From The Advocate, May 2012

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Concerns mount over costly DriveABLE tests

Experts question validity of computer test; Older drivers object to paying private company $300 plus HST to take it

Published May, 2012 - It’s intimidating, expensive and unfair. It may be medically and scientifically unreliable. And if you flunk the test, you move from independence to dependence for everyday tasks like buying groceries.

Small wonder there’s a rising wave of anger against the DriveABLE computer test developed, and now administered for profit, by a husband and wife team from Alberta.

Throughout British Columbia, NDP MLAs have hosted community meetings to discuss the issue with seniors and their families.

In Invermere last month, several speakers said the test seemed to be engineered for seniors to fail. It depends on touch screen computers, a technology that some seniors encounter for the first time on the day of the test.

“I don’t think it’s just. I really think it’s degrading for anyone to be put up against the unknown,” said Jane Jefferson, who recently accompanied her 90 year old father when he took the test.

And that’s another key issue. You’re advised to bring another driver with you in case this private company decides to take away your license.

It’s worst in rural areas. In East Kootenay, for example, the nearest testing centres are in Kelowna and Nelson. Suddenly you have to add to the $300 cost of the test the additional cost of gas, food, and a hotel room for two people.

Gary Coons, NDP MLA for the North Coast, says his constituents also face a considerable burden.

Residents of Haida Gwai have to travel to Prince George for a DriveABLE assessment.

“That’s a minimum five day return trip. With ferries, fuel, motels, meals and mandatory escort, it’s a cost of more than $1,500. It’s unaccepable,” Coons told the Legislature.

Bill Routley, NDP MLA for Cowichan Valley, tabled a petition signed by almost 1,000 constituents who are fed up with the way the government is trying to take away seniors’ independence.

“This petition is regarding the treatment of seniors at the hands of DriveABLE. Our seniors want a fair process, and they want to be able to take their test in their community. They want a road test,” Routley told the Legislature, before he was cut off by the Speaker who didn’t want to hear any more.

An article in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association, printed April 19, 2011, questioned the scientific validity of the test.

Programs like DriveABLE should not be the sole determinant of a senior’s capacity to drive, said Dr. Malcolm Man-Son-Hing, a geriatrician in Ontario. “It can give some indication, but you can’t hang your hat on any single test out there. It really is a clinical judgment,” said Hing. “Who else is in a better position to make that call than their physician?”

“None of us believe that any person should be allowed to continue to drive if they can no longer do so safely,” Norm Macdonald, NDP MLA, told the Invermere meeting. “We all accept that we need to have a way to ensure that drivers’ abilities are assessed as they age. But people in this area will not accept that seniors should have their licenses removed improperly or unfairly. It is the responsibility of government to provide a fair and accurate assessment program for drivers. There is no proof that DriveABLE is meeting this standard,” said Macdonald.