Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias filed administrative rules this week that would increase the age at which a driver is required to pass a driving test when they renew their license, raising it from 75 to 79.
The rules would keep in place a state policy that went into effect during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, lawmakers in Springfield temporarily modified several requirements for driver’s licenses to ease strain on the secretary of state’s office, which oversees driver services facilities. That included the age increase for required driver tests.
But that policy was scheduled to expire on Oct. 1, so Giannoulias’ office filed emergency rules to extend it beyond that date, along with identical permanent rules. The proposed change goes to the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, which holds its next regular meeting on Oct. 17 in Chicago.
The committee can decide whether to leave the rules in place, request changes or file an objection.
“This change would make Illinois driving standards for senior drivers more consistent compared to other states while keeping Illinois as one of the strictest states for license renewals,” Giannoulias said this week.
Under the pandemic-era policy and the rules proposed by Giannoulias, all drivers aged 78 and younger must renew their licenses every four years. At age 79, drivers must complete a driving test as part of that process.
State policies for those aged 79 and older would not change under Giannoulias’ proposed rules. Drivers aged 81 to 86 must renew their license and take a vision and driving test every two years, and drivers aged 87 and older must renew their license and take those tests every year.
Illinois is the only state in the country that has a driving test requirement for people over a certain age. Illinois also requires more frequent driver’s license renewals for people over age 80, something only 23 states require.
The change will affect approximately 3% of Illinois’ driving population, according to the secretary of state’s office.
As part of the temporary change, the secretary of state’s office issued a report on driving safety among older drivers, which found that drivers aged 75 years and older were involved in fewer crashes — even after the temporary rule change went into effect — than those aged 16 to 69 years.
Age-related requirements for drivers have been a longtime issue for AARP Illinois, an advocacy group that represents the interests of those over age 50.
“Age alone is not determinative of driving performance,” Ryan Gruenenfelder, outreach and advocacy manager at AARP Illinois, told Capitol News Illinois.
Gruenenfelder said AARP receives complaints about age-related requirements for drivers, noting they make competent drivers feel “targeted” for their age. He said the organization will continue to work with the secretary of state’s office and advocate for using a person’s mobility or indicators of driving behavior to trigger possible driving test requirements, regardless of age.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of print and broadcast outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
