'I feel privileged to drive' says octogenarian driving student

A recent survey from the B.C. Automobile Association found many British Columbians are concerned about senior drivers, but some older motorists are taking a pro-active approach.

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Octogenarian Neil Morrison, who jokes he can't even remember his exact age, says he started taking driving lessons recently to refresh his skills on the road.

"After 70 years, you forget a lot of things," he says.

Morrison builds houses for a living and notes he spends plenty of time on the road driving from site to site dealing with construction crews.

But as he got older, Morrison says he realized he needed to brush up on his road skills.

"To a certain extent, I thought I was doing alright, but alright isn't enough. You have to do all the extra little things right."

Morrison takes his lessons with the North Shore Driving school, which offers classes aimed specifically at seniors.

With two more lessons before his exam, driving instructor Neil Prissick says Morrison is doing a good job.

Generally, Prissick says there are two common challenges for senior drivers. The first is rolling stops, and in a test, the driver is expected to come to full and complete stop, scan the intersection, and then proceed.

The second challenge is general speed, says Prissick, noting senior drivers sometimes feel safer driving at a slower speed, but if they are too slow in traffic, and that can be deemed unsafe.

But out of all the students he's had, Prissick adds there's only been one person who he felt shouldn't keep driving.

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As for Morrison, he thinks his children would start to bug him if they have concerns.

"Right now, I feel privileged to drive, so that why I'm here to learn how to drive."

BCAA has gathered information on its website about how to maintain your driving skills. This is one of the videos available