Mandatory annual road, written and reflex tests for drivers over 65.

Posted on Tuesday, December 29, 2015 @ 3:01 PM by 15 INCH DETECTIVE with a score of 0

Mandatory annual road, written and reflex tests for drivers over 65.

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Mandatory for everybody when they renew their license.

Accidents to be registered to your drivers licence and mandatory suspension of your drivers licence for having more than 2 accidents.

ICBC Stats tell otherwise , over 65 have the lowest Rate of Claims and that is the Way it works and you pay the least, how about we Test you once a Months just to be on the safe site ? Some Western Nation issue the License for Life ,until you turn it in, no 5 Year Tax grab . I guess you will never have to worry about , you will turn yours in at 65 or maybe earlier ,Altzheimer may strike at any Age! Happy New Year and don’t worry so much about others Driving!

Condolences… Sorry for your loss

15 inch all drivers under 30 should have a yearly review.

Outwest. Thanks for the reasoned comment. There are a lot of people on the roads driving these days not the least of which are impaired drivers, drug impaired drivers, and of course those who use their phones etc;. These people are serious threats. Senior drivers are the least of my worries.

Drivers who are too lazy to get up in the morning and give themselves time to get to work without speeding are a danger. Those who speed so that they can have a Timmies coffee before going to work are also part of the problem, and of course last but not least, drivers who just don’t seem able to put if all together.

So bottom line. Drive defensible at all times.

Elderly drivers do in many cases lose their vision. My father’s night vision deteriorated to the point that he was tailgating and driving too close to the centre because he was following the centre line. He could not drive safely at night but it was very difficult to get him to stop. After a certain age, regular vision exams should be mandatory.

Just wait until marijuana is legalized, enough of a problem with booze and drugs now.

That makes no sense seamutt. Legalizing weed will change nothing. There’s nobody out there, waiting for marijuana to become legal, so they can smoke it.

sunshine.north…..seamutt is afraid if you smoke marijuana, you will vote Liberal. :)

I rest my case.

Seamutt, you must be a stoner, you always use the term “mannnnnn”.

“…don’t worry so much about others Driving! ”

If you want to live you’ll have a much better chance if you constantly worry about others driving.

Accident claim numbers are down for seniors only because they’re usually doing 30 under the limit.

close up the pasing lanes, throw away the keys.

Axman, I fully agree with you. I take notice (and anticipate the worst) out of those drivers around me. All to often, they prove me right. It is because of my “worry about other drivers” that I have not been in an accident in over 20 yrs, I put on a ridiculous amount of kms every year (in both commercial vehicles and private). If I could count the accidents that I have avoided it would be a substantial figure.
My condolences go to the family which is grieving the loss of a loved one, and those who had to bear witness to this tragedy. PLEASE, everyone who drives…keep you eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel and your mind on what you are doing. These 3 simple things could save you from becoming another tragic story.

At one time or another, most of us will get old. Most elderly drivers loose a lot as they get older, and driving is one of the things that gives them independence. Most elderly people knows when it is time to hand in the keys. Most of them get friendly warnings, of, oh $h#t, that was a close one. Thus they choose to hand in the keys.

It is of my opinion, making things mandatory like 15centimeters claim is a bit too much big brother.

If one is a defensive driver, one should be aware not only of other drivers but also continuously check not only on road conditions which could affect your vehicle’s traction, what size and material the shoulder is, how deep the drop is on either side of the road into a ditch or gully, where any utility poles are, etc. In other words, also keep an eye out for escape routes, especially when you see oncoming traffic.

I looked at the road on Google’s streetview just south of where the accident was. There is about ¾ of a km of broken centre line which allows passing coming out of a curve heading towards the Alexandria Ferry North road intersection. There are relatively deep ditches and the utility poles are about highway width to the side of the highway. I do not know the visibility since it may have been snowing. I also do not know where the edge of the plowed snow was, whether beyond the outside edge of the shoulder or on the shoulder.

In an accident, defensive drivers should assist in avoiding or mitigating the consequences of a collision. Thus we can look to seek some help from at least the semi driver as well as the oncoming driver. In Italy it is still the practice that when someone passes on such a two lane, undivided highway, the vehicle being passed as well as the oncoming vehicle each move over to the right to put the right wheels onto the shoulder. As a result, it is not uncommon for vehicles to pass right down the center of the road even with oncoming traffic.

The semi truck dirver had the best vantage point of what was happening. He/she should have seen the lights of the passing car in the mirror, even with the spray or cloud of snow he may have been raising. Since the semi driver was at the front he/she would have been able to see the oncoming pickup. So, the semi truck could have pulled a bit to the right if there was space. Speeding up or slowing down would not have helped since it would be difficult to second guess what the passing car was going to do to avoid a collision after having committed to passing – speed up or slow down.

Finally, the driver of the pickup truck. She may have pulled to the right a bit to make some room, even have slowed down. A full head-on collision would likely have injured the driver more seriously. Again, visibility is a question.

Strange that the report does not mention road and weather conditions.

All sorts of other possibilities exist as well which would have put the “passing” car into the left hand lane, including that the driver was not intending to pass at all.

I wrote this not to make second guesses about what happened but to point out that each driver has a responsibility to be situationally aware of the conditions around them and should be prepared to act as best they can to avoid or mitigate the effects of an accident, even if they are not the initiator.

Suneshine usage will increase. Digitus well again I rest my case.

In Ontario, drivers 80 and over have to undergo a driving test every two years. That test includes a cognitive deficiency test, vision test, driver review, participate in a 45-minute Group Education Session, complete two, brief, non-computerized in-class screening assignments, If necessary, take a road test.

In my opinion, that should occur at the time of license renewal for anyone who has been in a collision while driving on a highway, even if it was not their fault.

Condolences to the families. So what can we do to make the highways safer? We can’t assume that age played a part in this accident. This can happen to anyone and it has. I would have to say that if this highway was four laned it may never have happened. We need to get on government to get these roads up to date. We now have much more traffic than we did 20 yrs ago and it is only going to get worse.