Driving, Mr. Davey?
David Lynagh
My family doctor does not call
me unless she has had negative
results from a medical test.
Since I had had none recently,
I wondered why she would
want to see me.
When the day and time
arrived for my appointment,
my doctor greeted me warmly in
her office, where she explained
that she was concerned about
the slowness of my walk and
its effects on my driving. She
added that this symptom
might indicate the onset of
Parkinson’s disease. She was
going to arrange for me to see
a gerontologist and to have a
driving test called Drive Able.
I remonstrated with her about
my ability to drive, explaining
that I drove an automatic and
my right foot could control the
brake and gas pedals without
any problem. She was quite
definite about me having both
visits. I understood her concerns
regarding the possibility of
accidents, so I ‘rested my case.’
I went first to the
gerontologist, who was very
caring and put me through
a variety of tests related to
my physical reactions to his
directions. The procedures took
over an hour and he concluded
that I did not have Parkinson’s.
I was very relieved and thanked
him profusely.
58 | arta.net
Since I had not received an
appointment for my Drive Able
test, I visited my doctor to
ask if I still needed it.
She wasn’t sure at
the timeand wanted
to check with the
gerontologist. She
called me back to
say that I would still
need the test and
would be getting an
appointment with
that service.
The appointment was
eventually arranged and,
after paying $262.50, I first
took a series of multiple-choice
tests on a computer screen.
These I found problematic and
disconcerting. At the end of
this part, my examining driver
appeared and seemed to assure
me that all was well. Then came
the road test, where I felt quite
confident. During the road test,
I knew from the examiner’s
very negative reaction to my
hasty left-hand turn that I was
in trouble. Afterward, I was told
that my doctor would get the
results in ten days.
The news was not good. She
explained that I had failed and
went into some detail as to why
this was the case. When I asked
if there was anything further
that could be done, she replied
that Drive Able was sometimes
overly strict. She would forward
the Drive Able results to Alberta
Transportation and my medical
report, with a request that
my case be re-evaluated. She
recommended that I be given an
Alberta Transportation driver’s
road test.
Sometime later, I received
a letter from Alberta
Transportation telling me
that I had been accepted as a
candidate for its road test.
I forwarded to them a signed
doctor’s medical report on my
health, with my signature added.
Alberta Transportation accepted
my report and advised that they
would send me the information
I needed to arrange a road test.