Q&A - Giving Up My Class 1 Licence

Question: I'm nearing my 71st birthday and have received the annual medical form required for all class 1 licence holders over, I believe, age 65. I haven't driven for over a year and have no plans to go back to work even on a part time basis.

What class will I revert to when I hand in my class 1 licence?

Driver Medical Exam Information

I had a look at ICBC's web site and found a page on driver's medical exams. It contains a link especially for commercial drivers in your situation.

Downgrade Your Class 1 Licence

It tells you that if you no longer need your commercial licence you can downgrade it and no longer have to worry about the medical exam. If you change your mind within three years you can get the original class back simply by passing the medical exam. It asks you to contact your nearest Driver Service Centre for further information.

You End Up With a Class 5 Licence

I did that and was advised that you would be downgraded to a class 5 licence as class 3 and 4 still require a medical exam. This could be done without charge until 6 months prior to your renewal date. At that point you would be charged the normal renewal fee for the licence.

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Thanks for looking and

Thanks for looking and replying. I looked at the ICBC site but didn't find what you did.

Giving up your Professional License

Notwithstanding anything else written here, I would ask whether it is wise for anybody to give up their Class 1, 2, 3 or 4 license; this is a qualification you have earned, that will be much harder to re-acquire should you change your mind in the future, particularly beyond the three year cutoff.

How onerous is it to take a regular medical examination? Why wouldn't you want to? Most people consider seeing their physician on a reasonably regular basis to be a wise part of taking care of themselves - preventative medicine, even.

So if, like me, you would be getting a regular checkup anyway, then why not have your GP fill in the OSMV form at the same time; it may not even cost all that much - my GP only charges me $50, so as I do this anyway every two years (required for Driving Instructor license renewal - more stringent than the three years for Class 1 drivers under the National Safety Code) it's hardly a hardship, if you see what I mean.

You may never want to drive a tractor-trailer again - or even a passenger van to help out as a volunteer for the real old folks - but isn't it nice to know that you could?

Answer

Although you probably found out several years ago, for the record, your C1 should be exchangeable for a C5 (and C6 if you ride) with Airbrake endorsement (15) and Any none-airbrake trailer (20) which is weird but fits the requirements/knowledge/ability of the operator.

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