License Suspension

What is the name of your state?. Fla.

My elderly father in his 90's had his license suspended for failure to appear for a medical review. He is still driving regardless. I just found out about the suspension a couple days ago and am wondering what is the best course of action for me to get him off the road as IMO he is a danger to himself and the innocent public. He lives with me in my home. I would like to get him off the road without his knowledge of my involvement in trying to do this, if possible, to keep the peace in my home.

I hope I posted this question in the right place?

Thank you for your help.

hmmm...

Sounds like you are a little bit of a situation. I know you don't want to tell your elderly father that you know about the suspension of his license, but it looks like that may be the best choice. Taking his keys away from him would be the best thing to do, for him, your family, and the public.

Of course, you could always take EVERYONE of his car keys, and hide them where he CANNOT find them. (Of course then he would probably be searching frantically for them.)

So whatever you decide to do, make sure your elderly father is not on the rode. For his safety, and everyone else's.

Good luck!

~ Kari ~

Thanks Kari,

But it is not possible to deal with him at all. He wears his keys tied to his pants (always sleeps in his clothes too - weird) and I'm sure he must have duplicates hidden everywhere. Even if I found all of them & forceably took them from him then he would just have the vehicle towed in to have it re-keyed etc......My father is quite the character, believes no one, trusts no one, won't allow anyone to tell him what to do etc......Most stubborn guy I have ever met in my life. I allowed him to move into my home a couple years ago because he had no where else to go. Feeling sorry for him has given me many headaches over the last couple years & now this............. I will continue to seek more advice. Thanks for your timely input though, I do appreciate it.

Anyone else know what legal ways I can go about this as he is even the type to scream elderly abuse if anyone does anything regarding/relating to him that he does not like & I can't afford the time or expense to defend myself if it came to that.

This isn't the right place, but in the spirit of removing one more bad driver off the road, I'll help anyway.

The easiest thing would be to contact the police the next time dad drives off (you can call anonymously). Whether the police will do anything is a separate question of course. You can also try speaking to his doctor and having the doc tell him to give driving a rest. Otherwise, you could just get sneaky - hide keys, flatten all four tires (and the spare), siphon all the gas out, etc. It's probably best if you speak to him directly though.

Incidentally, if dad has any ownership interest in the house, whenever he mows down that family and they sue, unless dad is independantly wealthy, there's a very good chance they'll go after the house as a means of collecting their judgment. Just one more incentive to get him off the road! (Like you needed one, I know).

Thank you too for your input, whoever ya are (You Are Guilty).

So where is the right place to pose my questions on this subject, if you would be so helpful. Thanks.

As I told Kari, whatever I do he will try & counter it. Just his nature.

No, he does not have any ownership in my home and has no other possessions other than his vehicle & bank savings.

He really doesn't have a doctor per say but does see one guy once a year (approx.) to check his heart out. He would not listen to any doctor anyway and that doctor (I met him) would not want to get involved either, I think.

There is no talking with him. He would not listen. Trust me on that. I will probably wind up calling the police like ya said, already thought of that, just didn't want to get directly involved (where he could find out I was involved that is) if I absolutely did not have to. Was hoping someone else who has gone thru something similar would chime in.

Thanks again for your time though & again, do you know of a better place to pose my questions about all this whether it be on this site or elsewhere....T.I.A.

At this point, you may as well leave the thread here. Otherwise, maybe "Elder law" might get it more attention. Most of the people who frequent there don't care about parking tickets.

Anyway, the problem is that dad is violating the law by driving on a suspended license. The police (not the DMV) are responsible for enforcing the laws. Thus, they are the only "official" agency who actually have the clout to do anything. Obviously, physically taking away his license didn't work.

You can call them anonymously (just don't do it from your home or cel phone if that's your goal) to report an erratic driver. I suspect, but cannot prove, that making the call non-anonymously will be more likely to get their attention and have them do something instead of just making a log entry. If you want to get your dad's ass kicked, plant a BB gun in the car and when you report him, tell them he flashed a gun at you. When he gets out of jail, I'm sure he'll still be mad, but you figure it'll at leadt be a few days of him off the road

LOL , that was funny to me Y.A.G. about the B.B. gun. However, I am not the type of person to "plant" anything on anyone as I don't want to really get him in trouble, just off the road would be fine (without my known involvement if possible). I don't want to also cause him any more stress at his age than is absolutely necessary to resolve the problem......I do assume you were J/K btw.

I guess I missed the part of this site that refers to "Elder Law". I'll go back to look some more.

Does anyone know if the state of Fla. has a specific site where one can get these questions asked or any Fla. sites with free legal advice from an Elder Law type lawyer. I'llk try to search for that myself, just thought someone could maybe save me some time.

Thanks again Y.A.G. for your time.

It's a tough situation, but one that families of elders face every day all over the country. Having been through this both in my job and my own family, I would suggest an "intervention", where a group of family members sit him down and in a supportive way tell him the facts about his driving: that he's a danger and that if he keeps driving he will eventually hurt or even kill someone else. Many seniors don't care if they hurt themselves in an accident; few want to maim or hurt innocent bystanders.

If possible, get some support from a family therapist/counselor who specializes in treating elders.

During the intervention, all family members who are available should offer whatever transportation or other services they are able so that it's clear how he will get his groceries, get to appointments and social engagements.

Have a plan and carry through: if he continues driving, you will report him to the DMV and the police each and every time he does so. The key here is to get the support of other family members and do it as a group, that way no one person is demonized in the process.

Losing driving privileges is perhaps the most life-changing event a senior can go through in terms of its impact on quality of life. Understand that he will be angry, and very possibly will need to mourn the loss of his independence. You'll survive his anger; someone else may not survive his driving. Good luck, I know from personal experience how difficult this can be.

You might be able to get help from your local police department and DMV. In my town, we had one 85 year old individual who got involved in two crashes in one week. We finally caught him driving poorly (in the wrong lane) and arranged for an immediate priority re-exam if his license at the DMV. We even transported him over there at his request. He failed and his license was revoked.

He continued to drive, however ... so once we caught him, we towed his car. To obtain his car he wouldneed to present a valid license ...and since that wasn't going to happen, his driving and endangering says were done.

It CAN be done before tragedy strikes, but it may be incumbent upon you to take assertive (parental type) action for his own safety.

- Carl

Thanks to the two newest respondents (Carl & Censored) to my dilema however neither piece of advice will work in this case referring to talking to him as he won't listen and will absolutely refuse to co-operate under any circumstances. I don't believe trying to scare him with a promise that I will call the cops will work either but I may try that anyway after reviewing all the responses you all are kind enough to give. I did want to stay out of it though if I can, otherwise I'll never hear the end of it etc.......

No other family member wants to get involved either. They think that as long as the law isn't removing him from the streets, then it should not be any business of mine. I tell them, easy for them to say as he is not living under their roof etc........not to mention again a feeling of moral responsibility on my part. Besides, all my 3 siblings live clear across country. No other relatives nearby except mother who doesn't think with a clear mind either these days, so to speak.

I guess the only thing I can do is to notify the police like I had in mind & which was also suggested here and see what they do. Thanks to all for your opinions & advice & time.

If anyone else still cares to chime in, I will be checking back for additional responses.

Btw, he lives with me so no problem for him to get to grocery store, appt.s etc. as I can always take him.

Jay76
It may be a rather simple problem to solve. Your father has no insurance coverage and his license plate is null and void. Remove the tag and turn it in. Tell your father he is no longer insured and can not get insurance. Then, try and talk him into selling the car since it can no longer be on the road legally.
EC