Elderly and disabled drivers, licensing procedures

This report presents the results of a survey to review licensing procedures for elderly and disabled drivers in all provinces of Canada. The purpose was to identify, by province and territory, any barriers or constraints within driver evaluation, training, and licensing procedures which could prevent elderly and disabled persons from obtaining the necessary assistance to qualify for a license to operate a private motor vehicle. The consultants developed a telephone survey strategy to collect data and to synthesize and evaluate the responses. The review found that provincial and territorial licensing agencies, with the exception of the province of Ontario, do not apply age-based re-examination. Although evidence of medical fitness is generally required from older seniors and persons with obvious disabilities, the licensing agencies appear to take great care not to discriminate in their application of driver examination procedures. The standard procedure of involving physicians, rehabilitation agencies and driver educators appears to render satisfactory results in most Canadian cities. A number of recommendations were voiced by the rehabilitation agencies, such as the need for standardizing evaluation and training programs, provision of standardized interactive automobile simulators, and mobile evaluation clinics. It is recommended that these problems be addressed by federal and provincial agencies in future development programs (A).