Canadian Stunned by $5K Penalty for Accident From 65 Years Ago | Carscoops

      The elderly driver has no memory of the incident that reportedly occurred 65 years ago in Canada.

      6 hours ago

      By Thanos Pappas

      A Canadian has received a fine for being part of an uninsured accident from 65 years ago.

      The 85-year-old had his driver’s license revoked and is required to pay a significant fine.

      The senior driver cannot recall the accident and is now seeking legal assistance.

      A peculiar situation in traffic law enforcement has arisen in Canada, leaving many confused. It involves 85-year-old Ossie Gildart, who has been issued a considerable fine for an accident said to have happened in 1960—65 years ago, in fact.

      Gildart, a resident of New Brunswick, discovered the fine following a minor collision in December 2024 that led to a requirement for him to retake his driver’s test. Instead of the standard procedure, he learned that his license was suspended until he cleared a fine of CA$ 4,662 (approximately US$ 3,300 at current exchange rates).

      To his astonishment, the fine was not connected to his recent driving activity in his Dodge Grand Caravan. Rather, it was associated with an uninsured accident from 65 years ago in Toronto. As reported by CBC News, Gildart has no memory of being in an accident during the early 1960s while he lived in Toronto.

      A Long-Delayed Surprise

      Compounding the mystery is that Gildart has renewed his driver’s license numerous times without encountering any issues. While working as a service technician in Ontario, he was required to renew his license annually. In 1971, he relocated to New Brunswick and acquired a Class 1 license to operate trucks for CN Rail. Nonetheless, despite all these renewals, the alleged uninsured accident was never mentioned.

      A representative from New Brunswick’s Department of Public Safety stated that province-wide searches are now being conducted to identify license suspensions in other regions. However, if the court order is over ten years old, the department is not required to suspend the license or collect the outstanding amount for another province.

      Although Gildart has succeeded in retrieving his driver’s license, he still owes the CA$ 4,662 (US$ 3,300) fine to the Ontario Ministry of Transport. The 85-year-old has chosen to make monthly payments of CA$ 200 (US$ 140), calling them “a big slap in the face.”

      Clearly frustrated, Gildart and his family are contemplating hiring a lawyer to contest the ruling. “I was never suspended. I never had a problem. I just can’t believe they’d do this to a senior who will be 86 next week,” he remarked to CBC News.

      Lead image: CBC News / YouTube