While I understand the reasoning behind the Alzheimer's Association in protecting a persons rights to drive, I believe when a person has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia you need to take a serious look at allowing the pFTD to continuing driving.

As a caregiver you have to think about the following issues after a person has been diagnosed with dementia.

• Some states require the doctor to notify the department of motor vehicle that a person has FTD. The DMV will then send a letter asking the pFTD to send in their driver's license. Most states have an Identification Card that you can get to replace the driver's license. Can be used to verify who the person is when you need verification like getting on an airplane.
• The pFTD will likely lose their insurance coverage. If not, the cost of the insurance will likely increase a lot.
• Even if the pFTD passes all the driving test. How long will it be till their cognitive functions decrease and they are in an accident, 6 months, 1 month, 1 week, or 1 day. No one knows until it happens. If and/or when it happens, what will be the outcome of letting someone drive longer than they should. Maybe you will be lucky and lose a hub cap and dented fender on the car and no one is hurt, but you could find yourself on the opposite end of the spectrum and being dealing in bodily harm or death of a total stranger. YOu need to think safety of other people on the road.
• When a person has been diagnosed with FTD, they become a liability. As a caregiver, you have to look at what that will cost you financially and emotionally if the pFTD is in an accident.

• Always get the doctor to tell the pFTD that they cannot drive anymore. Have the doctor notify the appropriate agency. This is usually the department of motor vehicle in your state. Let the doctor be the bad guy. If at all possible let someone else be the bad person and then you can be the good person. When it was time to take my brother's vehicle away, my mother and I were the bad guys. For us, I believe he was only bad for about 30 minutes then it was over and he forgot all about it.
• If the person with FTD still feels like they can drive and you cannot stop them have them be re-test by:
  • Department of Motor Vehicles
  • Some Alzheimer's Assoc. have a program to test a person's driving skills
• Make sure you tell all your family members and friends that the PFTD is not suppose to drive. The pFTD might try to borrow a car.

• via city bus
• senior van route
• Taxi
• Get family and friends to help with transportation issues

• Hide all extra keys to your vehicle (I prefer removing them from the house completely)
• Never leave your own keys accessible to the pFTD. They may get the keys and go for a drive.
• If the PFTD feels they need a set of keys, have a set of dummy keys created. Give them keys that will not start the vehicles. This may give the pFTD a since of ownership.
• File down the car keys so they look the same, but will not work.

• disable the vehicle
  • remove the battery cable
  • remove the distributor cap
  • Have a mechanic install a "kill" switch" that must be engaged before the car can start
  • Have a mechanic disable the vehicle
• Park the vehicle on another block (I personally do not like this option, especially if the pFTD likes to walk around the block. Move it to a relative or friends house)
• Put the vehicle in Storage, or a relative or friend's house
• Sell the vehicle

• I told my husband that since we no longer had the income we couldn't afford it and I didn't want him to put any more miles on it. He was to the point he couldn't drive mine.  Surprisingly, he didn't fuss.
+11/15/07 (Mary T.)