D.C. Loosens Rules for Older Drivers

Giuseppe Morra, 80, is shown with his convertible car in Washington on Thursday, May 3, 2007. Since Morra is over 75 he is required by the District of Columbia to pass a road test and a written exam of driving rules before his license can be renewed in August. "It's an insult for people like me, who have an extremely clean record," says Morra. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (Jacquelyn Martin - AP)

WASHINGTON -- In the more than three decades that Giuseppe Morra has been navigating the streets of Washington, he has had just one minor accident, and it's been years since he has gotten a ticket.

So Morra assumed renewing his license this year would be easy. But to District of Columbia officials, Morra's good driving record was overshadowed by his age. Before the Department of Motor Vehicles would issue the 80-year-old a new license, officials told him he had to pass a road test and a written exam.

A year ago, the district began imposing what were among the nation's most stringent requirements on drivers 75 and older.

But after drivers _ and voters _ like Morra protested, the city government backed off.

On Wednesday, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced the suspension of the tests, and the D.C. Council is poised to pass a bill that would permanently prohibit the Department of Motor Vehicles from requiring the tests simply based on age.

Only two states, Illinois and New Hampshire, require road tests for all older drivers upon renewal of their licenses. The district was the only jurisdiction to require written tests.

"It's an insult for people like me who have an extremely clean record," said Morra, a retired World Bank employee.

Several accidents involving older drivers have contributed to calls for tighter rules.

In February, an 84-year-old woman plowed through an elementary school lunchroom in Illinois, killing an 8-year-old boy. In 2003, a car driven by an 86-year-old man hurtled through a farmers market in California, killing 10 people and injuring more than 70 others. And last week, an SUV driven by a 70-year-old man jumped a curb at a middle school in Belmont, Calif., and barreled through a group of students, severely injuring three of them.

The district, however, hasn't had a high-profile accident involving an older driver.

"We're not going to wait until there's a horrific accident and then wring our hands and say, 'There was nothing we could have done,'" Acting DMV director Lucinda Babers said last week, before Fenty changed the policy.

In the district and elsewhere, officials are bracing for an uptick in older drivers, as aging baby boomers swell the ranks of the elderly.