With the number of seniors in B.C. expected to climb to well over a million in the next decade, researchers are working on a better way to screen senior drivers to make sure they’re still safe behind the wheel.

A total of 928 seniors in five Canadian cities are taking part in the ‘Candrive’ national research project to help develop a better way for doctors to screen older drivers to see if they're still fit to hold a licence.

Dr. Holly Tuokko, who works for the University of Victoria Centre on Aging, says the aim is creating an effective and evidence-based screening tool.

“The doctors themselves are concerned that they're not actually trained how this medical condition they might have identified could affect someone driving,” she said.

Senior's driving patterns are recorded using an in-car device and the project also tracks crashes and any health changes. It’s coupled with yearly comprehensive assessments – including a set of physical, mental and behavioural tests -- that “will help determine the factors that make older persons safe and not safe to drive.”

One major objective is developing a screening tool that doctors can use to determine if their senior patients are still safe to be on the road.

“There’s never going to be perfect tool captures everyone but we might be able to do better than we're doing now,” said Dr. Tuokko.

At the age of 80, and every two years after that, all B.C. drivers are sent driver’s medical examination form for their doctor to fill out. That form then goes to the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, who can request further testing and ultimately decide whether a person can continue to drive.

Every year on average over 150,000 B.C. drivers are assessed by the province, with 55,000 aged 80 or over. Around three per cent are found to be unfit, and another 1.5 percent fail to comply with the assessment -- and lose their licences.

Dr. Tuokko said it’s more than a numbers game, and that it’s difficult to predict the age where it’s unsafe for someone to drive, if that happens at all.

“It has to do with your abilities and a lot of that has to do with your medical fitness,” she said.

Prior to age 80 it's up to the driver, their family, doctor or others to raise concerns about driving ability.

Michael Randerson, 79, is one of the seniors in the experiment, and will soon have to undergo his own government-required assessment due to his age.

He says driving is a big part of his life, and his driving abilities haven’t changed much over six decades of driving.

“I'm virtually out every day going somewhere doing things,” he said.

Randerson doesn’t drive long distances except on vacation, and he hopes to keep driving as long as possible.

“If that were to be taken away from me for whatever reason I really would find a big change in my lifestyle,” he said.

Watch CTV News at Six for a full report from Maria Weisgarber