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Like us doing all the driving, but set boundaries right away, otherwise you will find yourself with Dad in Home Depot roaming around the store for 2 hours one a week and Dad only have one light bulb in his basket. Or Mom want you to go to 3 different groceries stores to purchase maybe 5 items at each one because that is how she does it.
Have they had fender benders, lots of scratches and dings, getting lost? No brainier, driving must stop.
I would not be surprise if my Dad physically confronts me when I end his driving. I am fully prepared if it comes to that. As bad as that might be its much easier than the guilt of him killing someone on the highway. Not to mention the liability.
Our roles get reversed. You are now the parent who has to make Daddy or Mom do things they don't want to do. We can't back down from our responsibilities because Dad would be really mad. There are much worse things.
Does the car have to be on the premises? Does someone else in the household drive it? If not, remove it. Perhaps some family member could store it at their house and it could be sold from there. Notify your local police of the situation, in case Dad calls it in stolen.
As soon as his doctor told us my husband could no longer drive, I had my brother store the car at his house until we decided what to do with it.
Not being able to drive was the single worst thing about dementia, in my husband's eyes. He mourned his little special edition Miata for a least a full year. This is a very sad, very traumatic event. My husband was not in any way a control freak and he also acknowledged that driving would put other people at risk. And it was STILL a very terrible loss for him. I won't expect your dad to take this well.
But how would he take it -- how would you take it -- if is momentary loss of concentration or his poor vision resulted in the death of a toddler in a stroller and her big sister pushing it? You must do everything in your power to prevent him from driving!
If for some reason it is not feasible to remove the car, then anyone who sees him leave in it should call the police immediately. This is a bit iffy if there is no one who lives with him who would always know when he leaves.
My heart goes out to all of you. This is tough!
Assuming your dad's emerging dementia and vision problems have been diagnosed by a Physician and is just not your opinion, you must get that Physician to notify the Dept of Motor Vehicles in your state to pull dad's license and notify local police accordingly. This gives the police the authority to act. Best case--they could impound the car and you do not have to be the heavy. Unless you are the court-appointed Guardian of your dad (worst situation you could be in), anything YOU do to HIS car would be considered vandalism in the eyes of the Courts. All he has to do is press charges against you. But if you are the Court-Appointed Guardian than it becomes YOUR responsibility to prevent him from driving. Translation: you will be sued if he has an at-fault accident and it can be proven that you knew he was not fit to drive but did nothing to constrain him.