A friend of mines DH had ALZ. He only drove around town but she had been trying to get him to give up the keys. He always put his keys and wallet in the pocket of his pants and layed the pants on a chair. His pants disappeared. My friend looked high and low. A friend told her to look way under the mattress, she did and found the keys. A few days had gone by and DH had excepted that he lost his keys and license and wouldn't be driving. So, she hid everything and sold the car. Out of site out of mind.
My husband's neurologist who diagnosed him with dementia (alzheimer's) ordered a driving evaluation by an OT. He wanted me to cancel it saying he was fine, he didn't need it. We got the evaluation. He failed it. He would not give up the keys. So I got family to come and do an intervention to make him give them up. He was still mad at me; and said I didn't trust him, because I wanted the keys. Fortunately, he is still at a stage where the doctor and family could explain to him that insurance will not cover the accidents of a dementia patient told not to drive. He understood that, but still says, "Of course I can drive." There are no spare car keys on our key hooks in the kitchen now. The last doctor appointment part of her appointment exit orders were: "install ignition shut off if necessary." I am fully aware this will not be the only time he will get mad at me and blame me, because eventually I'll have to take the credit and debit cards, and Lord knows what else. Having little problems with that already. It's tough to keep being blamed for things, because he is sick. Just hanging in there.
SueC's response is quite informative. When the person is just not able to drive safely, it's really a matter of getting on top of the situation. Often they are not going to accept not driving and turn over the keys. Their brain just isn't able to use reason, so, waiting for that to happen really isn't productive. Getting help from the doctor, DMV, police, all could be required, depending on the results you get at each level.
I was fortunate that my LO got scared when she forgot how to get out of her car one day. (I only found out about it later.) She hung up the keys and told me that the car was broken and that I should get rid of it. She had no further interest in driving. But, it doesn't work like that often.
You don't mention either in your question or in your profile page "why" you want him to give up driving. I'll assume mid-stage dementia. Most patients are in denial so they won't give up anything. Secretly call his doctors office, explain his situation and have them call him to make an appointment for some routine thing. Then his doctor can drop the bomb that he doesn't want him driving anymore and will have DMV suspend his drivers license. Let the doctor be the bad guy, not you. That may or may not get his cooperation.
Check out the older threads on this site by typing "taking away car keys" in "Search".
There's been lots of good suggestions from stealing or substituting other keys to disconnecting the cables.
If your husband is dangerous on the road (making poor driving judgements) or gets lost frequently, you should alert the local police and give them a description of hubby, your address and phone number.
Many others have have been in your boat and will chime in.
A friend of mines DH had ALZ. He only drove around town but she had been trying to get him to give up the keys. He always put his keys and wallet in the pocket of his pants and layed the pants on a chair. His pants disappeared. My friend looked high and low. A friend told her to look way under the mattress, she did and found the keys. A few days had gone by and DH had excepted that he lost his keys and license and wouldn't be driving. So, she hid everything and sold the car. Out of site out of mind.
I was fortunate that my LO got scared when she forgot how to get out of her car one day. (I only found out about it later.) She hung up the keys and told me that the car was broken and that I should get rid of it. She had no further interest in driving. But, it doesn't work like that often.
Secretly call his doctors office, explain his situation and have them call him to make an appointment for some routine thing. Then his doctor can drop the bomb that he doesn't want him driving anymore and will have DMV suspend his drivers license. Let the doctor be the bad guy, not you.
That may or may not get his cooperation.
Check out the older threads on this site by typing "taking away car keys" in "Search".
There's been lots of good suggestions from stealing or substituting other keys to disconnecting the cables.
If your husband is dangerous on the road (making poor driving judgements) or gets lost frequently, you should alert the local police and give them a description of hubby, your address and phone number.
Many others have have been in your boat and will chime in.
Good luck.