It is estimated that by 2025 one in four Canadians will be 65 years of age or older.

In Canada the onus is on physicians to determine when an elderly driver is no longer fit to get behind the wheel.

In a society so dependent on cars, particularly in our rural areas, we should be creating programs to help seniors drive safely for as long as possible or have a system in place to help them get around, according to a recently published article by Dr. Paul Hebert in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Yet determining when a driver is no longer fit for the road is an onerous task particularly since there are no “objective assessment tools” a doctor can utilize to determine driver fitness, says Hebert.

Hebert argues that as drivers age the dangers increase but that it really varies on an individual basis as to when a driver is no longer qualified to keep driving.

The article suggests that just as we prepare ourselves for retirement, society should be preparing for driving retirement.

The government should be putting programs in place that enable seniors to drive safely for as long as possible and if they cannot, there should be a system in place to help them get around according to Hebert.

In Merritt, where much of our medical services have been regionalized to larger centres such as Kelowna and Kamloops, the loss of a license could be very daunting to an elderly person.

The Interior Health Authority recognized that many people living in rural communities did not have access to a vehicle or were uncomfortable driving on winter roads.

In response to this, a bus service was developed that takes anyone needing to travel to a medical appointment in Kamloops or Kelowna on the bus for a nominal fee.

“It is a subsidized service in partnership with B.C. Transit to help folks in our rural areas,” says Darshan Lindsay, communications officer for the IHA.

The service is called Health Connections and runs from Merritt to Kamloops on Tuesdays and from Merritt to Kelowna on Thursdays.

“The response has been good,” says Ralph Vanderheide, manager of Health Connections.

“We are operating on a five year contract and have been running for three years now.”

B.C. Transit is now operating a bus service in Merritt as well, so seniors either choosing to or required to turn in their licenses do have options available that can help aid in the transition.