As the “baby boom“ generation, born after 1945, continues to age, the issue of driver competency will become more and more prevalent. Statistically, older drivers are generally safer, to a point. For some, physical and mental impairment begin to take a toll on the ability to operate a motor vehicle safely. Neurological diseases, such as Alzheimers, eventually render a driver incapable of safe driving. Physical limitations, especially with eyesight, hearing and motor skills can likewise render an elderly person incapable of safe driving.
Section 1519 of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle requires the Department of Transportation to recall the operating privilege of any person whose incompetency to drive has been established. The recall of the operating privilege is for an indefinite period until the driver presents satisfactory evidence to the Department to establish that he or she has regained the ability to operate a motor vehicle safely.
Police officers are increasingly trained to be on the lookout for incompetent drivers. In the typical scenario, an elderly driver is either involved in an accident or is stopped for a moving violation. If the police officer has reason to believe that the driver has a medical condition that might affect his or her ability to drive such information can be forwarded to the Department of Transportation. A notice will then be sent to the operator requiring that he or she take a driving examination. If the operator fails to comply with this request within 30 days, his or her operating privileges would be suspended.
If the operator passes the driving examination, his or her operator’s license is unaffected. If the operator fails the examination, his or her driving privileges are suspended indefinitely.
Under certain circumstances the Department of Transportation can require a driver to be examined by a physician, psychologist or opthamologist, depending on the driver’s medical condition. In these cases the results of the medical examination are used to determine whether the driver is competent to continue driving.
Finally, under Section 1514 of the Vehicle Code, the Department of Transportation may require any person applying for the renewal of a driver’s license to take and successfully pass such additional tests as the Department may find reasonably necessary to determine the applicant’s qualifications. As our population ages, we can expect to see an increase in the use of additional testing under Section 1514.
In our sprawling and transient society a license to drive is in many ways a ticket to freedom. Many elderly and health impaired individuals depend heavily on their automobile to get them to the food store, to the doctor and to other important destinations. The powers of the Department of Transaction to recall an operator’s license must be used judiciously and balanced against the importance of driving in our mobile society. In the end, two of our most important considerations, freedom and safety, are at stake.
– Kevin Palmer