2 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 9 Number 5


New Rules for Mature Drivers in Virginia on New Year’s Day


New Law Lowers Age from 80 to 75 for Mandatory In-Person License Renewal


behind the wheel, making them key allies in their mission to keep driving- -smarter and longer, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s report Older American Drivers and Traffic Safety Culture.”


VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – Stricter


driver’s license-renewal rules for older drivers - including accelerated renewal cycles and age-specific in-person renewal procedures - go into effect in Virginia, at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day. The new law lowers the age for mandatory in-person license renewal to 75 from 80. Starting January 1, 2015, Virginia drivers 75 years old and older will no longer be eligible to renew their driver’s license electronically


or by mail. Instead,


they must apply in person for every renewal,


beginning at age 75. In


addition, the new tougher rules shorten the license renewal cycle for drivers 75 and older from every eight years to every five years, as of January 1.


That means older drivers will


be making more frequent trips to the Virginia


Department of Motor


Vehicles (DMV) under the new special provisions.


What’s more, licensed


drivers in the state 75 and older must also pass the department’s vision requirements


or present a vision


statement, no older than 90 days, from an optometrist or an ophthalmologist.


“Senior drivers favor tougher driving laws and an overwhelming majority support greater scrutiny in the license-renewal process for themselves and their peers. Remarkably, support for these measures was greatest among drivers 75 and older,” said Georjeane Blumling, Vice President of Public Affairs for AAA Tidewater Virginia. “Older Americans tend to support policies to keep themselves


safer


The new law (HB 771) gives judges more latitude to require older drivers found guilty in District Court of a traffic misdemeanor, traffic infractions, or other traffic violations to successfully complete traffic school, enroll in a “mature driver motor vehicle crash prevent course” or a “driving improvement course,” in lieu of a finding of guilty. As a sweetener, the law allows all insurers writing motor vehicle insurance in Virginia to offer reductions in insurance premiums upon successfully


completing approved crash prevention Tidewater an course


through actual classroom instruction. AAA


Senior Defensive Driving Course for members and non-members


offers the online


or in a classroom setting. This is a class designed to reduce crashes involving mature drivers by increasing the understanding of how age affects driving


decisions and decisions can alter risk. The 2010 Census reveals 817,339


Virginians 65 or older were licensed drivers. Previously, the in-person renewal applied


strictly


requirements to


drivers


in Virginia age


80 and older. Before the changes, the how those


January 2015


regulations governing older driver also required them to renew in person and pass a vision


Will mature drivers, who


comprise approximately 16.1 percent of all licensed drivers in Virginia, be receptive to the tougher mature driving laws? Research by the AAA Foundation finds:


More than seven out of 10 drivers age 65 and older favor policies that require drivers age 75 and older to renew their license in person and also support requirements


that seniors


pass a medical screening to remain licensed.


Nearly 80 percent of drivers over age 75 favor medical screenings for drivers ages 75 and older, and 79 percent of drivers in this age group support in-person renewals.


An estimated 12.5 percent of


the population in Virginia is 65 or older. As 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day, Virginia joins a growing number of states (33 states), all told, as of December 2014) and the District of Columbia


in enacting provisions for mature drivers.


Seniors represent the fastest- growing segment


of drivers, with


current projections suggesting that a quarter of all drivers will be over 65 by 2025, notes AAA Tidewater Virginia. Although seniors have an overall crash rate comparable to that of 20-and 30-year-old drivers, they are the most fragile drivers on the road, with a higher death rate per mile driven than any other group, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.


special test once every


eight years. Younger licensed drivers are required to renew their driver’s licenses every eight years.


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