The risk of having an accident while driving a car increases substantially for those who are suffering from dementia. Dementia affects reaction times, causes one to drive at an inconsistent speed, and drift from lane to lane. In addition, seniors with dementia often get lost while driving, requiring police assistance.

If you believe an older adult should not drive due to dementia, a medical review by a heath care professional can assist in revoking the Pennsylvania driver’s license. In fact, Pennsylvania has a mandatory reporting law (75 Pa.C.S § 1518) for covered health care professionals. Physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, physicians’ assistants, and
certified nurse practitioners all have a mandatory obligation to report that a patient is suffering from one of the medical conditions that could impair their ability to drive.

The reporting criteria are listed on Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) website. Cognitive impairments, such as dementia, are among the conditions that must be reported. Health care providers will submit a report to PennDOT setting forth the degree of impairment caused by dementia. An evaluation process conducted by PennDOT follows, and then a decision is made as to whether revoking the license is warranted.

It is worth noting, the revocation of the license frequently fails to stop the person with dementia from driving. It could be due to short-term memory loss or the failure to recognize the consequence of the revocation. The more defiant and combative older adults will ignore the revocation and continue to drive.

If you are an agent under a Power of Attorney for someone in this situation, you should take steps to prevent the car from being driven. Some options include removing the car fob (or battery), disabling the car, or removing it from the home. As the agent for the older adult, you could be included in any civil or criminal prosecutions if you
knowingly allowed him or her to drive and they cause an accident that harms others.

Taking away the ability to drive can be a contentious and unpleasant experience for all involved. However, revoking the license to drive may be necessary to protect the public from a driver that should not be operating a vehicle due to a cognitive impairment like dementia.