Picture this: An elderly woman who has had multiple eye surgeries and can barely see over the dashboard of her car has just had her driver’s license renewed for another five years. Meanwhile, a perfectly adept 17-year-old has to pick up his friends one at a time from a party because he can only have one passenger in his car. The scary thing is, the grandma could drive as many people as she wants.
Elderly drivers don’t have any driving restrictions and it’s a big problem. It often seems like they are free to roam the streets without being reprimanded for careless driving. Meanwhile, N (new) drivers can have their license stripped away at the smallest infraction.
After smashing her way through barriers at the Victoria Airport last July, Shirley Zerbin, aged 83, killed a taxi driver and injured several others. While Zerbin is being charged under the Motor Vehicles Act she isn’t being charged criminally.
If an N driver killed a person and injured multiple others, surely criminal charges would ensue. What makes elderly people so above the law and young people so below it?
ICBC should force seniors to do a road test every two years after they turn 80. Seniors should also display a big S for senior, just like the N for new drivers, on the back of their car to alert other drivers to their presence.
Also, when a senior gets a ticket for poor driving points should be added to their licenses. Once enough points are accumulated, they should undergo a driving test to fully assess their abilities.
Elders are good at convincing their children and other family members they are perfectly fine to drive. But ICBC will only issue a driving test if a family member submits the senior’s name.
Children and family members of elderly people want them to keep their licenses because then they don’t have to drive them around.
Until the laws are changed and elderly people with questionable driving habits are reprimanded, or taken off the road, the streets aren’t safe.