Important Resources
National Highway Transportation Safety Authority (NHTSA)
This agency works to direct highway safety and consumer programs in order to support motor vehicle and highway safety.
NHTSA has a link for law enforcement personnel:
NHTSA's "Getting Older" resource for older drivers. This site has resources for information:
- Traffic safety with older adults
- How to influence older drivers,
- How to drive safely while aging, and
- How to adapt motor vehicles for older drivers.
- Research that might be relevant, has safety plans for older drivers, and information on screening driving skills.
The Driver Fitness Medical Guidelines, published by NHTSA, provides guidance to State Licensing Agencies in making decisions about fitness to drive
North Carolina Area Agencies on Aging
Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) were established under the Older Americans Act (OAA) in 1973. AAA’s are organizations designed to respond to the needs of older adults by advocating for them and providing services and information. This link will connect with the AAA offices in the state in your area.
The National Center on Senior Transportation (NCST)
The National Center on Senior Transportation is a resource for older adults, caregivers and families, and state agencies. It provides information about older driver safety and details some of the resources available to offer transportation assistance.
The American Medical Association (AMA)
The AMA Physician’s Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers outlines detailed facts about licensing requirements, license renewal procedures, reporting procedures, and contact information for the DMV of each state.
This manual was developed medical specialists and experts in older driver safety to act as a resource for physicians dealing with older drivers. It contains information about older drivers’ medical conditions and medications, red flags of when a driver might be unsafe, ways to assess functional abilities and state laws regarding older drivers.
The guide recommends that physicians focus on: vision, cognition, motor/somatosensory information of older adults as predictors of driving ability. Some red flags for physicians to look out for with older drivers are diseases that may affect their physical ability to drive, medical conditions with unpredictable events, like seizures, and medications that may impair driving ability.
Cue Cards
The NC Older Driver Coalition has provided cue cards with pertinent information about how to recognize an at-risk driver and what to do about it to law enforcement officials in North Carolina. If you’ve lost your cue card or want one please contact us here. Can you set it up so it emails to me?
How To Make a Medical Review Referral
This link will explain the medical review process. As a law enforcement office, use the Driver Re-examination Recommendation (HP-640) to make the recommendation to complete a driver re-examination recommendation. Forward it to the DMV, fax to 919-733-9569send to: Director, Driver License Section, Division of Motor Vehicles, 1100 New Bern Ave, Raleigh, North Carolina 27697.
