FEBRUARY 11, 2009

Recommendations will help keep roads safe for Michigan residents

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land has formed a Medical Advisory Board to ensure her office has the most up-to-date knowledge about medical conditions and treatments that affect a person's ability to drive.

The department will use the board's expertise to make certain that its standards and processes for evaluating driver fitness are as current and protective of public safety as possible. Land's agency is committed to helping drivers maintain their licenses as long as they can safely operate vehicles.

"Continual advances in medical technology and increasingly complex medical cases demand that we take a proactive approach to protecting Michigan drivers," Land said. "The Medical Advisory Board's contributions will keep us at the forefront of medical sciences. I applaud board members for lending their time and professional knowledge to help keep our roads and families safe."

The main tasks of the board will be to:

• Recommend physical, mental and vision standards for drivers;
• Advise on ways to improve how drivers are evaluated, such as revising the forms used by doctors and Secretary of State driver assessment staff to assess a person's ability to drive;
• Suggest ways to enhance training of driver assessment staff so they have the latest information about how driving is affected by new medications, substance abuse disorders, and intermittent or progressive medical conditions;
• Serve as a resource to the department when reviewing unique, complex medical cases; and,
• Act as a liaison between the Secretary of State's Office and the Michigan medical community.

The nine volunteer board members bring a wealth of expertise in key driving-related specialties. The board consists of an addiction specialist, certified driver rehabilitation specialist, neurologist, occupational therapist, ophthalmologist, optometrist, psychiatrist and an internal medicine specialist who is also a gerontologist. The Michigan State Medical Society recommended members to serve on the board.

"We welcome this opportunity to join with Secretary Land to help keep Michigan's roads safe," said Julie Novak, executive director of the Michigan State Medical Society. "Physicians across the state often are called on to assess the driving fitness of a patient, which is why it's important that we work together with the Secretary of State's Office to set standards for drivers and how drivers are evaluated."

The board holds its first meeting today in Lansing. Land will address members about her goals for the panel and the importance of ensuring all Michigan drivers can safely operate their vehicles. The Secretary of State is responsible for evaluating a person's ability to drive safely in addition to issuing license plates and driver's licenses.

In 2008, Land's office conducted more than 11,000 medically related driver examinations and received more than 4,700 driver evaluation requests. The requests for driver evaluations came most often from law enforcement personnel, physicians or a member of the driver's family. Michigan has more than 7 million licensed drivers.

Visit www.Michigan.gov/sos for more information about Secretary of State driver assessment and appeal procedures and locations.