The Driver Competency Assessment is typically desired by either general physicians who are concerned about the safety of their aging patient on the road, or from a medical specialist who is treating the patient for ABI/TBI or other conditions and is wondering whether their patient's driving skills have deteriorated to a point where their risk might impact general road safety. This assessment is designed to determine the level of risk in a person's driving in comparison to others in a normal urban driving environment. It is a measure of those attributes most directly related to crash involvement in the scientific literature in the discipline of Human Factors in traffic safety: 1. Risk Management 2. Inattention, and 3. Distractibility.

Based on results of this standardized and risk data-driven assessment physicians will be better able to make SAFE and RESPONSIBLE decisions about a patient's driver's license while having met their due diligence.

There are many benefits of having a patient complete a DCA rather than a Ministry of Transportation test:

  1. We make recommendations instead of taking away a license.
  2. We will recommend license-restrictions where necessary.
  3. We are highly-trained risk-assessors, not basic driving instructors.
  4. The DCA is a standardized test with routes in every major city in North America.
  5. The DCA is trusted by police agencies, emergency responders, major transportation fleets, governmental agencies, as well as general and specialist physicians all over North America.

DCA LEVEL 1: The first level of the assessment is geared to the elderly or medically fragile driver who is interested in restricting their driving to more simple environments. Some drivers simply cannot handle complex environments anymore, whether it is because of ABI, a neurodegenerative disease, or just old age. The assessment does not have task loading conditions and the complexity levels are more limited.

DCA LEVEL 2: The second level of the assessment is geared to all drivers who desire to remain fully independent road-users. The assessment contains varying complexity and uses internal and external distracters to simulate task loading conditions found in any urban driving environment. This assessment is generally used for fairly competent drivers who have either recovered well from stroke, trauma, or some other condition.

Both assessments can be preceded by visual and cognitive screens if requested.

The cost of a DCA level 1 or 2 (without screens) taking place in Hamilton, Ontario, is $350 + HST ($395.50 total). Payment is the patient's responsibility unless coverage by WSIB or Auto Accident Benefit Insurance is available.