OT--Dangerous older driver

What can someone do about an older driver who obviously shouldn't be behind the steering wheel? I live in a little town and there's this 88 year old guy who I really think should not be driving. I've seen him back into cars on main street, run stop signs, almost hit pedestrians at crosswalks, driving down the middle of the road, turning in front of oncoming traffic without signaling. A couple of months ago, I was following him out of town, and there was a school bus stopped to unload some kids. The bus had it's stop sign out, and this guy just went ahead and passed the bus anyway--and there were 3 kids about to cross to left side! I was holding my breath, believe me! I also heard a story that he rear-ended another guy at a stop sign. The guy that got hit pulled ahead into a parking lot and motioned for this old guy to stop and exchange insurance. But the old guy just kept on driving. Afterwards he claimed he didn't remember hitting anyone and that he didn't see the other guy trying to wave him down.
I've heard that some people in town have tried to talk to him and he just ends up screaming that he's an ok driver and that people had better leave him alone. He's got two sons and folks have brought up to them the subject of their dad's driving and they get the same reaction of "mind your own business". The dad was a family tyrant and I think the sons are just afraid to confront him about his driving.
I live in Nebraska and was checking the state laws, and there isn't much to stop a dangerous older driver from getting on the road. The only thing the state requires is an eye test every five years. Nebraska also has a very large senior population, and last year the legislature tried to implement stricter regulations for older drivers, and the senior lobby came out in force to oppose it. They even had demonstrations in the lobby of the state capital. Of course no politician wants to turn off such a big block of voters and the bill was defeated. Like I mentioned, I live in a small town and you know how people are in these little towns no one wants to end up on someone's "hate list" by reporting this guy.

You can report him to the DOT in Iowa and they will call him in for
a driving test.

The state police should be able to pull his license. I can check with some DPS friends of mine.

First, see to it that the local law enforcement agency knows about this guy and his behavior. If they watch him and he violates a traffic law, he will get a citation. Also check with the local laws about citizens rights to report traffic violations. I'm sure that Nebraska has some sort of points system associated with its drivers licenses. If he gets enough traffic citations he will lose his license on points. At least that's how we handle dangerous elderly drivers here in Wisconsin.

Call the police if you see him doing something wrong. It happened to my mother in law a couple months ago, she was parked and a 90 year old man backed right into her. He did stop and when the police got there he admitted that he hadn't looked behind him on that side. He lost his license. Here in Canada (Ontario more specifically) drivers over 80 have to take a multiple choice test on rules of the road, a vision test and take part in a Group Education Session every two years in order to renew their license. Occasionally they may be asked to take a road test as well depending on their driving record.

It's a shame if someone gets hurt by an unsafe driver of any age but it's especially bad if everyone knows this driver is dangerous and nothing can be done. I would talk to the police.

Check out the Nebraska DMV website. They have something called a "Citizen Reexamination Report" that lets you report a potentially dangerous driver. You have to give your name but it is held in strictest confidence.

It is your "business" when he kills a family member or friend. The local pd ought to be able to watch him and as soon as he screws up they can question his qualifications. My grandpa turned into a driveway to turn around on a dark rainy night and got off the edge of the road, cops came along and he ended up with a restricted license at age 82. In his defense he was a pretty decent driver with a sharp mind and quite honestly I could hardly see that night at age 18 as I was the one that pulled him out but I know what you are saying. This was in Mn.

That is one of those thing that you have to call the law on and give them all the info you can. License number of his car etc. Also if you can take a picture of say him passing a stopped school bus etc that goes a long ways. But in the long run if the cops do not see it happen it may take a wreck to stop him

Try talking to a local law officer and see if he can be called in to be retested on his license.

A number of years ago, there was a family in a nearby small town. The old man was in the same situation as the one you describe, and he was the only one in the family who drove. His wife never learned, and neither of their two sons could get a license. One was mentally retarded and the other was shell-shocked from WWII. (They call it PTSD today).

The entire family routinely went out to eat at a restaurant on the Interstate five miles from town. The old man was so stove up, the sons had to stuff him behind the wheel of the car. Everyone just held their breath when they saw the car.

A Nebraska State Trooper I knew told me once that the old man had run him off the road. The old man came across the center line, and all the Trooper could do was bail out and head for the ditch with the patrol car. The Trooper, Mike, said he turned around and pulled the guy over. Mike said you would have thought the guy would have been a bit subdued under the circumstances, but he ran on, "G-- D-----, I've been driving for seventy years and there ain't no young whipper-snapper going to tell me how to drive!"

Mike said he turned in a form to have the guy retested for his license, but nothing came of it. The old geezer finally croaked before he did anything serious.

But--when my mother was 90, a local city policeman thought she went through a yellow light a bit late, and used it as an excuse to have her retested. She went through the entire exam, road test and all, with flying colors and kept her license. Then two years later, she quit driving on her own decision.

So I'd say if you talk to enough local law officers, you should be able to find one that will have the guy retested. And hopefully get him off the road.

His doctor maybe able to help. Wife had an Uncle that drove like that. She talked to the counth sheriff about it and he suggested to talk to his doctor about filling out the form that the uncle was not able to drive safely . Sent it into the state and his license was revoked. Best talk to local law enforcement officer to see what the options are.

I had the same problem with my Dad about a year before he passed away. he would pull out in front of on coming traffic ,he hit a pedestrian, stop in the middle of the road and back-up most of the things you described!!!

I called mom and told her to take his keys to his pick-up, because if he kept driving he would either kill himself and or someone else also.
Couple days later my dad called me complaining that mom and my sister took his truck away from him. I told him "No they didn't Dad, I did!!!" I then told him that if they him or mom needed something hauled I would haul it for them.
He was fine with that. This was hard to do , but ya gotta do what is best for everyone.

This individual's children need to step up to the plate and take responsibilities for their father.
They need to grow up and become responsible adults.
Just my 2 cents.

Keith & Shawn(Gold Medal Winner)

A drivers license is one of the last pieces of independence that many older folks have. It's natural that they are often reluctant to give it up. We worried about my aunt to the point that I talked to an Indiana State Policeman who lived a short distance from her. He watched for her, but never noticed her car out of place. I never really knew why, but she decided on her own to quit driving.
Your local law enforcement people may be your only hope of getting him off the road, and they will probably need to catch him in a flagrant violation. The school bus driver needs to watch for him repeating that dangerous pass with the bus stopped. The driver can report the license # and law enforcement will probably pay him a visit.
The next time someone says something to his sons and they start that "mind your own business" stuff, it should be mentioned that he could have a serious accident and subsequently he (or his estate) could lose a lawsuit that will drain most or all of any inheritance they are planning to get. That might re-focus their attention.

Actually, just a few weeks ago in a small town just west of here a 92 year old man drove into the path of a train. He was killed instantly. Probably crossed those same tracks thousands of times in his lifetime but one moment of distraction is all it takes.

Not stopping for a school bus should be enough to get him into big trouble. Did you and the bus driver report this to the poilce ?

I am only speaking of information I know about. I am a police officer in Kentucky. Here we have a procedure called "Affidavit of Recertification" Anyone may go to the Drivers license office and file an affidavit stating what they have witnessed about the persons driving. What this does is require the person in question to come in and re-take the drivers test. As stated it is a sworn statement so you must be able to back up your complaint. We have used it to get those dangerous persons off of the road before they kill someone. Check with your local office, I feel your state has somthing like this. Just my 2 cents worth. Happy Trails...

His driving sounds like most of the young cellphone & text'ers that I see on the roads!

My son is a sub school bus driver, and his wife is a full time driver. They get good support from the school officials and the local and state police on the stop sign runners. They take it seriously and my daughter-in-law is fierce and will go to the ground on every incident. License number is all they need, and sometimes it has been provided by other drivers who are also stopped at the bus sign. Anyhow, that one incident of running the bus sign should have been enough to get him off the road.

My own father-in-law was becoming a very poor driver as he aged, and resisted any talk about giving it up. We talked to his doctor about it, and on his next visit, the doc told him that he shouldn't be driving with the medicine that he was taking. He reached in his pocket and handed me his keys. . .

Sometimes it's better for dad to be mad at the doctor than his kids.

My dad was the same way and miraculously didn't hurt or kill anyone. One time I was with him on the expressway and he was doing 35 MPH, I said dad you have to speed up to keep up with traffic. He said "Wait till I get going you will be scared". I answered "I'm already scared". He had surgery and we wanted the doctor to say he wasn't fit to drive. Surgeon would go along with the plan and approved him to take the driving test. He passed and was again on the road. One time he went to the store with ma and then decided he needed to go home so he left the store drove home and left mom at the store. Another time he fell asleep at the wheel and the road curved to the right so his car went down into the ditch and sail up the other side got airborn and hit a double power pole while in the air. It sent the rioght front wheel back then up and into the floor where moms feet were. When the ambulance was there to transport mom he kept saying he had to get the groceries out of the trunk and get them home so they wouldn't spoil. Suddenly and for some unkown reason (wink)his car started to have problems starting, running, and also had many flat tires and what not. He finally gave up.

Textsing should be enough to pull the driver license in any road on CHI Town area if it could be done.

Iv'e always thought every 5-10 years everyone should have to retake their driving test. That way people get a refresher on the correct way to drive and maybe get away from some bad habits. Texting while driving, changing clothes, reading, etc,etc,etc,etc. The list goes on forever. These things might be ok if people out there could multitask at all but it just doesn't happen

This is just BS!!
Call the local police (state that is) with the license number, they will 1)observe his driving and/or 2)request he come in for a driver test. Probably both. Then remove his license or they ticket bad driving and bring the cae to court where it will be removed.
He drives anyway another arrest, how many of these before jail time.

If it's a small town and he is as bad as you say I would be surprised if the local police don't already know about him.
Are you sure he is that bad?

When you see him backing into vehicles and taking off, call the police. When you see him driving past school buses with their arms out, call the police. Let the police deal with it, legally.

True story: Years back I happened to be behind a pickup going down a rural road that was all over the place from shoulder to shoulder. Thankfully no one was coming because their would have been fatalities. Broad daylight, I thought the guy was drunk, so I called the local cops. While talking to the cops we came up to a four way stop sign at an intersection, and the guy hung a left without stopping, hit one of the stop signs dead on, shearing it off, and it was mounted by two 4x4s made of wood, one on each side, 2 or 3 feet apart. Thats kind of hard to miss and a hard hit, and the guy kept going without stopping into town while I was giving the police our locations. Then when the guy got to town he drove up into someone's yard and hit a tree. That stopped him. Just as I was getting out, the police drove up. Thankfully the fella wasn't hurt, but as it turned out, he too was aged, very aged, got confused, did not know where he was at, and was from across the state line from another state about 45 minutes away, and did not even know that he wasn't anywhere near his home. The police came back to me and told me that he was not at all drunk or under medication, but rather severely confused. The officer told me, "I feel bad for the old timer, after this he will surely never be able to drive agan, and then he will find himself confined, and then probably shrivel up and die". Sadly the officer was probably correct but in that one drive could have killed or severely hurt countless people.

I have absolutely nothing against aged or seasoned drivers. Nothing at all, bless their hearts. However, if there are dangerous drivers out there, no matter the reason, age, eyesight, whatever, get them off of the road before they kill or hurt themselves or some innocent bystander, or driver. Is nothing personal. Some nice people make lousy airplane pilots and locomotive engineers too, and they should not fly planes or operate locomotives anymore than blind people should take up careers as gun sharpshooter or deaf people give reviews of musical concerts...nothing personal.

Mark

My Gradfather died peacfuly in his sleep....unlike his four passengers ..screaming and holering.

Old age is a real problem, and it takes some tough decisions on the rest of us.

My father was a wise man, he said he did not think he should drive anymore because he was not safe.

I avoided an elderly driver by inches when he ran a stop sign. Angry at being almost broadsided, I turned around an followed him, blowing the horn and motioning for him to stop. Several miles later, he pulls over. He didn't know where he was or what had happened. As luck would have it, his daughter pulled up just then, and I told her what happened. She was kind of sheepish and said they had known for a while it was time to hang up his keys.
I called the county sheriff with his name and license number to be sure something got done, and they retested him and pulled his license.

My Grandaughter was killed by an 88 year old woman who ran a stop sign in front of her. Heather died on the operating room table. She was 16 years 9 months and 6 days old. The old woman driving the other car was killed. We were told by people who knew her that she couldn't see and shouldn't have been driving. That was little comfort. That was in 2005 and I still have times when I cry.

Here in New Youk they all drive that way. You would think that they are all on drugs.

Looks like the Nanny Staters are out in force tonight.
Yep. That's exactly what we need. More regulation, more laws, more restrictions on people's personal liberties. Lets go after those least able, least likely to be able to defend themselves against restrictive government - our senior citizens. What do they care? They're old and worthless anyway.
Sheesh!
Why don't you nanny staters go after the group that causes the most accidents?
Males under the age of 25.

I also live by small towns and after having a pickup blow a stop sign at 70 MPH or more and nearly hit me in the tractor last night, I called the cops and they almost caught him on the way home but could not find him. I did some asking around and figured out who it was and called the cops back. He is very well known to them, to say the least. They were going to have a chat with the young punk and took it very seriously. We have some good coppers around here!

If this driver is dangerous, you are already involved!!!!!!!! I would bet you have more support in town than you can imagine if your name got leaked for turning him in or making a complaint. Man up, I did.

So what are you going to do about drivers of any age? Who lack the vision, motor control, reaction time, knowledge of the rules and mental capability. From driving and killing other people in the prime of life.
Are you denying that there are seniors on the road that should not be driving?

So if you live in a small town where everyone knows everyone... Where is your local Police Chief or County Sheriff?

If he hits and runs like you say, around here that is an automatic license suspension. Insurance will have nothing to do with him then.

Giving up ones drivers license is a hard thing to do and you are correct we as a country have not figured it out yet.

Surely you must mean New Youk City!!! LOL

No, he means all over New York. Almost 60% of my job is driving. I can't remember the last time I saw anyone come to a complete stop at a stop sign.

Of course, I just got back from 3 weeks in NC and it wasn't any different.

I am not denying that for one reason or another some people are bad drivers and should not be on the road. But one size fits all legislation is not the answer. IMO Governments are inherantly incabable of using sound judgement in matters like this. All they can do is create blanket policies that sweep everybody - good and bad drivers alike - under the same rug.
Nanny states, in their attempt to create a perfectly safe world where no one is ever hurt, no one ever killed, no one even offended for cripesakes, are destroying our liberties.
I say if you run the roads you take your risks.
If you go to a bar you might inhale some 2nd hand smoke. If you go to a baseball game you might get beaned by a stray ball. If you go hunting you might get shot or if you climb a ladder you might fall down.
That is just how it is.
You people who think we need more legislation for older drivers need to remember that they are not the most accident prone (though admittedly they are the second most unsafe group) - Males under 25 are.
You want to limit older drivers rights. Yet you are the same people who go to great lengths to help your 16 YO son get his license and a car of his own.
You can not mandate intelligence. You can not mandate safe driving habits. You can not mandate ability.
All you can do is create more and more restrictions in our personal lives which rob everyone of their liberty and do very little towards making the world a safer place to live.
I am tired of watching my freedoms taken away in the form of seat belt laws, smoking bans, intrusive recycling laws, increasingly restrictive land use laws and building codes - some of which actually go behond health and safety in into the realm of asthetics.
I don't need or want a faceless, nameless bureaucrat making life changing decisions for me.
The next thing you know i will have to take a safety course just to use a ladder to clean the gutters on my house.
I've had enough of that.

(quoted from post at 17:59:39 06/20/11) Iv'e always thought every 5-10 years everyone should have to retake their driving test. That way people get a refresher on the correct way to drive and maybe get away from some bad habits. Texting while driving, changing clothes, reading, etc,etc,etc,etc. The list goes on forever. These things might be ok if people out there could multitask at all but it just doesn't happen

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yler, not to beat on you, but just the thought. "Multitasking' just simply does NOT apply to driving. By its very nature it means spending part time doing one thing & part time doing another. When driving, "part time" is NOT good enough. Yes, there are plenty of people on the roads that "think" they are just great multitaskers, but none are when it comes to driving. Things can happen in a split second & if that part of you time is involved elsewhere, you or someone can be dead in that split second.
All you have to do is observe a car weaving in their lane, not keeping up with flow of traffic, repeatedly speeding up & slowing & speeding up, sitting too long before moving on a green light......then pull along side, glance over & you WILL see a cell phone "multitasker". I ain't buying a second of "multitasking driver" as anything but a dangerous driver!

I'm all for mandating seat belts and car seats for children. It's just common sense.
Don't care for putting up with and breathing some smokers filthy stinking smog.