Moral dilemma

I think you've done the right thing but (not sure here) I think the Gp can only advise the DVLA of the circumstances. Similar situation in my family didn't make any difference as the person not fit, just ignored any communications and continues to drive!

Oh Mishap that's a difficult decision to have to make but I think you've done the right thing for what its worth..

Well done Mishap you did the right thing for the rest of the population, if not for the individual.

I was so relieved when I had convinced my brother to take Mum's keys off her. She wouldn't let me have them to the extent of taking my handbag off me by force to get them back.

Years ago, my grandparent's next door neighbour began losing his sight but his wife would sit next to him doing a running commentary!

A friend had a mild stroke and was ok to continue driving after checking out with her GP and notifying the DVLA that she had done so. Mind you, if she had been driving on the wrong side of the road, I would have asked her to stop driving till she got the all clear.

I have phoned the police on many occasions when I have seen a set of car keys in an offender's hand if they are banned from driving or appear to be under the influence of something. Many offenders would leave their car keys in my office and not bother coming back for them (probably hot-wiring the car instead!)

I think you have definitely done the right thing Mishap. My late father was driving into his late eighties and I was horrified when on one occasion he took both hands off the steering wheel to point something out to me when we were driving fast along a dual carriageway in Newcastle. He was very shame faced when I pointed it out to him and I didn't go in the car with him again. My concern was not just for him but for anyone else who might be innocently involved should he have an accident. Soon after this he was told by the optician that he needed a cataract operation which he was very reluctant to have. The optician told him that he should not drive again unless he had this done so he listened to him which he would not have done with my brother or I.

I am sure you would have felt dreadfully guilty if you had done nothing and somebody had been killed. A touch call, but you made the right one.

You were right Mishap sometimes people have to be stopped. My Aunt was driving until weeks before her death, she was terminally ill and having seizures but would go for a drive. Family had to get the GP to talk to her and eventually hide the car keys. When the doctor said she couldn't drive with her medication she said she would stop taking it !

I understand this is a very difficult decision to make but have a look at this case which was in the news recently.

http://www.personal-injury-solicitor-reading.co.uk/home/News_details/364/Colchester-teenager-was-killed-by-driver-who-had-failed-an-eye-test

I agree with all the others - it is not just for this person's own protection but other road users and pedestrians. There have been some horror stories of elderly/confused drivers heading the wrong way up a motorway and while these incidents do not always end in tragedy - sometimes they do, and you would never forgive yourself if you kept quiet and the person you speak of had or caused an accident.
Given that running a car is jolly expensive, I have often thought that unless you were driving every day, it would not necessarily cost more to get a taxi when necessary as well as ensuring peace of mind and comfort. It could also be possible, if you live nearby, to organise a few friends who are available for trips to the shops/doctors' appointments etc

So true gracesmum and a car pool would ensure that everyone concerned at least had some other contact with the local neighbours at sometime during the week and people could make sure that their close neighbours or realatives where in good health.

An elderly friend of mine decided not to drive any more, sold her car and opened an account with the proceeds. She topped this up from time to time with what she would have payed for insurance, tax , repairs, petrol and depreciation. She used the account solely for taxies which she had everywhere and she was in fact ''quids in''. We have never had a car, always contribute towards costs if given a lift, use public transport and have taxies everywhere. If you work out what a car costs you for a week , taking everything into consideration, that's an awful lot of money available for taxies. Carrying things is a bit of a problem but a shopping trolley or wheeled suitcase takes care of most things.

I have this dilemma and because I am a foreigner - I live in France - I feel it is even more of a quandary. My neighbour has very serious eye problems and her sight is getting progressively worse. So is the condition of her very new car. So far she has only hit fixed obstacles and other car bumpers. She lives alone and goes out in her car two or three times a day. I think it would be such a curtailment of her life that she would go mad. She is 85. BUT we have small children in the village. What if she hit one of them. HELP.

It really is such a dilemma. The person involved is a friend of mine who had her stroke several years ago. She had no driving assessment at the time and we have all been worried for ages. For various reasons things came to a head and we felt that we could no longer stay silent.

We live in an isolated country area, so, although taxis are a good idea, you would be talking £30 for a one-way trip to the nearest town, so it is a considerable burden not to be able to drive. Public transport is feeble, and even then she wold have to get to her nearest bus stop which is a long way away.

I cannot tell you what a difficult decision it was, and I have been wracked with guilt about it - but I know that the bottom line is that she is not safe driving and people have to be protected. It might be my wee GC who are in the car that she drives into. I feel very sad about it, but keep telling myself that I have done the right thing.

Mishap I know how you feel - I had a neighbour who really could not drive safely, his eyesight was so bad. The village school is in our lane and we (OH and adjoining neighbours) agreed he had to be reported. We could not have lived with the fact that he had killed a child and it would have devastated him. He had been a local GP and was very respected and loved.

£60 to go to town and back once a week will still not come near what it costs to run a car. We spent over £200 on taxies one weekend. When I told my friend, she said,'' and I had my car MOT tested and that cost me £200 ! People find it hard to believe exactly how much it costs to run a car. Also we are of the generation that regards taxies as a luxury.Once you've sorted these two things in your mind the rest is easy.