He may be 83, but it will take more than old age to keep Roy Jenner from driving.
"If I happen to have a stroke or something like that, then maybe that’s the time," says Roy.
Roy and his wife, Helen, both have clean driving records.
But figuring out if older drivers are fit for the road has been a contentious issue across the country.
A study led by the University of Manitoba, involving 1,000 drivers over 70-years-old, has begun across the country. It will assess the health of seniors and track their driving habits electronically.
In Winnipeg, 125 drivers will be closely watched over 5 years.
"The main goal of the study is to find a series of simple test that could be done in a physician’s office that could help them to predict who is really safe to drive," says Dr. Michelle Porter, one of the co-investigators of the Candrive study.
Not everyone has the same driving track record as Helen and Roy Jenner. Yesterday a 78-year-old woman plowed through the wall of a parkade after she confused reverse with drive.
She wasn’t hurt, but the Richardson Centre Parkade suffered thousands of dollars in damage.
When the study is complete, the Jenners will both be in their late 80s. But how will they know when it’s time to put the keys away?
"I would tell Roy if he wasn’t. I don’t know if he’d listen to me though because he’s a very independent thinker," says Helen.
"Helen is an excellent driver. I tell you why–because I taught her," jokes Roy.
They believe the final decision should be up to them.
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