Elderly driver alleges B.C. age discrimination

An elderly woman living on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast claims the provincial government is discriminating against older drivers.

Barbara Robertson, 80, of Sechelt, was told she had to take tests to show she was still fit to drive her car, but the only place she could do those tests was in the Lower Mainland.

Robertson said she has no problem with proving she's still an able driver, but wonders why the two tests she had to take were not available on the Sunshine Coast.   "This meant two separate journeys to Vancouver from the Sunshine Coast, so that also meant a ferry as well as a journey down the coast," she said.

The trip is a 40-minute ferry trip and a 50-kilometre drive away. That's a tiring journey no matter how old you are, Robertson said.

Long round trip

"You're travelling for maybe three, three and a-half hours, even four, and then you're expected to sit down and take a driving exam or a cognitive test."

Regular driving tests are available on the Sunshine Coast, so she doesn't understand why the tests for older people aren't.

"It is discrimination because only those people who are taking this particular test that they've been recommending by their doctor ... everybody else, they can do their test here."

Roberston said she's sent two letters to the superintendent of motor vehicles at the transportation ministry, but has yet to receive a reply.

Calls by CBC News to the superintendent were not returned.

Robertson said she has taken both tests and passed.