TORONTO — As of this coming April 1, truck drivers in Ontario over 65 will not be required to have an annual road test unless they’ve had an at-fault collision or accumulated three demerit points.

Until that announcement, which came to the attention of todaystrucking.com via the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA), Ontario was the only province in Canada where over-65 drivers had to re-drive their road test every year.

The OTA greeted the change with enthusiasm. “This is great news for senior truck drivers and for the industry,” says OTA President David Bradley. “It sends a clear message that senior drivers with good driving records will no longer be discriminated against simply because of their age.”

The change, announced by Minister of Transportation (MTO) Bob Chiarelli, included several amendments to the senior drivers’ regulations.

The changes include:

1. The annual road test requirement for senior commercial drivers has been replaced with a road test only in the event of an at-fault collision or the accumulation of three demerit points.
2. The written knowledge test renewal requirement has been changed from annual to every five years.
3. The written air brake test cycle will be aligned with the written knowledge test cycle and a practical air brake test will only be required when a road test is required.
4. These requirements will be extended to Class-D drivers. However, the annual medical reporting requirements for Senior Class-A drivers will remain part of the program.

“OTA had been leading the charge on behalf of the industry over the past several years to make it easier for safe experienced drivers to renew their licenses,” Bradley added. “We commend Chiarelli for being the minister to finally drive this one home.” The changes, which for the most part reflect proposals from OTA, will be available on-line shortly via Ontario’s e-laws site and will be effective April 1, 2013.