road.
Situation in his case was a mix of stress brought on by my grandmother going into care (and him driving across there 2 or 3 times a day to see her) plus medical issues like lack of mobility in his neck (making it difficult for him to turn to look over his shoulder when reversing) and poor eyesight caused by cataracts.
He never blacked out but he did get pulled by the police once for driving too slowly - they found him very confused by the rain and the headlight glare.
what did it for him in the end was the insurance premiums casued by him having so many minor shunts and prangs and thankfully he as driving so slowly most of the time that any damage potential was limited but we were terrified that he'd do the old pensioner thing of mistaking the gas for the brake and take out a shop front or a family.
He won't like it but is it better to put up with his disapproval or your lifelong regret?
He won’t like it but is it better to put up with his disapproval or your lifelong regret?
Disapproval it is. Tomorrow's going to be a fun day.
Yes - an old boy blacking out wrote my parked car off and continued for a mile or so causing more damage to parked cars before embedding in a wall. Police followed the trail of destruction back and informed us.
Yes.
Yes .
I would. I did, for my grandad, and almost had to for my dad. I felt a bit bad but then I thought, it's not just protecting others, it protected him too
If he is oldandpastit then speak to him in the morning (I presume he is tucked up now) and then speak to him early tomorrow (probably up at 6am - like most old folk and in PJ's at 8) report him following result of conversation.
Even if you do report him to the "Authority" (who are swamped at the mo) then at least you gave him a chance to see sense.
You love him, or you would not care, try talking first.
I dread the conversation with my Dad. 🙁
Honestly - I would go straight to him. The DVLA appears to be in a bad way right now.
According to their website they're refusing to take calls from anyone who is not a key worker, the live chat is not working, and there's a fair few key workers on Twitter berating them for not being available.
I'm trying to get a missing document from them literally nothing I can do to find out where my paperwork has got to.
I wouldn't bother reporting him.
I would however render his car undrivable.
Some guys can be told, others can't and need to be shown.
Yes because
He only really thinks of himself, so as far as he is concerned, avoiding a bit of inconvenience at the risk of killing a few people is easily worth it.
Which means this
Talk to him first.
won't work, he will then drive without a license therefore
render his car undrivable.
Because
Some guys can’t be told and need to be shown.
An anonymous report to the police may help, they may be able to persuade him to surrender his license in lieu of 'further action'.
I know the police used this approach after I clambered down an embankment to an elderly guy that had drifted through oncoming traffic, crashed into a tree on the verge next to me and then slid down an embankment through the trees. It appeared he was mildly under the influence, tired and either fallen asleep or passed out. They said don't worry about making a statement, they would call me if he wouldn't hand his license in.
Yes.
100%.
Well, caveat... talk to him to self report. If he doesn't, let dvla know.
DrP
Absolutely yes.
My great uncle caused many an incident. Leaving a trail of destruction behind him whenever he took to the wheel. The same with an elderly neighbour.
This may not be possible, but after having the chat, take the keys away.
We're all cyclists and at risk from this type of driver, Also as you say anyone that could potentially be run down by him.
Not sure if it's at all equivalent but my Mrs had a seizure a few years back (thankfully not repeated) which resulted in her being effectively banned from driving for a period of time until she had a medical all-clear.
I imagine it'll be a very difficult "conversation" with your Dad, but I would absolutely get him off the road. If you wouldn't want him to drive you, he probably shouldn't be driving full stop 🙁
A mate of mine was in a similar position a couple of years ago with his mum. She was showing the early signs of dementia, insisted on keeping driving, and every time he went round her car (the archetypal pensioner-mobile - a Rover 25) would have a fresh scrape or dent where she’d hit another car, then just driven off.
In the end he was so concerned that she was going to kill or seriously injure someone, he basically confiscated her car. Went round to her house took the keys, drove it back to his house and immobilised it.
She was not happy about it, but he figured that dealing with her anger was preferable to dealing with a grieving family
Syncope/fainting is notifiable to the DVLA in various circumstances, and always if it affects driving which this clearly does. There is a self reporting form on the gov.uk website.
Sorry I'm late ... @oldnpastit
Given what you said can you talk to his GP/geriatric specialist?
Two reasons ...
1) THEY need to know anyway
2) It sounds like he may listen to them more than you?
We did this... how 2 way it is depends on his mental capacity but even if its purely one way it might be better for your Dad.
My father's geriatric consultant did faff a bit... he said taking away his license would see him in a home very quickly .. (He was correct) but he also said how quickly would likely be influenced by talking him into making a voluntary decision to surrender his license (or just not drive) vs forced.
You might want to consider the consequences of that and COVID in your approach.
I'm not judging either way... just chucking that out there for you to consider.
Take his keys away then set up an account at the local taxi firm. Explain that taking taxi's everywhere (assuming they are all short journey's he's doing) will be cheaper than insurance, petrol, tax etc etc.
Set up a Direct Debit for the monthly bill from the taxi company.
As a wider family, we've done this twice.
First time (my grandpa) we knew the family doctor, and as a nurse my grandpa had enough respect for him. We lined up the GP asking for the keys and taxi home. I then drove his car to the garage to sell as my father went to his house to find the V5. Dodgy, but job done and a few months later he appreciated it.
My wife's grandfather refused everything, and 15-20 years ago the DVLA wasn't so organised. After months of arguments with the gran(the one putting him under pressure to drive) and incidents in the car, it was again agreed to 'sort' the issue. He had stated that their (old) car wasn't worth fixing. My wife's uncle and wife visited one day, and a distributor lead and fuses went back with him. Cue the car never being fixed.
Sorry OP, you've got to sort this one. Quite literally think of the children and others the child harm.
Can he mend punctures?
Take the keys and car.
FIL was a nightmare. Poor eyesight and general shocking driving. At one point he was on Oxygen for around a year, and would even sneak out with the bloody oxygen bottle connected to him whilst driving - we went mad as he wasn't insured. He did stop driving after pressure. He eventually passed away with lung cancer - that's when we found all the 'chips away' repair bills to his car.