At the end of each interval, the potential driver would have to see a physician and receive a medical evaluation. This would decrease the risk of missing certain health problems that can contribute to accidents in elderly drivers. The physician would fill out a checklist of various problems commonly associated with aging, with a different amount of points assigned to each problem. The law would include a specific number of points that could not be exceeded. This number would be based on calculations of risk factors and driver ability. In this scenario, once a certain number is reached, the patient can no longer receive a license without undergoing treatment or therapy for the most severe problems.

Identifying the medical problems to include in the checklist could be a difficult task, but several sources provide a list of things to look for in older drivers that could make the process simpler. The American Medical Association, for example, provides a "Physician's Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers." This guide illustrates a very detailed process, and I believe it would fit very well into my proposal. The guide consists of several steps, and each one is designed to identify problems and provide treatment. Some of the steps in the guide include: "Is the Patient at Increased Risk for Unsafe Driving," "Formally Assess Function," "Counseling the Patient Who is No Longer Safe to Drive," "Legal and Ethical Responsibilities of the Physician," and "Medical Conditions and Medications That May Impair Driving" (Physician's...) These steps should be included in the initial medical examination phase to make sure that elderly drivers can function safely on the road.

The next step of my proposal involves actually testing the driving abilities of the license applicant. This process would be similar to the one currently employed in granting licenses to first-time applicants. First, the driver would be administered a written test to assess knowledge of road signs, signals, common techniques, emergency measures, and basic laws. Next, they would take an actual driving test consisting of turning, parking, driving in various traffic situations, and overall technique. Again, this would resemble the test given to people applying for their first license. Drivers would have to successfully complete all these steps before being issued a license. In the case of failure, they would be directed to medical professionals or driving instructors, depending on which part of the process they could not pass. Other forms of transportation would be provided for those who could not drive but still needed to travel frequently.