Taking the Car Keys: When an Older Parent Should Stop Driving in Florida

A pattern matters more than one scrape. Note the date when you see:

getting lost on a familiar route new dents on the car, mailbox or garage drifting lanes, missed stop signs or signals, or confusing the pedals slow reactions, more honking, tickets or police warnings passengers who no longer want to ride along

Medical changes count too. FLHSMV's report form lists seizures, stroke, loss of consciousness, uncontrolled diabetes, severe vision loss, sleep disorders and dementia or memory problems (HSMV 72190). A parent will push back harder on "you always" than on "on October 12 you drove past our street twice," so use the log below.

Talk early and privately. Pick one or two people your parent trusts, not the whole family. Use specifics from the log, and ask rather than accuse: "What happened with the side mirror?" Talk about safety, not age. Florida doesn't tie driving to a birthday. Have the ride plan ready. "Here's how you'll still get to the Tuesday card game" lands better than "you're done." Offer steps in between: daytime only, no highways, local trips. That buys safe time for some drivers and shows the problem for others. Bring in the doctor. Many parents accept from a physician what they won't hear from a child. A doctor can also refer your parent for a formal driving evaluation with an occupational therapist trained in driver rehabilitation.

Example (hypothetical): A father, 82, in Boynton Beach has two fender-benders in four months and gets lost coming home from his cardiologist. His daughter keeps a log for six weeks and asks his doctor to raise driving. The doctor orders a driving evaluation. Meanwhile she sets him up with the Palm Tran half fare and a standing ride to appointments, and he agrees to stop night driving and accept the evaluation result.

As of November 2026, a driver who is at least 80 gets a license that expires 6 years later, not 8, and must pass a vision test at each renewal. The test is at a license office or, for an online or mail renewal, by a Florida physician or optometrist on the state's form (Fla. Stat. 322.18).

The test checks eyesight, not judgment or memory, so a parent with early dementia can pass it easily. An examiner can order a reexamination if a person's "appearance or actions" raise serious doubt (Fla. Stat. 322.221), but don't count on renewal to catch the problem.

When a talk and the doctor haven't worked, "any physician, person, or agency" may report a driver whose medical condition may make driving unsafe. The report is confidential, and the reporter is protected from lawsuits (Fla. Stat. 322.126; FLHSMV medical review). As of November 2026:

Use form HSMV 72190 (English or Spanish). Give the driver's full name, date of birth, address and license number, tick the conditions and describe what you saw. FLHSMV says missing details invalidate the form (Report an unsafe driver). Sign it. Your name and signature are required to investigate, but the report stays confidential. Mail or fax it to the Bureau of Motorist Compliance, Medical Review Program, Neil Kirkman Building, MS 86, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0500, fax (850) 617-3944, phone (850) 617-3814 (HSMV 72190). What follows. On good cause, FLHSMV may require a reexamination on at least 5 days' written notice and send medical reports to its medical advisory board. It then may let the driver keep the license, or restrict, suspend or revoke it (Fla. Stat. 322.221).

The doctor's records usually decide the outcome, so pair a report with a medical visit.

The ride plan is what makes stopping workable. As of November 2026:

Palm Tran buses. Riders 65+ with a driver license or Florida ID pay $1 a ride, $3.50 a day or $55 for 31 days (Palm Tran reduced fares). Palm Tran Connection (door-to-door). Riders must apply and be approved. Since January 18, 2026, Connection ADA covers trips within ¾ mile of a bus route, and Connection Plus covers trips outside it for riders who qualify under the Transportation Disadvantaged program (Palm Tran Connection; Connection Plus). The fare is $4.00 one way, or $3.50 for income-qualified riders (Connection fares). Call (561) 649-9838 or (877) 870-9849 to apply (Palm Tran FAQs). Tri-Rail. Riders 65+ get discounted tickets with a Medicare card, driver license or other ID showing their birth date (Tri-Rail tariff policy). Everything else. Family schedules, rides from a house of worship, a ride-hailing app on a relative's account, or a paid companion-driver. The Area Agency on Aging (1-866-684-5885) knows local senior ride programs.

The money once spent on insurance, gas and repairs can pay for a lot of rides.

Our dementia planning guide covers the basics. Beyond that:

Judgment fades before skill. A parent may handle a familiar route but not a detour. They may also forget yesterday's near-miss, so the log matters more. Agreements don't hold. "Only to the store" depends on memory. Families often end up removing the car, keeping the keys, or asking the doctor for a written "do not drive" note. Sign documents while capacity allows. A durable power of attorney that covers selling or retitling the car and changing insurance avoids a guardianship over a vehicle. See what a POA agent can do. Check whose name is on the title. Under Florida's dangerous instrumentality doctrine, the owner of a car can be held liable when someone they lend it to causes a crash. A natural-person owner who lends a car is liable up to $100,000 per person and $300,000 per incident for bodily injury and $50,000 for property damage, plus up to $500,000 more in economic damages if the borrower is uninsured or underinsured (Fla. Stat. 324.021(9)(b)3). If the car is in your name and your parent drives it, that exposure is yours.

Get a Florida ID card at a driver license office. Palm Tran's half fare needs a license or state ID (Palm Tran reduced fares). Decide about the car. Florida Medicaid generally excludes one vehicle, but giving a car away can count as a transfer. See which assets Medicaid doesn't count. Keep insurance until the title changes, then cancel or adjust it.