The province is making changes to DriveAble after hearing concerns from seniors, but those changes don't go far enough according to Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons.
"It's tinkering around with a policy that has been shown to be unfair, and explaining it to seniors I don't think is going to get to the root of the problem," Simons said.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General Shirley Bond announced March 19 that the government plans to make changes to DriveAble that include a public awareness and education program targeting seniors before they turn 80, regional expansion of the DriveAble program including mobile services, a peer review of the program and the ability for every senior who fails the touch-screen computer test to take an on-road test.
"The most important change means that a decision regarding a person's ability to continue driving will not be made solely from an in-office computer assessment," a press release from the province stated. "The results of the in-office assessment combined with the on-road evaluation and medical information will ensure licence decisions are made in the fairest manner possible."
Bond notes that of the approximately 84,000 B.C. drivers who are over the age of 80, only about 1,500 are referred to take the DriveAble assessment each year after a doctor determines there may be a cognitive issue through use of the SIMARD MD test.
"We have listened to the concerns expressed by seniors and we are taking action," Bond said. "For several months I have had our staff looking at the geographic issues and the need for a more effective model for rural communities. Our goal is to keep drivers on the road as long as it's safe to do so, and my staff will continue to look for ways to improve this program."
Simons isn't sure continuing with DriveAble at all is the best course of action.
"The fact that there's no test of validity [of DriveAble] I think that is a central problem," Simons said.
He doesn't think the government's plan to peer review the program will be enough to show the potential faults of DriveAble.
"It's going to be hard to convince me this is fairthey are going to ask has this method taken unsafe drivers off the road? Well sure it has, but will it measure how many safe drivers it's taken off the road? That's the question," Simons said.
"All I want is to see a system in place that does not unnecessarily remove safe drivers from the road," he said.
Simons has been vocal about his displeasure with DriveAble and the SIMARD MD test, holding two public meetings that drew hundreds of seniors in Sechelt and Powell River.
At those meetings, he heard dozens of stories from seniors who felt they had their licences taken away unfairly.
He has raised the issue with Bond and said he's getting blamed by some for "fear mongering."
"Don't blame the messenger. The seniors know when they're being hosed," he said.
