Following on from Illegal Drivers.
Some friends of mine have a next-door neighbour who, quite frankly, shouldn't be on the road.
She is a pensioner aged almost 80 who her late husband would not allow to drive when he was alive. Now that he is dead, she drives but is a total menace.
In the last two weeks she has:
(1) Smashed into my friend's gate / gatepost, damaging them and her own Fiesta
(2) Scratched, indeed, impaled her Fiesta on her own fence by driving too close to it in an attempt to park on her own, ample, driveway.
She has an M reg Fiesta, 1.1 petrol, but she makes it sound like a diesel cum vaccuum cleaner cum tank as she never seems to go beyond second gear!
She really is a danger and should really be stopped by reporting her to the DVLA. She just should not be on the road full stop.
I will leave the decision to my friends, but they are non-internet users who would like some advice on what to do about this. From what I have seen of her so-called driving abilities, she will end up killing someone sooner rather than later, let alone damage other vehicles (two such incidents in the last 6 months, God only knows how much she pays for insurance!).
If a letter were sent to the DVLA giving her name and address, would they actually look into this or what?
Thanks,
clariman
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>>If a letter were sent to the DVLA giving her name and address, would they actually look into this or what?
I know someone who did exactly this to a relative about 6 weeks ago. He got a letter in less than a week.
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Where should they write to - any particular department?
Do they need to give the car registration or would name and address of this woman do?
clariman
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The car doesn't matter, the name and address do. I think they wrote to the generic address. If you want me to check I probably won't see them before the weekend.
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From DVLA web site, this seems to be a good bet:
"5. How do I tell DVLA about my medical condition if I am the holder of a current driving licence?
If you are the holder of a current driving licence and have a notifiable medical condition, then you should download and complete the appropriate medical questionnaire from section 4 above, and then send it to the following address:
Drivers Medical Group
DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1DL"
A swift letter to the above address should be sufficient I think.
clariman
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Just be nice and be sure.
Make sure that you honestly believe that she shouldn't drive and that you honestly believe that she is dangerous.
Getting someone's licence withdrawn is a horrible thing to do to someone, especially someone who has lost a lot of other things. So at least you need to be sure that you're doing it in good faith for the right reasons.
Mark.
P.s. you do realise that they don't care if she's an awful driver, they are only worried about medical conditions. If she doesn't have a medical condition, or at least is medically fit to drive, then a letter from her doctor will suffice.
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I doubt she can read a number plate at 2 feet let alone the legal requirement, hence why when you try to reverse up your own drive do you part reverse up the neighbour's and damage their gate and gatepost.
And drive the whole car along your own fence scratching it all the way along, instead of stopping straight away?
A menace.
A dangerous menace.
I feel she is as blind as a bat to be honest. A Mr Magoo on wheels!
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Clairman.
As Mark states generally DVLA on complaint will look to see if there is a medical condition underlying an inability to drive safely and at her age there may well be. They involve a procedure involving mecical examination and will require some fairly good grounds.
Two points strike me
(1) Do you know who her medical practioner is so he can be made aware as he will sign for her fitness?
(2) make an enquiry as outlined in your original post of DVLA by E Mail on:
Drivers.dvla@gtnet.gov.uk
b***** awful thing to do but I had the same with an 84 year old relative whose eyesight was failing and he started to shoot red lights and back into walls etc. Took a lot of persuading but he did hand his Licence in. I now know he no longer is a danger to himself and importantly to any others.
DVD
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Clairman. As Mark states generally DVLA on complaint will look to see if there is a medical condition underlying an inability to drive safely and at her age there may well be. They involve a procedure involving mecical examination and will require some fairly good grounds. Two points strike me (1) Do you know who her medical practioner is so he can be made aware as he will sign for her fitness? (2) make an enquiry as outlined in your original post of DVLA by E Mail on: Drivers.dvla@gtnet.gov.uk b***** awful thing to do but I had the same with an 84 year old relative whose eyesight was failing and he started to shoot red lights and back into walls etc. Took a lot of persuading but he did hand his Licence in. I now know he no longer is a danger to himself and importantly to any others. DVD
Hi, no they do not know the GP. They will consider writing to the DVLA at the address I posted earlier on this thread. They will just monitor the situation for the moment.
May the Lord have mercy on their gatepost!
clariman
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clariman - I understand exactly how you feel and I sympathise. But I think it is cowardly (for want of a better word) to report a neighbour to the authorities without approaching her first, especially as she seems unlikely to be threatening. Have you done that?
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Like I said, not me just friends.
Apparently the subject has been broached many times, but she seems uninterested!
clariman
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A really difficult situation, obviously, and I have sympathy for those affected.
I too think she should not be on the road, for her sake and others, but maybe the car is her lifeline now. Perhaps if it were suggested again that she stop driving, but that neighbours etc. would drive her if/when she needed it, it might do the trick. This would give an old lady ? who, as Mark considerately says, has ?lost a lot of other thing?s - some company as well as practical help, and at the same time solve the problems for the neighbours.
Carole
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As others have already pointed out, this is a tricky one. At any odds, the old lady concerned needs to be consulted and involved in the debate regarding her "dangerous" driving, it is cowardly and back stabbing to simply sneak off to the DVLA with half baked theories about her medical condition. Until a Doctor certifies that she is unfit to drive, or the relevant DVLA authorities do so, than much of the talk about her awful driving is circumstantial.
Understandably though, she could quite easily cause a serious accident at some future date, but so could a lot of other bad drivers. Clearly, given her age and potentially much higher chance of health problems she is well inside the driving risk category that the DVLA have no doubt outlined in detail. In this sense, there needs to be a concerted effort to get her to have a check by a doctor, opthamologist or even the DVLA authorities if possible. If this fails then perhaps her neighbours could proposition (with her knowledge) that due to the history of accidents thus far they feel it only fair and just to inform the DVLA. Again this action could be a last resort if she fails to accommadate any of the prior propositions. Her own interests and those of other drivers need to be conidered equally.
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Forgive me if I've missed this elsewhere in the thread, but do your friends know any of her relatives/good friends?
If I knew the lady well enough I'd certainly take it up with her, but at the same time I'd try to have a quiet word with a relative so that they know just how dangerous things have become.
A dangerous situation and a sensitive subject. But with someone so old and vulnerable I don't think you should simply take action without considering the impact of a sudden and unexepcted withdrawal of an important means of mobility and communication.
It could save her from a dangerous situation but unless it is properly handled it could also expose her to a humiliation and loss of self-respect that is very difficult to deal with at that age.
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