I feel I almost risked my life by taking him out for a test drive. Fortunately it ended with a small single car accident which didn’t hurt anyone. I took the keys as I would never drive with him again and therefore, nobody on the road or my parents should be subjected to his driving. For those of you who want the doctor to take away the keys, you will still need to drive with your parent and provide evidence. A phone call about suspicions is not enough. You will need to arrive with your elder and give actual evidence. As a primary care provider, I wonder why adult children, who don’t want their parent to drive, have no trouble with them driving to the doctor’s office.
Taking away the keys is really hard. My dad had a 5 second memory, but he remembered me taking away his keys for the next year (now late stage dementia so no orientation). But, it is part of arranging care and maintaining a safe environment for an elderly relative. The doctor can facilitate this, but the relatives need to be the decision makers.