Elderly driver bill stalls

‘Hot potato’ faces uncertain outcome

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON — A bill that would require Bay State motorists age 75 and older to pass cognitive and physical exams every time they renew their licenses has stalled on Beacon Hill, and local politicians say more pressing issues, as well as the bill’s controversial nature, are likely to keep the legislation on the back burner.

State Sen. Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said the bill, which was stuck in committee when lawmakers closed out their formal legislative session Wednesday, hasn’t gained traction because this legislative year’s agenda has so many other high-profile items.

“It is a really difficult issue that keeps coming up in caucus and in general discussion but then gets overshadowed by the latest crisis, which is focused mainly around the budget and how we are going to pay for things with local aid cuts,” Rosenberg said. “It is on the agenda but I would have to say it is on the B list and not the A list.”

Despite several accidents this year involving elderly drivers, including a fatal accident in May on University Drive in Amherst where a 75-year-old woman struck and killed a cyclist before driving away from the scene, Rosenberg said he hasn’t been approached by many local residents about the issue.

“I have heard from surprisingly few constituents about this issue and in part you are driven by what your constituents are asking for and in part you are driven by what needs to be done,” Rosenberg said. “The combination of what needs to be done right now and what people are asking for is what keeps crowding issues like this one out of the agenda.”

Although Rosenberg said he hasn’t noticed many area residents calling for action on the issue, state Rep. Ellen Story, who represents the state’s 3rd Hampshire District, said she has been approached by those on both sides of the debate and said the bill is stuck in committee because it has turned into a “political hot potato.”

“I have office hours in Granby at the Council on Aging and I got a real earful from them about how this bill was discriminatory,” Story said.

A key problem with passing the legislation, Story said, is that it has been poorly received by senior citizens, an overwhelming majority of whom show up to vote during election season.

“There is tremendous disagreement about how to do this,” Story said. “There are strong opinions on all sides of the question and I just hope we do something about this before July 31.”

Bob McDevitt, a 63-year-old Northampton resident, said the bill, which would require older drivers to pass physical and cognitive tests every five years and could allow physicians and police officers to report unsafe drivers to the state Registry of Motor Vehicles, isn’t fair to older motorists.

“It wouldn’t be fair unless they made everyone across the board pass the same tests when they renew their licenses,” McDevitt said, noting that younger motorists who regularly use their cell phones to text when driving pose just as much of a threat as any senior citizen.

The Registry already has a voluntary system where doctors can report individuals they believe are unfit to drive. In 2008, the Registry’s Medical Affairs Branch asked for the surrender of 2,961 licenses. So far in 2009, the agency has asked for the surrender of 2,212 licenses.

Legislation targeting elderly drivers has been filed for years, but the issue drew extra attention this year after a series of accidents, including the June death of 4-year-old Diya Patel, who was struck and killed by 88-year-old Ilse Horn as the youngster crossed a Stoughton street in a crosswalk with her grandfather.

Horn later pleaded guilty to negligent motor vehicle homicide and lost her driver’s license for 10 years.

Although he said he understood why older residents would consider the bill’s conditions ageist, Sean Hooper, 24, of Northampton, said he believed the bill would make state roadways safer.
“There are a lot of people out there driving who are just too old to do it safely,” Hooper said,” and a lot of the time families have a hard time approaching them about it.” Having a doctor make the recommendation could make the discussion easier on the family, he added.

However, Amy Sobel, 55, of Springfield, said passage of the bill would promote age-based discrimination and impede seniors’ civil rights.

“I just think it would give too much power to doctors,” Sobel said. “Who are they to make the decision about whether I can drive or not?”

Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com