Should he/will he be allowed to drive?

[Accy cyclist]

A friend of mine has told me that his 88 year old dad is hoping to be driving soon after having major surgery for heart problems. He said that he feels a lot better but his legs have gone stiff having not walked or driven for two months. I didn't say anything but my reaction was one of shock,thinking that this elderly man is an accident waiting to happen! If he has a dodgy heart and unstable legs the chances of him collapsing at the wheel,or not being able to operate the car's peddles are very high in my opinion!
Any thoughts?

 

[gavroche]

Legally, he is allowed to drive. Now, common sense should dictate whether he should drive. I think his family should have a good talk with him before he sits behind the wheel of a car.

 

[stephec]

He probably shouldn't, but would you want to be the one who has to sit him down and tell him?

It'll be like you're chopping his legs off, and it's going to happen to us all eventually.

 

[KneesUp]

A friend of mine has told me that his 88 year old dad is hoping to be driving soon after having major surgery for heart problems. He said that he feels a lot better but his legs have gone stiff having not walked or driven for two months. I didn't say anything but my reaction was one of shock,thinking that this elderly man is an accident waiting to happen! If he has a dodgy heart and unstable legs the chances of him collapsing at the wheel,or not being able to operate the car's peddles are very high in my opinion!
Any thoughts?

Hopefully he's sensible. My grandad took quite a while to get his head around the idea that his driving days were over, having been a driver since the war. His journeys got shorter and less frequent, until in the end he was doing about 300 miles per year - basically he was driving to the supermarket about once a fortnight (and getting lifts of family the rest of the time)

I know I'm going to have a hard time saying my driving (or cycling) days have gone. I'd like to think that the chap in question likes the idea of having the car there more than he intends to drive a lot - it's part of the joy of driving, I think, the idea that ok, so most of the time I turn left at the end of the road and go to work, but I could, if I wanted, turn right and keep going and have an adventure. It will be hard to give that up.

 

[LarryDuff]

He probably shouldn't, but would you want to be the one who has to sit him down and tell him?

It'll be like you're chopping his legs off, and it's going to happen to us all eventually.

It's not an easy or nice thing to do. My brother, sister and I had to tell my mother last year that she shouldn't drive anymore and initially it did not go down too well. It was definitely the right thing to do though.

 

[stephec]

It's not an easy or nice thing to do. My brother, sister and I had to tell my mother last year that she shouldn't drive anymore and initially it did not go down too well. It was definitely the right thing to do though.

My dad was a hgv driver but I've not seen him for thirty years, and my mam doesn't drive so that's one thing I shouldn't have to do thankfully.

 

[welsh dragon]

It isn't an easy thing to do. We all have someone we know or love who shouldn't be driving, but telling them or reporting them to the authorities is easier said than done.

We know what we should do, but don't want to hurt they're feelings or make them angry. On the other hand, if they were to hurt or injure someone, then, equally we would be devastated and would have to take partial responsibility for what happens to an innocent party.

Maybe you should speak to his or her Dr about it. Good luck.

 

[fossyant]

Hmm, don't get me started. My FIL is a liability. Crap eyesight, forgetful, and has never been a good driver. Lots of parking accidents. The Doc recons he is safe. We don't.

 

[welsh dragon]

Hmm, don't get me started. My FIL is a liability. Crap eyesight, forgetful, and has never been a good driver. Lots of parking accidents. The Doc recons he is safe. We don't.

My dad was like that. In his case bumpers were called bumpers for a good reason. Deaf, bad eyesight and generally a bad driver, and he wouldnt listen to reason. He carried on driving right up until a week or so before he died.

 

[byegad]

Yes. My first father-in-law, I've been married twice, was functionally blind and still driving! He scared the crap out of me when he was in his late 60s. He was driving at 60mph when we started to catch a large slow moving lorry, hand over fist! I was waiting for him to brake, and eventually he did an emergency stop down to 30mph ending with the bonnet of the car literally under the tail overhang of the lorry. I really though my end had come. It took us three years to persuade him to stop driving, eventually we pointed out that his yearly mileage and standing costs MOT, Insurance and Service would enable him to call a taxi for the trips he made at zero net cost. He gave up the car and started taking the bus, ending up in hospital with pneumonia after a bad winter had seen him standing for ages in the rain. It wasn't like he couldn't afford a taxi.Fortunately he recovered but then expected to be ferried around by me at a moments notice.

 

[Speicher]

I had to try and tell an elderly relative that it was time for him to stop driving. I knew that his driving skills were unacceptable when he crashed into the back of a stationary double decker bus.

I know it was harsh, but I explained that if he did not see the bus and/or react in time, it was time to stop driving. There had been two earlier minor incidents of a similar nature. He was upset, but as I reminded him, not one fraction as upset as he would be if he injured someone. Fortunately other relatives took the same attitude towards his driving, so it was not just me who explained that his driving days might be over. It was a joint "family" decision.

As @byegad says above, the savings on running a car would go towards taxis.

 

[byegad]

Sadly I'm getting close to this myself. My last three MOT's show my car covered 3500, 2500 and 3500 miles in a year. (The last includes nearly 1000 miles on a trip to France.) I do drive my wife's car too so I'm probably driving 5-6000 miles a year in total and last year was a bad year for cycling as I managed just a little over 2000 miles (Health, weather, family circumstances conspired against me!). The year after I retired (2006-7) I cycled nearly 5000 miles.

 

[hoopdriver]

My wife's grandfather had his license renewed aged 90 despite bad eyesight, bad hearing, heart troubles, and diabetes. He was so poorly at the time that he never drove much and died a few months later - but still a licensed driver.

A friend's grandmother eventually lost her license when she overtook another car as they came to a T-junction.

 

[ufkacbln]

A friend of mine has told me that his 88 year old dad is hoping to be driving soon after having major surgery for heart problems. He said that he feels a lot better but his legs have gone stiff having not walked or driven for two months. I didn't say anything but my reaction was one of shock,thinking that this elderly man is an accident waiting to happen! If he has a dodgy heart and unstable legs the chances of him collapsing at the wheel,or not being able to operate the car's peddles are very high in my opinion!
Any thoughts?

Yep ....

There are a lot of assumptions here!

If at his age he is fit enough to undergo major heart surgery, then chances are the prognosis is going to be good and his chances of collapsing at the wheel are minimal.

If he has been immobile... is it fair to assume that he will not regain full use of his legs after rehabilitation and physiotherapy

 

[welsh dragon]

He may regain full use of his legs, but will the reflexes of an 88 year old man be good enough, fast enough to take evasive action in the case of a potentional accident, or to avoid an accident? I know this leads to other questions, and pitfalls.