In Saskatchewan senior citizens are the safest drivers on the road.
Still, drivers need to be vigilant about keeping track of how their own driving abilities are changing as they age.
"At SGI, we find that age is not a sole indicator if someone is safe to drive," said Leann Nixon, manager of SGI's Medical Review Unit. "Somebody at 55 can be more unsafe than somebody at 80."
Looking at the numbers from SGI's 2017 Traffic Accident Facts report, the age group with the most frequent number of accidents peaks with drivers in their teens and again in their mid-20s. From there, drivers are in continually fewer accidents as they age. When SGI looked at the 10-year average they found the same trend.
It is performance on the road and not a driver's age that is the best predictor of driving ability. On the SGI web site they listed a number of indicators of diminishing capacity for safe driving: having a series of minor collisions or near misses; having wandering thoughts or being unable to concentrate while driving; being unable to read ordinary road signs; getting lost on familiar roads; having other drivers honk at you frequently; and being spoken to about your driving by police, family or friends.
"Confusing the gas and the break pedal is a big one as well," Nixon said before adding that "getting into car crashes or fender-benders, getting lost while driving and near-misses" are all common indicators that a senior driver may want to look closer at their driving abilities.
SGI has an online test for aging drivers in their Mature Driver guide, but Nixon also recommended a refresher course that she had taken herself.
"We have some information on the SGI web site, but the Saskatchewan Safety Council has a 55 Alive Mature Driving Refresher Course, which is excellent," Nixon said. "They will usually put it on free of charge if there are enough people interested. It's a day course and they go over all of the rules of the road and they do some testing and ways people can look to see if they're having some issues with driving. They can go over medications and talk about getting their vision checked and talking to your doctor about whether you're still safe to drive.
"That 55 Alive course is really excellent. Anybody that takes that really does get a lot out of it."
In general, seniors are good about self-restricting when and where they drive to put themselves in the most comfortable position possible behind the wheel.
"From what we hear, as long as people aren't affected by a cognitive impairment as they age, most seniors have good insight about maybe not driving downtown in Regina or Moose Jaw during busy hours and not driving after dark," Nixon said. "We do see that people do have insight into restricting themselves, but if there's something medically going on, but they may not see how it might affect them."
If you are concerned about your spouse, parent or another loved ones’ capabilities on the road, there are plenty of online resources available to offer advice on broaching the subject and determining is they are still safe to operate a vehicle.
"People can call the SGI Medical Review Unit and we do have family members call us quite often when they're worried about their mom or dad driving," Nixon said. "We'll tell them that maybe they should have a chat with the physician to see if there's any medical condition that might be affecting them.
"There are all kinds of resources on the web in terms of signs that families can look for, or that even the person driving can use."
If a driver has a medical condition or health change which may affect their driving, it is their responsibility to report this to SGI’s Medical Review Unit to ensure that their insurance remains valid. This can be done at any time by going to a motor licence issuer, contacting the Medical Review Unit at 1-800-667-8015 ext. 6176 or at mruinquiries@sgi.sk.ca.
SGI has a number of resources available online at and CAA also has resources and recommendations available.
