Question: Even with all the questions about driver’s license renewal, not enough has been said about the requirement that drivers 72 and older go through this every two years. Going from an 8-year license to a 2-year license is too much. … Do all states do it this way?
Answer: No. Eighteen states require shorter renewal cycles for drivers over a certain age, four states offer it to older drivers as an option and 28 states and the District of Columbia don’t make this distinction, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute, nonprofit organizations funded by the insurance industry that work together to reduce losses from motor vehicle crashes.
There is no uniform renewal policy among the states that restricts older drivers, according to IIHS-HLDI’s analysis, which you can read at https://808ne.ws/lic72.
In Hawaii, eligibility for an eight-year license extends from age 25 through 71. At 72, the renewal cycle drops to two years, as you noted in your question.
Other states also issue two-year licenses to older drivers, but the rule kicks in later everywhere but Iowa. For example, the two-year license starts at age 75 in Rhode Island, at 81 in Illinois and at 85 in Indiana and Texas.
Several states restrict drivers at a younger age than Hawaii, but with a smaller gap between the regular and shorter license. For example, starting at age 65, Kansas and Maine issue a 4-year license rather than a 6-year license.
IIHS-HLDI explains elsewhere on its website that the number of drivers age 70 and older is growing nationwide, reflecting the large baby boom demographic and the fact that older drivers are keeping their licenses longer.
Drivers age 70 and older have higher crash rates per mile traveled than middle-aged drivers, but lower than young drivers. Differences also are clear when looking only at fatal accidents.
“In 2016, 59 percent of the deaths in crashes involving passenger-vehicle drivers 70 and older were the older drivers themselves, and 15 percent were their passengers. Twenty-six percent of deaths were occupants of other vehicles or motorcyclists, bicyclists or pedestrians. In contrast, in crashes involving at least one passenger-vehicle driver younger than 30, 39 percent of the deaths were the drivers younger than 30, 20 percent were their passengers, and 41 percent were occupants of other vehicles or motorcyclists, bicyclists, or pedestrians,” the IIHS-HLDI says.
E Kala Mai
On Sunday afternoon at about 1 p.m. in Don Quijote’s congested parking lot, in an attempt to avoid a Home Depot rental pickup truck colliding with me, I backed into a car that was following too close. There was not room there to exchange insurance information and by the time I found sufficient space and returned on foot, all involved in the backup were gone. If the driver of the car I backed into will contact Kokua Line for my contact information, I would be very grateful to resolve the issue. — GJP
Mahalo
On Sept. 22, I fell backward on the up escalator at Ala Moana Center. I was completely helpless and bleeding. Three young ladies picked me up. To my regret I did not take their names. A strong man, Daniel, held me upright to the top of the escalator and to a seat. Three members of Security checked my condition, called my daughter, Barbara, and called for an ambulance. Those professionals bandaged my wounds. My daughter drove me to Tripler Army Medical Center, where I was completely checked. Thanks to the quick reactions of these wonderful people, I did not suffer even more damage. — 100-year-old veteran
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
