CAA web tool designed to help seniors drive more safely

CAA South Central Ontario announced Tuesday the launch of a tool on the Canadian Automobile Association website intended to help senior citizens drive safely.

The new CAA web tool “contains assessment instruments to pinpoint areas of improvement, interactive infographics that show common physical changes that affect driving, as well as videos with tips for managing challenging driving conditions,” CAA SCO stated in a press release.

The website also includes information from the Canadian Medical Association’s Driver’s Guide and advice from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.

Quoting from the CMA Driver’s Guide, CAA notes on its website that a person “should be restricted from driving if pain adversely affects his or her ability to drive safely or if he or she lacks range of movement or strength to execute the coordinated activities required.”

The CMA adds that “most difficulties of this type can be overcome by simple modifications to the vehicle or adjustment of driving technique,” but suggests if there are still concerns, “the individual should be required to demonstrate his or her ability to a driver examiner.”

The CAA web tool includes a simple driving assessment, in PDF format, with 15 questions.

It also has an interactive online assessment, which is downloadable as an executable file. Seniors need find a partner in order to take the assessment, which CAA estimates would take 45 minutes. The assessment is designed to test conditions such as leg strength and mobility, vision and reaction times.

“New research conducted by CAA shows nearly half (47 per cent) of Canadians are concerned about the safety of an aging family member while behind the wheel,” CAA SCO stated in a press release.

The research is based on a CAA poll with a sample size of 1,133.

CAA SCO suggested that 3% of survey respondents know “that by age 60, the average person needs three times as much light to see as they did at age 20.”