A Qualicum Beach resident believes B.C. exams for drivers aged 80 and up to be unfair.
With Parksville Qualicum Beach having one of the oldest demographics in Canada, Judy Southern, who has been involved with the Qualicum Beach Senior害羞草研究所檚 Activities Centre for nearly 20 years, said she has heard seniors discuss the 害羞草研究所渦nfairness害羞草研究所� of the exams.
害羞草研究所淥ne must arrange an appointment with a doctor害羞草研究所� if they have a doctor and then pay for it,害羞草研究所� said Southern. 害羞草研究所淒octors charge, at their discretion. If one is lucky the doctor knows you well and may not feel that you need a follow-up cognitive test or road test.害羞草研究所�
RoadSafetyBC, the B.C. government害羞草研究所檚 agency responsible for road safety, mandates persons 80 and above to renew their driver害羞草研究所檚 licence every two years. They are required to get a medical examination report to be completed by their physicians.
The medical report includes checks for cognition, eyesight and overall physical health. Medical Services Plan does not cover the cost of the exam which varies anywhere from $50 and up depending on the physician.
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Those that fail the medical exams, however, may end up having to take the Enhanced Road Assessment to determine whether they are fit to drive. It is free of charge but it takes a 90 minutes to complete and includes a pre-trip vehicle orientation, a 45-minute on-road drive and a post-trip review.
RoadSafetyBC indicated a driver cannot pass or fail an enhanced road assessment. It害羞草研究所檚 just a process to determine the person害羞草研究所檚 fitness and ability to drive.
Southern understands that as people age, some cognitive abilities change. She also agrees that all provinces do require a review of a senior害羞草研究所檚 driving. However, she claimed that British Columbia has the 害羞草研究所渓east humane害羞草研究所� and 害羞草研究所渕ost expensive害羞草研究所� system of any province.
害羞草研究所淭he road test for seniors is twice as lengthy as for any other age group,害羞草研究所� said Southern. 害羞草研究所淪ome seniors who have never had problems driving suffer extreme anxiety at the process 害羞草研究所� and, sadly, failure is pretty much guaranteed.害羞草研究所�
Jason Watson, communications manager for the Public Safety and Solicitor General Communications Office, indicated that RoadSafetyBC害羞草研究所檚 goal is to allow people to drive for as long as they safely can.
害羞草研究所淭he primary tool we use to assess driver fitness is the Driver害羞草研究所檚 Medical Examination Report, which a physician completes,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淒octors charge a fee for this exam, and they害羞草研究所檙e entitled to set the amount, which can vary 害羞草研究所� but Doctors of BC recommends that physicians reduce or waive the fee for patients who are experiencing economic hardship. This has been the approach in British Columbia for at least a decade.害羞草研究所�
Watson pointed out not all medical information received from the DMER leads to road testing or further action by the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.
RoadSafetyBC sends about 70,000 examination reports to drivers 80 and over and statistics every year and data shows that 98 per cent keep their driving privileges.
Parksville resident Dennis Belliveau had a business he sold recently that required him to drive to various locations on Vancouver Island. He is 84 and has had to deal with the RoadSafetyBC mandate. But he doesn害羞草研究所檛 have any problems with the RoadSafetyBC requirements.
害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檝e have not encountered any challenges at all,害羞草研究所� said Belliveau. 害羞草研究所淭he first step of that process is a medical and I have gone through that on both ocassions and had no problems with that. I get a few questions from my doctor. I drive a lot of miles so I have to be very careful. I do 50,000 kilometres a year.害羞草研究所�
Belliveau said he reads the ICBC guidelines and driving instruction books to keep himself updated with the latest requirements. He advises other seniors to do it as well.
害羞草研究所淚 want to make sure I am up to speed on all aspects and the reason I pay attention to my driver害羞草研究所檚 licence, my business depends on me to have a valid licence,害羞草研究所� said Belliveau. 害羞草研究所淚f I don害羞草研究所檛 have one, my business is dead. I can害羞草研究所檛 go out. So I can害羞草研究所檛 afford to lose my driver害羞草研究所檚 licence at least up until a couple of weeks before I sold the company.害羞草研究所�
Belliveau acknowledged there may be some seniors who find the current process difficult. But at this time, he said, he害羞草研究所檚 had no issues.
Southern wants to collect feedback from the public to help raise this matter with the government.
害羞草研究所淵ou might not be 80 years old right now but someday you will be,害羞草研究所� said Southern.
She said there is a plan afoot to gather people on the steps of the Parliament Buildings in Victoria to protest the unfairness to seniors once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
害羞草研究所淚 replied that I was certain we could add substantial numbers from the (Parksville Qualicum Beach) area,害羞草研究所� said Southern.
Feedback or concerns can be emailed to Southern at jnsouthern@shaw.ca.
Currently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Watson said, RoadSafetyBC temporarily stopped issuing routine age-based DMERs on Dec. 16.
害羞草研究所淲e want to support the ability of medical practitioners to respond to priority medical cases affecting seniors and other during this difficult time.害羞草研究所�
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