Saskatchewan is in the minority when it comes to mandatory age-based driver’s license reviews or medical exams.
In British Columbia and Ontario, medical exams are required for drivers 80 years or older.
In Alberta, medical reviews or examinations start at 75 years or older. Similar programs are mandatory in Newfoundland, Quebec, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
According to SGI, age isn’t the sole indicator of driver ability.
“There’s no requirements for them to retest. We’re really not looking at age,” SGI communications Kelley Brinkworth explained.
In Saskatchewan, there are no regulations directed specifically to senior drivers. However, SGI said they do have regulations in place that encompasses all drivers.
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The Driver Improvement Program monitors all driver’s road records, regardless of age.
“If someone keeps getting speeding tickets … or any traffic offence, or if they get a number of at fault collisions, then there are different sanctions that are applied,” Brinkworth said.
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For 73-year-old Linda Anderson, it’s regulation she thinks is fair. She’s been driving since she was 16.
“In Canada, we rely on our cars because public transit isn’t accessible as it might be,” Anderson said.
Anderson said if there is regulation for people around her age-group, it needs to be fair.
“If there’s going to be a program, it needs to be a program that applies to all people, not simply people that have reached a certain age.”
The CAA Saskatchewan acknowledged there are risks that comes with age.
“As we’re older, as we age, we know that vision, hearing our ability to react quickly, all of those things are going to make a change,” Christine Niemczyk explained.
She suggests senior drivers regularly refresh their road knowledge, even if it isn’t mandatory.
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“As a senior, maybe if we’re finding that driving at night isn’t optimum, driving during peak periods, we have options to decide when we feel more comfortable and less at risk,” Niemczyk said.
She also suggests senior drivers ‘car-fit’ their vehicle. ‘Car-fitting’ is an evaluation that looks at seating and comfort, and making sure mature drivers have the right fit for their car.
“We go through a 12 or 15 point evaluation just to help them understand their car better,” Niemczyk said.
“It’s information for the driver to re-evaluate their own driving ability and say ‘what am I doing?’, ‘do I need to improve on anything?'”
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