Dept of Motor Vehicles

 Oh Lordy...since when does the DOMV have the time and resources to do this sort of thing?  I'd be asking for ID...

 If she's actually not a safe driver, I might be with the neighbors. There are too many people on the road who cannot drive safely anymore. It's not a popular opinion, but I'm all for retesting everyone every so often, regardless of age (just because you'd never pass a law to only retest the elderly, so everyone would have to do it).

In PA, it's  not legal to drive with a cast on any limb I believe. A brace like that might not be legal, if it is limiting the range of motion of the limb. I've never heard of the DMV coming to anyone's house here, nor pulling a license unless a doctor said it needed to be done. I don't even think they do it if the immediately family reports the person is a danger. That sounds fishy, like the neighbors just might not want her on the road anymore. Is it possible she or someone could call and check into whether that person who came to her house was actually from the DMV?

It varies by state whether a doctor can deem a person unfit to drive and for what medical reasons. (In RI, a seizure disorder is pretty much the only medical reason a doctor can deny a person the right to drive, as I understand how Dad's doctor explained it to me. The rest is up to the DMV, as they are the licensing agency.  I could have some of it wrong, but he was clear he couldn't take away Dad's license. He could limit/suspend driving during a post op recovery period.)

If she has a brace on while driving (and esp. on the right leg) and doesn't have an indication on her license that she can drive with that device, that could really be the issue that triggered the visit, as Doug said. If the brace is limiting her mobility (speed of movement, range of motion), that could be a really big deal and could be quite dangerous.

Jenn's got a good point too-was it really the DMV that showed up at her house? 

We have an organization in Mass. that teaches folks with disabilties to drive.(They work with folks with modified equipment, etc.)  They also will assess seniors (or others) to see if they should retire from driving (their term and I love it) or if they need some refresher training.  It's so difficult when you have to help someone retire from driving.  We're in the midst of that and it is no fun.

It's very hard for older drivers to have to give up driving and I'm not unsympathetic to the distress and hardship it causes. I can easily anticipate my vision becoming so bad that I can't drive safely. :(  I hope that's quite a few years away. 

 My MIL wouldn't quit driving when it was clear she wasn't safe. It was really scary to be a passenger with her at the wheel.  She drove to the grocery store one day and got out of her car.  She had failed to put it all the way in Park and it started moving.  She tried to open the door and get back in but fell and was run over by the front wheel.  She wasn't badly hurt but that was the last time she drove. 

 I'm wondering why your sister failed the driving test three times when she let her license expire. If her vision or reflexes are failing she might benefit from a consultation with a gerontologist or perhaps there is a group, such as Kate describes, in her area.  It could be that she can regain the right to drive if she's willing to pursue some of her options.  I'm sorry she's going through this.

FrisbyPI

It varies by state whether a doctor can deem a person unfit to drive and for what medical reasons. (In RI, a seizure disorder is pretty much the only medical reason a doctor can deny a person the right to drive, as I understand how Dad's doctor explained it to me. The rest is up to the DMV, as they are the licensing agency.  I could have some of it wrong, but he was clear he couldn't take away Dad's license. He could limit/suspend driving during a post op recovery period.)

I just had Dad's doctor call DMV and say he was not capable of driving any longer.  Someone came by the house to take his license.  He didn't know it was me behind it all for a few years.

Anyway, there must be more to this.  I'm sure if I got mad at the person next door and called the DMV to say they are not safe driver because they take ages to get in and out of the car, nothing would happen.  There is more to this than your sister is saying, IMO.

 I know how hard it is to take away driving privilages for seniors too,,, my MIL. My DH used to go take her to the doctor ( she never did drive anywhere too far ) but have her drive so he could see...evenutally he could see she was doing stupid things.  Luckily...she had to go into the hospital for quite a while and then therapy, so  we were able to talk her into assisted living and goodbye car!  She lived about 40 mintues away from us by herself.

You know...I SHOULD know which leg that brace is on.... but I can't think and I was just there on Sunday. EEKS!   But still..its a brace, it can bend, its not a cast.  AND its temporary, she is in therapy for the knee.

The guy from DMV did not see her do anything, he came in the morning before she was even dressed.  He had record of a fender bender that she was in a year and a half ago that was not her fault but he tried to make it sound like that made a difference. Someone crashed a light in an intersection. He was very rude it seemed.  About her not passing the driving test, it was the parking she had a problem with. It was probably 15 years ago, she was still working.  After she messed up the first time she became a mental case...was a wreck taking it again thinking she will NEVER pass it...but she did.

All that aside.... and I do understand driving problems and seniors.  BUT this complaint was not  about driving, that I would understand if they found her to not be driving good.   It was her getting in and out of the car by her mailbox.  I get sooooo mad at her because she causes so much drama all the time...she likes the attention she gets when she acts like she is in pain..... will grunt and look at you just to make sure you heard her.  If she saw someone watching her....she would do it all the more.   She just might have done herself in now. 

The couple that called on her........ a couple of years ago she had her next door neighbors young son cutting her grass, she has a lot of it and her husband died a few years back.... so she pays someone to cut it.  She was having a problem with him coming all the time so someone suggested a fellow across the street who is not working and trying to earn money cutting grass.  So she called him and he gave her a price, but in the end she decided the kid next door is a nice kid trying to earn a buck or two to buy his first car so she told the guy no and why....THIS is the guy.   Is he getting back at her? Maybe.  But should he be allowed to? No. Again we are not talking that she did anything wrong driving.

SHe called her lawyer and last I spoke to her this afternoon, she had not heard back from him..he had put a call into this guy from DMV and was waiting for a return call from him.  Unfortunately she lives in an area where she has no stores or anything around...she has to drive only about 5 to 10 minutes to stores, doctor, beauty shop etc.  She has her house for sale since a year ago but its not selling...she will go into maybe a senior apartment or so...but not until she sells the house.  What a mess!

Never heard of any dmv coming to someone's door, sounds really fishy to me.

We don't have a DMV here - we go to the Secretary of State - not sure if that makes a difference, but it does sound a little weird that they came to her house without any proof other than a phone call.  Personally, that's really crappy and not just a little scary that the government can just come to your home and demand you do something or else.

The truth of the matter is, if she takes the test and passes she has nothing to worry about.  If she can't pass then she probably shouldn't be driving.  Now that my parents are 70 the state makes them renew with a test every two years. 

mrstjohnson

We don't have a DMV here - we go to the Secretary of State - not sure if that makes a difference, but it does sound a little weird that they came to her house without any proof other than a phone call.  Personally, that's really crappy and not just a little scary that the government can just come to your home and demand you do something or else.

The truth of the matter is, if she takes the test and passes she has nothing to worry about.  If she can't pass then she probably shouldn't be driving.  Now that my parents are 70 the state makes them renew with a test every two years. 

Yeah...more than crappy, its downright scary!

Probably a good idea testing every few years but I wonder how many of us could pass it. Everytime friends talk about passing a drivers test again, everyone says " eeks...I'd never pass it with all the bad habits I picked up!" 

 This stuff really annoys me...I honestly think cell phones and alcohol cause more problems than older drivers.  And how can you refer to 70 as elderly when those same people are seeing the official retirement age creep higher?  Sure, there are some with problems, but they know who they are for the most part.  I don't mind having a vision test starting at 65, but please, my driving record is better than my son's!

 I wish someone would do that to my gma and gpa! I would be so thankful. They are not safe to be on the road but refuse to give up their drivers licenses.

I would be skeptical of a story that the DMV actually went to someone's house though. I can't imagine they have the time or resources to actually do something like that.

Jewlieee

I would be skeptical of a story that the DMV actually went to someone's house though. I can't imagine they have the time or resources to actually do something like that.

Who else would pull a scam like that?  Surely Dyan's sister confirmed they were with the DMV and didn't hand over her driver's license to a complete stranger without seeing ID and calling to confirm their identity.

It doesn't matter the person's age.  If they can't pass a driving test, they shouldn't be driving. 

JackieG

It doesn't matter the person's age.  If they can't pass a driving test, they shouldn't be driving. 

I couldn't agree more!!!