Ontario considering enhanced road test for drivers over 80: AG report

Ontario is considering introducing an enhanced road test for drivers over 80 years old, and is looking at how to better deter stunt driving.

That’s according to the auditor general’s annual report published this week, which reveals some rules the Ministry of Transportation is reviewing.

Ontario drivers have to renew their licence every two years after they turn 80, and that renewal process involves attending a senior driver education session at which their vision is tested and they have to draw a clock, which measures cognitive abilities.

The auditor’s report says the ministry did research in 2020 that showed more than a third of drivers over 80 who passed the clock-drawing test could not pass a road test.

The report says the research recommended an enhanced road test for drivers over 80, and the auditor says the ministry is considering introducing that in 2026.

As well, the auditor found that people who received licence suspensions for dangerous driving have a fatal collision rate six times higher than other drivers, but the ministry isn’t requiring them to do retraining — something the ministry says it’s reviewing.