Most Canadian seniors have licences, drive themselves

Statistics Canada recently released a study that details Canadian seniors' driving habits.

Based on numbers from 2009, the source reports that 3.25 million people 65 years of age and over in Canada had a driver's licence. Of these, approximately 200,000 were 85 and older.

However, when comparing 85-and-over men and women, there was a significant disparity in licence ownership. For example, while 67 per cent of men age 85 and older had licences, just 26 per cent of women in that age range could say the same thing, StatsCan reports.

While some Canadian seniors preferred the convenience of public transportation, most of their travel was done by car in 2009, according to the self-reported survey data. More than two-thirds of seniors - 68 per cent - said their main form of travel was driving themselves, while 6 per cent said they preferred public transit. Just 3 per cent walked or used a bicycle, Statistics Canada reports.

Age-related decline in auditory and visual capacities is something everyone experiences, and may result in higher auto insurance costs if collisions occur. This is also why traffic officials have motorists take eye and hearing exams before issuing them with a licence. And according to Statistics Canada, the majority of seniors with drivers licences had good visual and auditory capacities.

For example, among seniors who had  a "very good hearing capacity," 76 per cent had a driver's licence, or what amounted to 2.8 million. This contrasted with seniors who were visual and hearing challenged, as just 26,400 of those seniors said they had a driver's licence, or 53 per cent, StatsCan reports.

For seniors who have visual or hearing challenges, the Canada Safety Council recommends that family members discuss whether their family members are able to continue driving.

While the aging process tends to leads to a general decrease in physical well-being, a sizable proportion of older Canadians reported being in superior health in 2009.

According to a separate report released by Statistics Canada - the Canadian Community Health Survey - more than three in every four Canadians who were between 45 and 64 years of age stated they were in good health, with 56 per cent of seniors saying the same thing.

"Understandably, the prevalence of good health declines with age," the report noted. "However, even up to age 85, at least half the population was in good health in 2009."

The report found that some of the most significant factors that played a role in Canadians' positive health related to behaviours that they could control. For example, among those who described themselves as being in positive health, they tended not to smoke, controlled their weight, exercised on a consistent basis, ate fruits and vegetables regularly, practiced good oral hygiene and were sociable with their friends.