New Legislation Gives Green Light to Volunteer Drivers

Governor Signs Law, Limits Volunteer Drivers' Liability and Protects Them From Big Car-Insurance Rate Hikes

Source: AARP.org | June 29, 2007

Thanks to AARP Florida's advocacy, Florida volunteer drivers have a clearer road ahead. AARP Florida helped craft an amendment to a new state law (HB 359) that will protect volunteers from certain kinds of liability and also stop auto insurers from jacking up their car-insurance rates.

Under previous law, Florida auto insurers were allowed to raise rates on certain volunteer drivers the same way they charge taxi drivers.

In mid-June Governor Charlie Crist signed HB 359 (by state Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg) into law. This new law provides liability protection for volunteer drivers in many different kinds of programs.

AARP Florida began working with lawmakers and legislative staff this year after an AARP-sponsored state mobility forum identified a quirk of state law as a big roadblock to creating a series of new volunteer mobility programs called Independent Transportation Network affiliates (ITN) throughout the state.

Facing the threat of inflated insurance premiums or, worse yet, the potential for discontinued coverage, many would-be volunteer drivers steered away from helping with supplemental transportation programs such as ITN affiliates and others. Forty percent of these programs report troubles with driver indemnification, the primary hurdle facing self-funded, community-based transportation programs.

Based on the Portland, Maine Independent Transportation Network model, these ITN affiliate programs allow volunteers to build "ride credits" for themselves, their parents or others by offering rides to seniors who needed transportation options. Current Florida law allows auto insurers to drastically raise rates for these volunteers—sometimes by several hundred dollars per year. Under Rep. Kriseman's bill, volunteer drivers are protected against such increases.

AARP Florida's Leslie Spencer noted that the legislation not only supports drivers who assist with helping seniors get around if they have decided to hang up the car keys, but also volunteer drivers for a broad range of other programs.

Spencer, associate state director for advocacy, said she was pleased the legislation—drafted and adopted by both the House and Senate less than a year after the senior mobility forum identified it as a top issue—was adopted so quickly.

Just how important are community-based transportation programs to their riders?

"This service gives me a great measure of independence," said Winter Park resident Rita Levy, who in October 2006 became ITNOrlando's first-ever rider. "I live in a senior community, so I can get rides to the doctor and to dentist appointments. But what about when I want to go to the mall to do some shopping? That's where ITN comes in. It's a great idea."

Related Articles

• Community Mobility Options: The Older Person's Interest
  Research on transportation alternatives for seniors

Other Resources

• Florida's Volunteers: The Driving Force For Senior Mobility
  Winter Park Health Foundation brochure
• Mobility for the Aging Population
  From the American Public Transportation Association
• Enhancing Mobility Options for Older Americans
  American Public Transportation Association report