The NDP provincial government wants to use a new road assessment test that it believes will help determine whether drivers can safely remain at the wheel of their vehicles.
The Province promises the new program will become more accessible and more focused on making British Columbia’s roads safer for everyone.
Beginning in March, ICBC will deliver the new enhanced road assessment (ERA) to drivers who RoadSafetyBC to determines if there’s a need a functional road assessment regarding their medical fitness to drive safely.
This assessment will include drivers with medical conditions who currently attend an ICBC re-examination and drivers who are currently referred for a DriveABLE cognitive assessment.
Eighty-year-old Quesnel resident Rae Daggitt says he understands the rationale behind the Enhanced Road Assessment.
However, he believes the government has to help to ease the anxiety level for seniors and those with medical conditions who are being tested.
The active senior says he agrees with a friend he was talking to about the new system, especially his comment that there should be a published standard to show what acceptable driving looks like.
“It’s been a long time for many seniors since they have taken a driving test. Most of them haven’t taken one since they were 16 years old.
“A published document [on paper or online] would allow them to review the standards and that would take away some of the uncertainty.”
Daggitt says he definitely agrees with the provincial government eliminating the problematic in-office, computer-based screening that’s currently part of the DriveABLE assessment because some have never used a computer before and it would really add to their stress level.
He like the idea about letting people drive their own vehicles because many senior drivers complained during the testing that having to operate an unfamiliar vehicle affects their on-road assessment results.
While the government states is going to improve access and convenience, with approximately 70 ICBC locations delivering the ERA province-wide, Daggitt says it’s not the travel to another community that’s the problem – it’s doing the driving test in a strange community, where the don’t know the traffic patterns and streets that adds stress.
“The vast majority of B.C. seniors successfully pass the driver’s medical exam,” says Isobel Mackenzie, B.C.’s Seniors Advocate.
“For those very few who are referred for further testing, the changes being implemented by RoadSafetyBC represent a major improvement from the past system and will make the processes much less stressful for those seniors required to undertake a road test.”
The NDP intends to increase the current ICBC re-examination to 90 minutes from 75 minutes, but the Quesnel senior says he thinks that an excessive amount of time.
Daggitt takes umbrage to the ICBC re-examination “incorporating new components to assess driving errors that may result from cognitive impairment and other areas of medical concern.”
“Who assesses that? I certainly wouldn’t want a driving examiner assessing any medical things with me. That would be up to my doctor.
“An examiner isn’t going to be trained to determine if I have a medical problem. If there’s a concern, the examiner should send a note about what he thinks are problems and let the doctor determine if that’s a fact.”
A fallout for seniors, who live in rural British Columbia, losing their driver’s licence is they will also be losing their independence.
Daggitt says the problem for rural B.C. seniors is limited public transportation that runs more than once or twice a day.
“It’s really hard for people who live in rural areas [if they can’t drive] because we just don’t have adequate public transportation.”
He adds he wouldn’t want to have to have to call his daughter to ask her to drive him to the doctors, pharmacy or go grocery shopping.
“It would take away my independence.”
If we’re [going to take driver’s licences away], then we have to have a better transportation.
Daggitt says he thinks people are driving around now without a driver’s licence because they don’t have any other options.
“I think this whole licensing thing is going to lead to more people driving without licence.’
Daggitt says he believes public transportation is the number 1 issue for seniors without vehicles.
“I think we gotta make sure we have an adequate public transportation system that covers these people who are going to lose their licences.
“I believe the provincial government has to ensure there is adequate and viable transportation system. They’re the ones doing this and they should be the ones paying for it.”
On the other hand, if there is something wrong with me that would impair my driving, I have to give up my licence because I certainly wouldn’t want to kill someone.”