I would amend that requirement to be that everyone should have to take the driving test every five (5) years. One becomes lax behind the wheel of a car and having to take the test every five years would make you more fully aware of how sloppy you have become with your driving.

I'm very tempted by that but it might be a bit overkill. Maybe things like penalty points and driving related fines could be factored into how often.

That might focus one's attention.

Bollox.

That might weed out a few bad drivers but is probably not cost effective, maybe make those with x number of points re-test. I'm in my 60's and would support a mandatory road test and vision test at 60 and every 5 years following. Some people won't stop even when they know their eyesight is no longer adequate.

Yes.. As is now you can get your license suspended if you have enough points, but you don't have to re-test. If you get a certain amount of penalty points you should have to re-test.

ICBC in BC seems quite lax at suspending licenses for bad drivers.

I think with the media attention, ICBC may have eventually suspended this ladies license, but as of March she had racked up 42 points, which adds 16,000/yr penalty to her insurance, yet as of the article was still driving.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/canada/motorist-racks-up-14-distracted-driving-tickets-but-continues-to-drive-1.2822755


Found it, she finally got a driving ban. But my guess is had it not made the media, she likely would not have received the ban. Although no indihttp://www.vancitybuzz.com/2016/04/w...iving-charges/cation how long the ban is.


They could do well just training people how to drive, based on how poor BC drivers are the current training seems to be poor.

There have been several tragedies over the years involving older drivers. One that comes mind occurred about 10 years ago in southern Ontario. An 85-year old woman struck a pedestrian in her 40s and dragged her several blocks. The younger woman was not killed instantly and was apparently screaming from beneath the car while onlookers attempted in vain to signal to the older woman (who was utterly oblivious and confused) to stop. If memory serves the older woman was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, punishment was likely probation with a lifetime driving ban.

Fact is once you reach a certain age your faculties start to go. Senior citizens are politically powerful and have at times lobbied governments against more rigourous and frequent testing of older drivers, particularly in the US.

I should say though that my grandfather, aged 91, still drives very well.

Every year we lose a couple who are still driving even though Alzheimer's is starting to effect them. Typically they're allowed to take the truck from the farm to town to the coffee shop to meet with their friends and they just don't come home. Days later the place where they became confused and got lost then stuck, then froze is found.

A version of this happened to my grandmother years ago. Luckily it was not fatal. She left to run an errand and became lost, speeding down the highway. Eventually the cops stopped her and took her home (leaving the car at the side of the road to be retrieved later), at which point my grandfather took away the keys for good.

OH is now 78, in 2 years time he will have to take the mandatory medical test for all 80 year olds in BC .............. we've had several friends who have had to do this over the last 10 years or so.

An 80 year old may be required to take a cognitive test on a computer, if there are worries that they may be having problems ........

The problem here of course is that a lot of seniors are NOT computer savvy!

What happens here is that a couple of months before turning 80 the driver gets a notice to take a medical examination. The person has 45 days in which to have the exam, and then has to take a medical exam every two years after that. Licence is cancelled if deadline is missed.

An on-going or reported medical condition (by doctor or other person) that might affect the ability to drive results in a request to take a medical exam at other times. Road SafetyBC determines all this.


Our oldest friend was absolutely furious about having to go for the medical test when she turned 80 ........... a very independent single lady who does tend to object to government dictats.

Well, she turns 90 in November, still drives, and is absolutely compos mentis. She would be lost if she couldn't drive as she lives in a BC town that does not have good bus service out of the immediate downtown area.

Another friend thought he had done wonderfully well on the cognitive test (he was very computer savvy) and was furious when he failed it. We all knew he was in the early stages of dementia, and he was receiving treatment for it, but he hadn't accepted the fact. It was of course why he had to do this test.


Returning to my own case ......... I don't drive, I've always been a passenger. I can see that OH is more cautious now, but I still feel safe with him. We have not driven outside the city other than down to the ferry terminal for a couple of years .......... long car trips are not on my horizon for holidays, and I am responsible for planning those. Long train trips are much more appealing

Taxis will become the mode of transport if transit fails us. It's great that Vancouver has a good bus service, but not when scheduling means that it takes 3 buses and an hour to do what can be done in a car or taxi in 20 minutes!

Only my great grandmother has been over 80 in my family and life, but she voluntarily stopped driving around 83 when she took out a row of mail boxes she didn't see. That was enough for her to realize she needed to stop.


I had an uncle who was only related by marriage in his 70s who was in accident after accident and yet refused to give up driving, luckily he never hurt anyone but himself.


If/when my parents get to a point its not safe to drive, I will have no issues intervening and reporting the issue to the DMV. They provide a form for family to do so, and they keep it confidential as to who did it, but they will review the driver being reported.

I watched an indonesian man yesterday on the tv who claimed to be 145 years old.

Assuming that he couldn't add up, and recognising that indonesian records were stated to have started as late as 1900, this would make him at least 116. It's not beyond belief that he was still sprightly at the age of 90.

We all age at different rates, some wear out in their sixties while others, like the indonesian, last a little longer. Mugabe, for instance, allegedly runs a country at the age of 92 and I'd be fearful of calling him senile, but I doubt that he drives himself anywhere and if he did I don't expect any accident would be his fault.

Likewise, we all matured at different rates. I see some youngsters, and I include myself in this, who shouldn't have been allowed to drive until they had given up wearing baseball caps.

I'd like to see realistic driving tests, ie tests that guage your ability to control a car and not simply point it down the road and hope for the best.

To misquote Ralph Nader, there are some drivers who are 'Unsafe at any age'.

She could use that defiance as a spur in an "I'll show them" sort of way.
At this point they both sound similar. You know them better of course but the way you described them, they really do both sound competent and both sound anti-authority.

Awful awful awful... I am sorry but age should not have been an excuse there she should have gone behind bars, no matter how old. Ignorance should not be an excuse and ignorant is what that was, ignorant of the fact that she shouldn't be behind the wheel.

Agree re the computer savvy bit. Its not fair that they make the cognitive test computer based which only confuses people. Like I said it should just be a road test, same as new drivers have to take. The examiner should be able to judge their cognitive ability and reaction times based on the road test.

That and road tests for those who have racked up enough points would be good.