In what a seniors advocate calls unfair targeting of older people, Sudbury police are urging residents to anonymously report elderly motorists they feel are no longer fit to drive.
The North East Dementia Network Coalition Safe Driving Task Force, as it is called, was formed last month, with tips funnelled through Crime Stoppers. A plainclothes officer is then sent to the motorist’s home to discuss the call.
“There are many people who call us and say, ‘I have some concerns about my mom or my dad or family, friend, neighbour,’ but they don’t know who to go to. They don’t want to alienate that person, but they want to make sure that the person gets additional driving help or goes to the appropriate person to get whatever the problem is, fixed.”
The officer will ask questions about how the person feels driving, and whether they have issues or problems with their vision or hearing, she said, and this could lead to a suggestion to follow up with a doctor, or require the person to take a driving test.
- Trudeau says ‘good luck’ to Saskatchewan premier in carbon price spat
- Canadians more likely to eat food past best-before date. What are the risks?
- Hundreds mourn 16-year-old Halifax homicide victim: ‘The youth are feeling it’
- On the ‘frontline’: Toronto-area residents hiring security firms to fight auto theft
But Ms. Eng said authorities can use “professional” means such as road tests and the like to test motorists’ ability to drive, rather than depending on, say, family members who use arbitrary measures to second-guess their faculties.
According to Patricia Douglas, chair of the Sudbury chapter of CARP, three people have been investigated since the task force’s creation a month ago. Two agreed it was time to give up driving, while the third has agreed to a provincial driving test.
Ms. Eng said having a police officer come to your door to criticize your driving would be traumatic, and the subject is best discussed within the family.
“It’s a sad statement of the state of our families and social situations at this point, that we would invite Crime Stoppers to interfere with family affairs like this,” Ms. Eng said.
“When people avoid their own responsibilities with a family member, maybe they should take the responsibility and say, ‘well, I ratted you out,’ instead of hiding behind a public system for which this was never appropriate.”
According to Transport Canada, there are roughly 2.8 million drivers in Canada over the age of 65. Nearly 15% of drivers killed in a traffic accident are seniors, while those under the age of 24 account for roughly 23%.
Comments