Sometimes we are faced with difficult decisions when we see family or friends—often as they age—become unsafe drivers due to medical conditions or impairments in their mental abilities. Friends can find this especially challenging if the person will not admit the problem and his family will not take steps to stop him from driving.
How to Report an Unsafe Driver
Because of the large senior population in Florida, there are many resources to help older citizens remain safe drivers. However, 
when this is not enough, Florida has a procedure for reporting people whose medical conditions prevent them from driving safely. Key points about this procedure include:
Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has a Medical Reporting Form that can be used to report an unsafe driver.
While the person submitting the form must include his own name, address, and telephone number, this information is kept confidential. It is only used if Florida officials are unable to locate the driver or needs clarification about the problem.
A person does not need to know the unsafe driver’s medical diagnosis. However, the person should explain what he has observed and provide examples if possible. If the person has observed any unsteadiness, limited arm or leg movement, confusion in general, memory problems, slowed reaction times, or other bizarre behavior, he should include details about this as well.
Once a report is submitted, it is screened by a medical disability specialist who forwards it onto an investigator. The investigator will contact the driver and may interview family, friends, neighbors, and the driver’s doctor before writing a report. If the investigator finds legitimate concerns about the person’s ability to drive, the driver may need to submit a medical report from his doctor or take another driving test. If the investigator does not find any validity to the complaint, no further action would be taken.
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