Province looking at "degraduated licences" for seniors
Some older drivers in Ontario may soon be issued "degraduated licences" with certain restrictions, like the ones new teenage drivers face, on their night driving or highway driving.
The move is one of several the province is looking at implementing to curb the road safety risks posed by drivers with dementia, according to Ontario transportation minister Bob Chiarelli (pictured).
“I think we need to accelerate our attention to [road safety],” Chiarelli said in a Toronto Star article. “I believe we are doing that and I would be surprised if in the next six months to a year we didn’t initiate some enhancements to it.”
Other possible changes include encouraging family doctors to report cognitively impaired patients who drive; and advanced on-road testing for senior drivers looking to renew their licence.
According to the Star, a degraduated licence program is pretty common in most parts of North America; Chiarelli's heard arguments for and against them, but says Ontario will consider that approach.
Related: How to tell if you or your loved ones should still be driving
The rising proportion of aging drivers with cognitive impairments grabbed the attention of outlets like the Star and CTV recently; according to a Queen’s University study, the number of drivers with dementia in Ontario is expected to double from its current 45,000 to almost 100,000 in 2028.
Coincidentally, a University of Toronto professor recently unveiled a new online test to help drivers self-diagnose symptoms of early dementia.
Although family doctors in Ontario are legally required to report patients with dementia to the transportation ministry, a survey by Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre found that of medically unfit drivers in serious crashes, only about three percent had been previously reported by their doctors.
Critics say doctors aren't properly trained to decide whether their patients should quit driving; Chiarelli agreed, and is looking at making improved medical training part of the new changes.
Other critics are worried that this new push could inspire widespread unwarranted ageism, that seniors still fit to drive may be unfairly targeted.
Susan Eng, vice-president, advocacy for Canadian seniors’ advocacy group CARP, has been pushing the ministry to replace written or online tests with on-road tests for seniors, but said the ministry doesn't want to hear about it.
(Toronto Star)
