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  • At-Risk Driver Population and Programs

  • AAMVA works in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, and numerous other safety advocates to reduce crashes and fatalities caused by at-risk drivers.

    The at-risk driver population includes new drivers, older drivers, repeat traffic offenders, drivers affected by alcohol, narcotics, medications or functional impairments, drivers with medical conditions that may affect cognition or result in loss of consciousness and serious traffic offenders. 

    Other programs and activities are focused on screening, assessment and medical review to ensure each driver's overall fitness to drive.  

    For additional information on at-risk drivers, please contact drivertesting@aamva.org.

    Graduated licensing eases beginning drivers into the traffic environment under controlled exposure to progressively more difficult driving experiences. This helps improve their driving skills and helps them acquire on-the-road experience under less risky conditions by progressing or graduating through driver licensing stages before unrestricted licensure. The system consists of three licensing stages, names by the type of license possessed at each stage: Learner's Permit, Intermediate or Provisional License, Full or Unrestricted License. 

    There are several states that have a three-tiered system with some components of a graduated licensing system.  But, within the majority of states, the learner's permit period, if required, has minimal requirements and restrictions and a full unrestricted license can be acquired at a young age with minimal behind-the-wheel experience.

    As the student driver progresses through each stage, his or her driving patterns become less restricted. The restrictions imposed during the first two stages compensate for the driver's lack of experience.  Once the driver has accumulated a significant amount of safe driving experience under controlled conditions, he or she "graduates" to the next stage.

    For additional information contact Karen Morton, AAMVA. 

    NHTSA Publishes Graduated Driver Licensing Incentive Grant Program NPRM

    On October 5, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding a state Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Incentive Grant Program [Docket Number NHTSA-2012-0137].  While the notice seeks public comment on the minimum qualification criteria for the State GDL grant program authorized under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21); AAMVA urges its member jurisdictions to begin discussions on how this incentive grant program can be leveraged to improve state GDL programs. It's important to note that changes jurisdictions make to their GDL programs now, can equate to qualifying for grant funding to further improve their GDL programs at a later date.

    The motor vehicle community is charged with conducting programs to help ensure that drivers have the functional ability to drive safely. Functional impairments caused by physical or mental conditions must be identified. Driver licensing programs that can impact success in overseeing persons with such impairments include:

    • Establishing standards on driver fitness and driver assessment tools
    • Screening and assessing drivers
    • Conducting medical reviews
    • Restricting or "customizing"the license to allow the individual to keep driving safely where possible, such as during daylight hours only, or within a defined radius
    • Establishing renewal requirements
    • Establishing partnerships with the medical community, area agencies on aging, etc.
                  

    The following resources will assist Motor Vehicle Agencies with conducting and improving their driver fitness and medical review programs.      

      
    For additional information please contact drivertesting@aamva.org AAMVA.

    AAMVA is striving to develop the uniform guidelines across the entire spectrum of driver licensing activities; from identification, to testing, screening and evaluation, driver improvement and license withdraw.  Despite conflicting findings, traffic safety research has produced consensus on one central issue; as a group, traffic offenders present a much greater threat to their own and others' safety than do drivers whose records are clean.   The problem driver intervention program was designed with flexibility and makes it practicable for jurisdictions to implement. 

    For additional information contact drivertesting@aamva.org.