‘Vital step’ to ending discrimination: Senate approves bill raising age for senior road exams
Legislation raising the age for mandatory road exams for seniors from 79 to 87 passed the Illinois Senate unanimously Thursday.
The bill also allows family members to report unsafe drivers of any age.
“I’m extremely excited,” said Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who has spearheaded the legislation. “I have never see seniors be so vocally behind a piece of legislation in my entire career.”
“The Road Safety and Fairness Act is a vital step toward ending outdated and discriminatory practices that unfairly target older drivers in Illinois,” State Director of AARP Illinois Philippe Largent added in a statement.
The law will go into effect July 1, 2026, if Gov. JB Pritzker signs it. Asked about the governor’s intent, a spokesman said, “he’ll review it if it reaches his desk.”
The change comes after an outcry from seniors against Illinois being the only state with mandatory road tests for older drivers, which many characterized as age discrimination and a burdensome, stressful task.
The crash rate for motorists age 75 and older is 24.61 per 1,000 drivers, lower than every other age range, Giannoulias has said.
“This measure will align Illinois senior driving standards with the rest of the nation while increasing safeguards so that Illinois remains among the strictest states for road safety,” Senate Transportation Committee Chair Ram Villivalam noted in a statement.
“It’s time to adjust this unnecessary and burdensome requirement unfairly placed on our state’s safest drivers.”
Previous attempts to pass similar legislation faltered in 2024.
“All I know is we worked very, very hard, we took complete ownership of this,” Giannoulias said. “Maybe having the power of the secretary of state behind this is what put it over the top.”
Current law requires drivers aged 79 and 80 to take a road exam when their four-year license renewal is up. For drivers aged 81 to 86, it’s every two years, and for those 87 and older, it’s yearly.
The new legislation would maintain that drivers ages 81 through 86 would not need a road exam to renew their license but must take a vision test. Renewals are in-person, every two years.
Rules for drivers ages 87 and older would stay the same, with a road exam and a vision test required annually.
One significant element of the bill provides a way for immediate relatives of unsafe drivers, regardless of age, to report problems to the secretary of state’s office. Issues could be a decline in driving skills or cognitive or medical issues.
If officials find the concerns are credible, a driver would need to submit a medical evaluation and/or undergo written, vision and behind-the-wheel tests to keep their license.
“This is really important to treat senior drivers fairly while reining in the truly dangerous drivers, regardless of age, who pose the biggest risk on our roads,” Giannoulias said.
Currently, Illinois is one of five states that don’t allow relatives to report health concerns about drivers.