Dear editor
I am aware of someone who has recently had his drivers licence cancelled.
Another person, who has always been (overly?) concerned about this person’s driving ability and recently his cognitive state, eventually called a doctor without his consent. The doctor asked the driver to come in for testing and he was subsequently referred to DriveABLE and then to two road tests, which he did not pass. Unfortunately, they were taken almost back to back with no pre-test preparation and he has now had his licence completely cancelled (not even a learners permit).
I am trying to approach this as objectively as possible. The driver is almost 80 and perhaps his skills and memory have mildly declined. However, from what I have learned, he is a robust, intelligent, healthy, active person who has had an excellent driving record for over 50 years. During this debacle, he even received an insurance renewal notice from ICBC congratulating him on his excellent driving record! Also, where is the concrete statistics showing older drivers present the highest risk to safety? And is it really the answer to have mandatory testing at age 80?
In hindsight, I imagine he has regretted going to the doctor’s for testing. I believe he was under the impression this was a doctor/patient confidentiality assessment and didn’t think any information would be passed on to outside sources. However, he was also quite confident and had every reason to be, of his driving skills and his cognitive ability.
Mitch Foster
Port Alice