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Our newspaper recently did an article on driving by the elderly, and wrote that little dents in the car or unexplained accidents are major symptoms of being unable to drive. The article suggested restricting driving to daytime hours and quiet roads (no more highways). A lot of this depends on where you live (city, suburbs or country -- clearly, he'd be a lot safer and there's more of a need to keep driving to maintain independence in rural areas).

My Dad in FL is 84, and just told me that he has decided to stop driving since his foot hit the gas instead of the brake. He has heart disease, a tumor on his spine and arthritis, and his doctor had never spoken to him about driving (this is Florida, after all?).

If you contact the Dept. of Transportation, some State DOTs will contact the driver and call him/her in to have another driving test if there's a doubt -- others, like in PA. will refer information from the family or Doctor to a medical panel, which can either suspend a license immediately or require the driver to take a test. My husband's license was recalled immediately when his doctor reported his diagnosis (Alzheimers). Our state also does give restricted licenses, so it's possible that an elderly driver with vision or other problems might only be restricted to certain classes of roads and driving hours. My FIL died in his car -- fortunately he drifted to the side of the road and didn't hurt anyone. He lived in an apt. and his car equaled independence, but he had a hip replacement, heart condition and a mini-stroke. Very tough decisions. We were in the process of hiring a high school kid to be his "chauffer" (sp) after school, using his car/gas.

In the case of my husband's Alzheimers, the neurologist immediately reported his diagnosis as an illness that might impair driving abilities even though he was just at the beginning of the disease. We thought my husband was a better driver than my kid, and were very upset that the doctor required him to turn his license in so early in the disease. I researched the law, and discovered only one case in PA in which a dementia patient had appealed -- and that patient lost, since the doctor's opinion that driving might be impaired was deemed to be sufficient to justify withdrawal of the driving "privilege" granted by the state. Nevertheless, we paid a lot of $ and went to a rehab center for an independent evaluation so that my husband could appeal (he was really upset about losing his license and independence!). What an eye-opener! He missed half the street signs on the written test, and a test of peripheral vision showed that he was unable to multi-task (he could stay focused on the road, but he couldn't keep track of other things going on at the same time, like a kid running towards the road).

If there's a social group for the elderly in your community, they may be able to tell you what resources are available for drivers or the Dept. of Transportation may have a FAQ on their website/phone service for suggestions. The high school student idea may also help reduce the time that your Dad needs to be behind the wheel.