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Montana driving lesson · Fitness to Drive

Senior drivers and giving up driving

A 3-minute lesson from the Montana course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

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Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Fitness to Drive
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
84, 85

Most older drivers handle their cars with skill and can keep driving while healthy and current on traffic laws. But vision, hearing and reaction time can decline so gradually that you don't notice until an emergency.

Know the rule

Per mile traveled, the accident rate of drivers 65 and over is exceeded only by that of drivers under 24.

Handbook p. 84 ↗

Errors often reported for older drivers

  • Inattention
  • Failure to drive in the proper lane
  • Failure to signal or to observe stop signs and signals
  • Unreasonably slow driving on busy highways
Handbook p. 84 ↗

Challenges that come with age

  • Hearing and eyesight become less keen
  • Judgment is slower — recognizing situations and deciding take longer
  • Physical dexterity weakens
  • Older people are more easily injured or killed in a crash
  • It's easy to forget that traffic keeps growing and rules keep changing
Handbook p. 84 ↗

Tips for safer driving

  • Get your doctor's advice, e.g., about avoiding heavy or fast traffic or night driving
  • Don't drive after medication unless your doctor says it's safe
  • Plan every trip; avoid heavily traveled or high-speed routes
  • Don't hold up traffic — pull off and let it pass, or pick a quieter time
  • Keep the car, windshield, headlights and glasses clean
  • Wear your seat belt on every drive
Handbook p. 84 ↗

Medical forms (mvdmt.gov)

  • 32-1800 Recommendation for Re-Exam
  • 20-1900 Driver Medical Evaluation
  • 22-1801 Report of Eye Examination
Handbook p. 84 ↗

Know the rule

Self-check: 11 questions cover trouble like needing two or three tries to parallel park or misjudging how far away an oncoming car is. If two or three apply to you, take steps to correct them.

Handbook p. 85 ↗

Turning in your license

Turning in your license
When you turn it inID card
More than six months before it expiresFree
During the renewal period (within six months)Standard ID card fee
Handbook p. 85 ↗

Know the rule

If you're concerned about someone's ability to drive safely, use form 32-1800, Recommendation for Re-Exam.

Handbook p. 85 ↗

Put it into practice

Your 80-year-old grandfather now needs several tries to parallel park and struggles with oncoming headlight glare. With two or three self-check points applying, he should talk with his doctor — and may decide to turn in his license for a free ID if it's more than six months from expiring.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

Compared to other age groups, how does the accident rate (per mile traveled) of drivers 65 and older compare?
  1. It is the highest of any age group
  2. Only drivers under 24 have a higher rate
  3. It is the lowest of any age group
  4. It is roughly equal to middle-aged drivers

Answer: Only drivers under 24 have a higher rate

Drivers 65 and older have an accident rate, in terms of miles traveled, exceeded only by drivers under 24.

Handbook p. 84 ↗
Which of these is listed as a frequently reported error among older drivers?
  1. Excessive speeding on highways
  2. Driving too fast in town
  3. Failure to signal or heed stop signs
  4. Tailgating other vehicles

Answer: Failure to signal or heed stop signs

Frequently reported errors among older drivers include inattention and failure to signal or observe stop signs/signals.

Handbook p. 84 ↗
You turn in your license during its renewal period (within six months of expiring) and ask for an ID card. What do you pay?
  1. Nothing; it's free
  2. The standard ID card fee
  3. Half the standard fee
  4. Only the $25 REAL ID fee

Answer: The standard ID card fee

If you give up your license during the renewal eligibility period (six months before expiration), the standard ID card fee applies.

Handbook p. 85 ↗
Older drivers should get their doctor's advice about their driving ability and follow any recommendations, such as avoiding night driving.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

The handbook recommends getting a doctor's advice and following guidance like avoiding heavy traffic or night driving.

Handbook p. 84 ↗
Two or three points on the handbook's older-driver self-check apply to you. What does it say you should do?
  1. Surrender your license right away
  2. Retake the written test
  3. Take the necessary steps to correct them
  4. Wait until you have a crash to act

Answer: Take the necessary steps to correct them

If two or three of the self-check points apply to you, you should take the necessary steps to correct them.

Handbook p. 85 ↗
You're concerned about a relative's ability to drive safely. Which MVD form does the handbook point you to?
  1. Report of Eye Examination (22-1801)
  2. Driver Medical Evaluation (20-1900)
  3. Change of Address form
  4. Recommendation for Re-Exam (32-1800)

Answer: Recommendation for Re-Exam (32-1800)

If you have concerns about a driver's ability to safely operate a vehicle, use the Recommendation for Re-Exam form (32-1800).

Handbook p. 85 ↗
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