Geriatric Drivers.

     When you are young, energetic, strong, mentally astute and think you are just approaching your prime, it is a little traumatic to get your license renewal form together with a form letter informing you that since you are approaching your eightieth birthday you are required to contact the Ministry of Transport to ascertain that you are in sufficiently robust mental and physical condition to be allowed to renew your driver's license.  I do  a lot of driving, have a good driving record and think I'm in  as good mental condition  (apart from  misplacing a few things now and then) as I have ever been.  It does come as a bit of a shock that anyone could consider it necessary, but one has to go ahead and and pass the required test if one wants to keep driving.  A very important item in maintaining one's independence in  a country with a climate like Canada's.
     So  I set up my appointment for the 'educational and assessment' session as required and was provided with the information that there would not be an actual road driving test, but there would be a vision test that includes assessment of peripheral vision, as well as a screening test for cognitive function.  The remainder of the hour and a half session was an educational presentation to better prepare the elderly for the vicissitudes of driving a vehicle in Canadian conditions.
       I arrived at the appropriate building at eight forty-five am, all ready for the ordeal.   There were about twenty or so folks, some looking their age and some not, split about fifty-fifty between men and women.   We were brought down to the basement cafeteria after being informed that the usual area where the program takes place was being refurbished and there might be some slight delay.  Meanwhile we could sit down in the cafeteria and have a cup of coffee (at our own expense, of course!) and someone would come and get us shortly.  We sat down around a table, while an elderly English gentleman with a broad Yorkshire accent complained about how we seniors in Ontario are discriminated against as the only province in Canada that had a driver evaluation at the age of eighty and every two years thereafter. He informed us this was his third test and he was driving as well as ever.  A delightful elderly lady, accompanied by her younger sister, who was embroidering industriously, informed us that she 'mustn't' lose her drivers license because she has a part-time job and wouldn't be able to get to work.  The conversation was getting really interesting as the folks 'one-upped' each other with stories of their eldest acquaintance driver.  We were up to one whose ninety-seven year old friend had just got a two year renewal, when we were interrupted and brought down to a large board room where we all sat around a table and received our initial briefing.  
     The presentation was well planned and treated the attendees as thought we were mature adults, not presupposing that most folks of our age are in some stage of cognitive decline.   They went to some pains to explain why this program was necessary emphasizing that it was not a witch-hunt to stop older folks driving but a program to enhance road safety and to educate regarding flags to watch for.   Prior to the testing the individual's driving record is scrutinized and taken into consideration.
     The program started with an eye test for each individual and was followed by a presentation sharing current relevant road statistics.  Of interest to all of us oldies was the fact that the oldest driver in Ontario is one hundred and eight and that there are seven drivers of over one hundred!   Then a video clip of common driving errors and some discussion.  Finally, there were two five minute tests of cognitive function, that would be hard to fail if your cognition approaches normal.  The first was to draw the face of a clock, put in the numbers and make the time ten minutes past eleven.  The second is to cross out a given letter of the alphabet in a paragraph of letters.  The letters are all large and clear so anyone functioning normally should have no trouble with this one either.   If there is any problem with any of the above then a road test is scheduled. 
     All things considered I think this is a worthwhile test in that it would likely pick up significant vision deficiencies and gross cognitive disorders.  It also provided some educational content about driving and aging that some folks may not know. 
     I also noted an elderly lady and gentleman getting on extraordinarily well together.  Wouldn't it be exciting to mention at  your wedding, "I met my sweetheart at an over-eighties driving test!"
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