OTTAWA — In a letter to both the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) and the Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada (OBAC), Ontario’s Minister of Transportation Bob Chiarelli said that the government agrees "that commercial driver licence renewal can be made less onerous for senior drivers (drivers 65 years of age and older) without compromising safety."

Chiarelli has asked his parliamentary assitant, Vic Dhillion, to lead a review to determine what amendments to the renewal requirement are needed and how to implement them.

Some changes that Chirelli mentioned in the letter were:

• Regulated fees such that senior commercial drivers pay a reduced road test fee of only $14 instead of the normal $75.
• Senior commercial drivers may use automatic transmissions for their annual road tests.
• The air brake portion of the practical test has been amended so that senior commercial drivers can use diagrams to describe the process and demonstrate their comprehension of the air brake test.

Both the OTA and OBAC feel that the government is taking a step in the right direction, and are eager to work with the province going forward.