Can you be too old to drive in Illinois? The testing requirements may soon change
Illinois state legislators are considering a bill to raise the age at which older drivers are required to take a behind-the-wheel test to renew their license.
State representative Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, is one of the bill’s main sponsors, and the piece of legislation is known as the ”Road Safety and Fairness Act.” House Bill 1226 would raise the age at which Illinois drivers must take a behind-the-wheel test to renew their driver’s license from 79 to 87.
The age floor used to be even lower, requiring drivers 75 and older to take a driving test to determine whether a resident is still safe to drive as they age.
“Illinois used to have, apparently, one of the more strict laws in the nation for older adult drivers,” Illinois Legal Aid Online Executive Director Teri Ross said in an April 16 interview with the News-Democrat.
While the requirements for older Illinois drivers have loosened, the state is still the only one in the nation to require a behind-the-wheel driving test for seniors based on age, according to a Jan. 14 press release from the Illinois Office of the Secretary of State.
“As Secretary of State, my top priority is ensuring that Illinois roads are safe,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said in the press release. “Seniors are among the safest drivers of any age category. This measure will align Illinois senior driving standards with the rest of the nation while increasing safeguards so that Illinois maintains its status as one of the strictest states when it comes to driver safety and license renewals.”
The secretary of state’s office cited 2023 data from the Illinois Department of Transportation showing “the crash rate for drivers 75 and older is 24.61 per 1,000 drivers, which is lower than every age range of drivers between 16 and 74 years old.”
Illinois is also one of five states that does not allow immediate family members to report concerns about a relative’s driving ability, the press release said, and the Road Safety and Fairness Act would change that.
The bill passed the Illinois House with bipartisan support and was referred to the Illinois Senate’s assignments committee April 9. If the bill becomes law, it’s set to take effect July 1, 2026.
How can seniors renew their driver’s license in Illinois?
While the rules may change if the Road Safety and Fairness Act passes, currently, Illinois drivers age 79 and older are required to take a behind-the-wheel driving test to renew their license.
The Illinois driving exam grades an applicant’s ability to start the vehicle, back the vehicle, turn about, park uphill, park downhill, start uphill, start downhill, control the vehicle, utilize a lane properly and drive at an appropriate speed.
A vision screening is also required. For drivers age 21 to 80, licenses must be renewed every four years, while drivers age 81 to 86 must renew every two years and those over 87 must renew their driver’s license every year.
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