New Driver Safety Laws
By: Laura Daily | Source: AARP.org | June 2008
Resources & Options
Are you, or is a loved one safe behind the wheel? Here are some options and resources.
- Develop a driving retirement plan, suggests AARP's Lori Cohen. "Map out alternatives for getting around to your regular activities. Then test the plan to see if it works before you need to implement it
- Consider ITN America, which allows older adults to pre-pay for transportation in private vehicles whenever and wherever they want. Members can even donate their car to the system and receive ride credits in exchange. To date it operates in 10 cities.
- Check you driving abilities using AAA Roadwise Review. This screening tool developed by AAA lets drivers measure everything from leg strength and head flexibility to memory and field of view. It comes on CD-ROM and is available through local AAA clubs.
- The Hartford publishes a downloadable Family Conversations with Older Drivers brochure that helps readers analyze older driver safety.
- AARP.org lists a number of tools available to older drivers, including online driver’s safety courses, simple driving quizzes, and information on CarFit, a nationwide program that allows trained technicians to analyze how well you "fit" the car you drive.
- Learn how to get around your community without a car using our state-by-state transportation guide.
- 'We Need to Talk' seminars teach the dos and don'ts of talking to your parents about possibly giving up the car keys.
An 80-something driver runs over a toddler or crashes into another vehicle killing the occupant. Immediately state legislators call for and/or enact tougher requirements for older drivers. Sound familiar?
That scenario played out in Texas when a 17-year-old died after a 90-year-old driver struck her car. Now a law requires Texans 79 and older to renew their licenses in person. Those 85 and older must have their vision tested more often.
Today, more than two dozen states impose special provisions for older drivers. The regulations range from shortened renewal periods and different license renewal methods (in person instead of by mail or online) to special testing requirements such as vision or road tests.
Fair? Not to Elizabeth Dugan, an assistant professor in geriatric medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and author of "The Driving Dilemma."
"The problem with age-based tests is they don't necessarily work, because we all age at different rates," Dugan said.
Lori Cohen, AARP senior project manager for Driver Safety, agreed. "AARP supports fair and effective regulation of all drivers. License renewal should be based on the ability to drive safely, regardless of age."
States have wildly inconsistent renewal procedures. (Check out the AAA's latest Senior Licensing Laws chart for your state's rules.) Many require drivers older than 65 or 70 to renew their licenses more often and in person. Others insist on vision tests or like Illinois and New Hampshire require those over 75 to take a road test. Many states also have medical review boards that advise DMVs on standards and/or review individual cases.
Nine states—California, Delaware, Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, and West Virginia—require physicians to report medical conditions that might impair driving skills for anyone at any age. Only California specifically requires doctors to report a diagnosis of dementia. Such laws are double-edged swords, Dugan observed. "Doctors are frustrated, because one the one hand they want their patients to be safe. But if they report someone and that person can no longer drive, it may also impede their ability to receive continued care," she said.
Unfortunately researchers haven't identified a specific test that can reliably detect an elderly driver who's likely to crash. True, laws aimed at teenage drivers do reduce crashes, but there's no certainty they would do the same for the older person behind the wheel.
What often works is self-regulation. After cataracts and retinal degeneration caused 77-year-old Nicole Conover of Phoenix to miss a few stop signs, she stopped driving at night and within the last year gave up the keys altogether. Not that it was easy. "I hate having to depend on others," said Conover, who relies on family and friends to shuttle her to church, the grocery store, and swim classes. In fact, Conover optimistically hopes to drive again if cataract surgery is successful. "Public buses aren't handy, taxis are expensive, and Dial-A-Ride isn't reliable," she added.
Helen Shapiro, 78, lost her husband, Alvin, to Alzheimer's disease in 2003. "One day in 2001 he went to return a video and at the end of the block realized he didn't know which way to turn. After that he said, 'I can't drive anymore,'" she recalled. Though Shapiro's own driver's license is good until 2012, she performs a mental checklist every time she starts her car. "I remind myself of the directions and no longer drive long distances. Alvin showed me there's no shame in giving up your license," she related. Shapiro's long-term plan even involves moving into a nearby active adult community with full-time shuttle service to wherever residents want to go.
That's good news to experts like Cohen. "There are things that work: being aware of medications and their side effects, being careful about where and when you drive, and limiting night driving," she said. "What I hate to see are drivers, especially women, who are capable but give up their license rather than risk failing a licensing renewal test."
Not that all older drivers are anti-testing. Shapiro, for one, wouldn't mind additional in-person tests. "Sometimes the only way to tell if someone should be driving a car is to see them face-to-face," she said. "Yes, a car means independence. And no one wants to be a burden on family or friends; but none of us wants to hurt anyone either."
Do tougher state laws help? So far results are mixed. For every study that shows a modest drop in crashes involving older people, another reveals no differences at all. As Dugan pointed out, "We should have a simple, 10-minute test to evaluate fitness to drive at every department of motor vehicles, but we don't have one yet."
That scenario played out in Texas when a 17-year-old died after a 90-year-old driver struck her car. Now a law requires Texans 79 and older to renew their licenses in person. Those 85 and older must have their vision tested more often.
Today, more than two dozen states impose special provisions for older drivers. The regulations range from shortened renewal periods and different license renewal methods (in person instead of by mail or online) to special testing requirements such as vision or road tests.
Fair? Not to Elizabeth Dugan, an assistant professor in geriatric medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and author of "The Driving Dilemma."
"The problem with age-based tests is they don't necessarily work, because we all age at different rates," Dugan said.
Lori Cohen, AARP senior project manager for Driver Safety, agreed. "AARP supports fair and effective regulation of all drivers. License renewal should be based on the ability to drive safely, regardless of age."
States have wildly inconsistent renewal procedures. (Check out the AAA's latest Senior Licensing Laws chart for your state's rules.) Many require drivers older than 65 or 70 to renew their licenses more often and in person. Others insist on vision tests or like Illinois and New Hampshire require those over 75 to take a road test. Many states also have medical review boards that advise DMVs on standards and/or review individual cases.
Nine states—California, Delaware, Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, and West Virginia—require physicians to report medical conditions that might impair driving skills for anyone at any age. Only California specifically requires doctors to report a diagnosis of dementia. Such laws are double-edged swords, Dugan observed. "Doctors are frustrated, because one the one hand they want their patients to be safe. But if they report someone and that person can no longer drive, it may also impede their ability to receive continued care," she said.
Unfortunately researchers haven't identified a specific test that can reliably detect an elderly driver who's likely to crash. True, laws aimed at teenage drivers do reduce crashes, but there's no certainty they would do the same for the older person behind the wheel.
What often works is self-regulation. After cataracts and retinal degeneration caused 77-year-old Nicole Conover of Phoenix to miss a few stop signs, she stopped driving at night and within the last year gave up the keys altogether. Not that it was easy. "I hate having to depend on others," said Conover, who relies on family and friends to shuttle her to church, the grocery store, and swim classes. In fact, Conover optimistically hopes to drive again if cataract surgery is successful. "Public buses aren't handy, taxis are expensive, and Dial-A-Ride isn't reliable," she added.
Helen Shapiro, 78, lost her husband, Alvin, to Alzheimer's disease in 2003. "One day in 2001 he went to return a video and at the end of the block realized he didn't know which way to turn. After that he said, 'I can't drive anymore,'" she recalled. Though Shapiro's own driver's license is good until 2012, she performs a mental checklist every time she starts her car. "I remind myself of the directions and no longer drive long distances. Alvin showed me there's no shame in giving up your license," she related. Shapiro's long-term plan even involves moving into a nearby active adult community with full-time shuttle service to wherever residents want to go.
That's good news to experts like Cohen. "There are things that work: being aware of medications and their side effects, being careful about where and when you drive, and limiting night driving," she said. "What I hate to see are drivers, especially women, who are capable but give up their license rather than risk failing a licensing renewal test."
Not that all older drivers are anti-testing. Shapiro, for one, wouldn't mind additional in-person tests. "Sometimes the only way to tell if someone should be driving a car is to see them face-to-face," she said. "Yes, a car means independence. And no one wants to be a burden on family or friends; but none of us wants to hurt anyone either."
Do tougher state laws help? So far results are mixed. For every study that shows a modest drop in crashes involving older people, another reveals no differences at all. As Dugan pointed out, "We should have a simple, 10-minute test to evaluate fitness to drive at every department of motor vehicles, but we don't have one yet."
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