Joy has turned to frustration for the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) as it waits for new rules to come into force that raise the age at which senior drivers need a medical certificate for licence renewal from 70 to 75.
BARP president Marilyn Rice-Bowen hailed the legislative change, the result of the organisation’s intense lobbying last year with help from doctors.
Late last year, the government amended the road traffic regulations, allowing citizens between the ages of 75 and 85 to submit medical certificates every two years to renew their driver’s licences. Beyond the age of 85, senior citizens would be required to provide annual medical certificates to maintain their driving privileges.
Rice-Bowen told Barbados TODAY that, despite passing through both Houses of Parliament, the regulations have not been officially signed into force, leaving many seniors in limbo.
“Nothing else has happened since then,” she said. “So we have our members being turned around and being sent back home to get a medical certificate,” she said.
“What BARP proposed, and it was accepted, was that we move the ages from 70 to 75 and rather than on an annual basis, certificates would be produced every two years. That took a weight off the shoulders of our members. That was a relief for our drivers because they did complain about having to go up annually to produce a medical certificate to prove that they were fit to drive.”
BARP collaborated with the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) to provide medical evidence supporting their proposal. While the partnership bore fruit with the new legislation, Rice-Bowen complained of a lack of communication on its implementation.
She said: “We recorded a measure of success, but quite honestly, we have not been able to hear from anyone on what is happening with that. Up to yesterday [Wednesday] I have been trying and I have been unsuccessful. I have just been getting voicemails. The 70-plus persons have been calling us at our offices at BARP.
“I went out this evening and one of our members said to me, ‘You know, nothing is happening’. He said he waited in line and when he got to the top to renew his licence, they told him no, he has to have a medical certificate. So our members and the general public as well are still being inconvenienced because nothing has happened.”
The BARP head expressed hope that a meeting with relevant authorities could shed light on the situation, allowing the association to provide answers to its members and the general public.
Minister of Transport Santa Bradshaw had not responded to Barbados TODAY’s request for comment on the issue up to the time of publication. (RG)
