Community Care has long been the local provider of the 55-Alive Mature Driving Classroom Refresher course that was developed by the Canada Safety Council.

With the retirement in 2020 of our trainer, Compton Singh, and a pandemic to cope with the way forward looked uncertain. A big thank you to Compton for his many years of dedicated service to the agency and to County seniors.

In true Community Care style we worked closely with the Prince Edward Police Services Board and the Prince Edward Detachment of the OPP to recruit and train a new presenter. David Fox, retired educator and volunteer firefighter with the Prince Edward Fire Services, is ready to provide the course. Due to the pandemic David will be doing the course by Zoom. We’re optimistic that it will work out well!

Maintaining a driver’s license is an important issue of independence for older Canadians, especially to those who have driven for most of their life. The Canada Safety Council reports that on a per-person basis, mature drivers have less than the average number of collisions. But on a per-kilometre basis, the over-70 age group is involved in a disproportionately high number of collisions.

The Canada Safety Council has several recommendations for senior drivers on their website at www.safety-council.org . The Council also recommends that seniors take a driver improvement course such as the 55 Alive Mature Driver Refresher training.

This is specifically designed to help older drivers improve their driving knowledge and sharpen driving ability to compensate for normal age-related changes in physical condition. There is a concentration on the physical changes of older people as they relate to vision, reading and medication.

The course deals with changing road conditions, rules and regulations and the need to understand collision – prevention measures. It focuses on the major problems which are common to older drivers, which include failure to yield the right of way, improper turning, incorrect lane changing, passing, and entering and exiting highways. The sessions are made up of presentations, videos, group discussion and instructor guidance. There is no actual ‘on the road’ driving.

Community Care is offering the 55-Alive safe driving course online for two consecutive Tuesday mornings – January 19 and January 26th. The cost is $25.00 per person which includes a 100 page workbook, useful resources, a certificate and instruction by a person trained by the Canada Safety Council. Registration is open to all people 55 and over. Space is limited. Registration and payment in advance is required. For information or to register call Community Care at 613-476-7493 and leave a detailed message.

-Debbie MacDonald Moynes