TITLE 24. TRANSPORTATION AND MOTOR VEHICLES

DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES

Fast-Track Regulation

Title of Regulation: 24VAC20-40. Rules and Regulations on Accident Prevention Courses for Older Drivers (amending 24VAC20-40-30).

Statutory Authority: §§ 46.2-203 and 38.2-2217 of the Code of Virginia.

Public Hearing Information: No public hearing is currently scheduled.

Public Comment Deadline: September 25, 2024.

Effective Date: October 10, 2024.

Agency Contact: Nicholas Megibow, Senior Policy Analyst, Department of Motor Vehicles, 2300 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23220, telephone (804) 367-6701, FAX (804) 367-4336, or email nicholas.megibow@dmv.virginia.gov.

Basis: The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) regulations are promulgated under the general authority of § 46.2-203 of the Code of Virginia, which grants DMV statutory authority to promulgate regulations necessary to carry out the laws administered by the department. Section 38.2-2217 of the Code of Virginia mandates that schedule of rates, rate classifications, or rating plans for motor vehicle insurance must provide for an appropriate reduction in premium charges for those insured persons who are 55 years of age and older. Only those insured persons who have voluntarily and successfully completed a mature driver motor vehicle crash prevention course approved by the DMV shall qualify for a three-year period after the completion of the course for the reduction in rates.

Purpose: The amendments reduce the regulatory burden on mature driver training businesses without detrimentally affecting the health, safety, or welfare of citizens of the Commonwealth.

Rationale for Using the Fast-Track Rulemaking Process: DMV determined that these changes reduce the regulatory burden on mature driver training businesses without detrimentally affecting citizens of the Commonwealth; therefore, DMV anticipates that the proposed regulatory action will be noncontroversial.

Substance: The amendments remove the instructional methodology requirements for businesses that provide mature driver motor vehicle crash prevention courses for drivers 55 years of age and older, including that (i) instructional methods must consider vision and other physical problems when designing instructional materials and aids and classroom setup; (ii) formatting and style of language for course materials must have certain mature driver-friendly attributes and avoid ageist language; and (iii) classes may not exceed 35 students or the maximum capacity of the accommodation and classroom facilities shall provide adequate lighting, space, ventilation, and freedom from distracting noise.

Issues: The advantage to the public and the Commonwealth is that this regulatory action would remove unnecessary regulatory requirements from DMV's regulations and lessen the regulatory burden on mature driver training businesses. The action does not present any disadvantages to the public or the Commonwealth.

Department of Planning and Budget's Economic Impact Analysis:

The Department of Planning and Budget (DPB) has analyzed the economic impact of this proposed regulation in accordance with § 2.2-4007.04 of the Code of Virginia and Executive Order 19. The analysis presented represents DPB's best estimate of the potential economic impacts as of the date of this analysis.¹

Summary of the Proposed Amendments to Regulation. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) proposes to eliminate certain requirements concerning course materials and classrooms from 24VAC20-40, Rules and Regulations on Accident Prevention Courses for Older Drivers.

Background. Section 38.2-2217 A of the Code of Virginia in part states that, "Any schedule of rates, rate classifications or rating plans for motor vehicle insurance as defined in § 38.2-2212 filed with the [State Corporation] Commission shall provide for an appropriate reduction in premium charges for those insured persons who are fifty-five years of age and older and who qualify as provided in this subsection. Only those insured persons who have voluntarily and successfully completed a mature driver motor vehicle crash prevention course approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles shall qualify for a three-year period after the completion of the course for the reduction in rates." The Rules and Regulations on Accident Prevention Courses for Older Drivers delineates the requirements for mature driver motor vehicle crash prevention courses to be approved by DMV. 24VAC20-40-30 of the regulation contains two subsections: 24VAC20-40-30 A on course content requirements, and 24VAC20-40-30 B on instructional methodology requirements. The proposed action does not alter course content requirements, but does eliminate the following instructional methodology requirements in 24VAC20-40-30 B: "3. Vision and other physical problems should be considered in designing instructional materials and aids and classroom setup. 5. Course materials shall be clearly and simply written, avoid technical terms, and be printed in large enough type to be easily legible. Insofar as practical, written materials should be personal in tone; e.g., use "you" instead of "the older driver." The materials should focus on specific driving information needs, rather than present age itself as a problem. Terms which emphasize aging, such as "elderly," should be avoided, since research has shown that people do not tend to identify with such terms. Illustrations, in addition, should not present physical stereotypes of older persons. 8. Classes may not exceed 35 students or the maximum capacity of the accommodation, whichever is less. Classroom facilities shall provide adequate lighting, space, ventilation, and freedom from distracting noise."

Estimated Benefits and Costs. DMV states that it is proposing to remove subdivisions 3 and 5 because "Mature driver training businesses can determine the best instructional methods with regards to the student's physical needs without specific guideline requirements established by DMV." This may be moderately beneficial for the driver training businesses in that it allows additional flexibility in instructional methodology design, while not changing course content requirements.

Regarding subdivision 8, according to the agency there are relatively few attendees for the mature operator course, and it is highly unlikely that any class would ever exceed 35 people, even without a maximum capacity requirement. Thus, removing the cap on number of students would not likely have any impact.

Businesses and Other Entities Affected: The proposed amendments would apply to the five existing mature driver training businesses in the Commonwealth.² All five would be considered small businesses.³

The Code of Virginia requires DPB to assess whether an adverse impact may result from the proposed regulation.⁴ An adverse impact is indicated if there is any increase in net cost or reduction in net benefit for any entity, even if the benefits exceed the costs for all entities combined.⁵ The proposed amendments neither increase costs nor reduce benefits. Thus, no adverse impact is indicated.

Small Businesses⁶ Affected.⁷ The proposed amendments do not adversely affect small businesses.

Localities⁸ Affected.⁹ The proposed amendments neither disproportionally affect particular localities nor introduce costs for local governments.

Projected Impact on Employment. The proposed amendments do not appear to affect total employment.

Effects on the Use and Value of Private Property. The proposed amendments neither substantively affect the use and value of private property nor affect real estate development costs.

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¹ Section 2.2-4007.04 of the Code of Virginia requires that such economic impact analyses determine the public benefits and costs of the proposed amendments. Further the analysis should include but not be limited to: (1) the projected number of businesses or other entities to whom the proposed regulatory action would apply, (2) the identity of any localities and types of businesses or other entities particularly affected, (3) the projected number of persons and employment positions to be affected, (4) the projected costs to affected businesses or entities to implement or comply with the regulation, and (5) the impact on the use and value of private property.

² Data source: DMV.

³ Source: DMV.

⁴ Pursuant to § 2.2-4007.04 D: In the event this economic impact analysis reveals that the proposed regulation would have an adverse economic impact on businesses or would impose a significant adverse economic impact on a locality, business, or entity particularly affected, the Department of Planning and Budget shall advise the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance. Statute does not define "adverse impact," state whether only Virginia entities should be considered, nor indicate whether an adverse impact results from regulatory requirements mandated by legislation.

⁵ Statute does not define "adverse impact," state whether only Virginia entities should be considered, nor indicate whether an adverse impact results from regulatory requirements mandated by legislation. As a result, DPB has adopted a definition of adverse impact that assesses changes in net costs and benefits for each affected Virginia entity that directly results from discretionary changes to the regulation.

⁶ Pursuant to § 2.2-4007.04, small business is defined as "a business entity, including its affiliates, that (i) is independently owned and operated and (ii) employs fewer than 500 full-time employees or has gross annual sales of less than $6 million."

⁷ If the proposed regulatory action may have an adverse effect on small businesses, § 2.2-4007.04 requires that such economic impact analyses include: (1) an identification and estimate of the number of small businesses subject to the proposed regulation, (2) the projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other administrative costs required for small businesses to comply with the proposed regulation, including the type of professional skills necessary for preparing required reports and other documents, (3) a statement of the probable effect of the proposed regulation on affected small businesses, and (4) a description of any less intrusive or less costly alternative methods of achieving the purpose of the proposed regulation. Additionally, pursuant to § 2.2-4007.1 of the Code of Virginia, if there is a finding that a proposed regulation may have an adverse impact on small business, the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules shall be notified.

⁸ "Locality" can refer to either local governments or the locations in the Commonwealth where the activities relevant to the regulatory change are most likely to occur.

⁹ Section 2.2-4007.04 defines "particularly affected" as bearing disproportionate material impact.

Agency's Response to Economic Impact Analysis: The Department of Motor Vehicles has reviewed the economic impact analysis prepared by the Department of Planning and Budget and has no comment.

Summary:

The amendments remove three instructional methodology requirements for businesses that provide mature driver motor vehicle crash prevention courses for drivers 55 years of age and older, including that (i) instructional methods must consider vision and other physical problems when designing instructional materials and aids and classroom setup; (ii) course materials must have specific formatting and style of language geared toward mature drivers; and (iii) classes may not exceed 35 students or the maximum capacity of the accommodation and classroom facilities shall provide adequate lighting, space, ventilation, and freedom from distracting noise.

24VAC20-40-30. Course contents and instructional methodology.

A. Course contents shall focus specifically on the information needs of drivers aged 55 years of age and older. To allow maximum time for this focus, content which that is irrelevant or more appropriate to young or inexperienced drivers should be excluded. The curriculum shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following subjects:

1. Vision and other physical problems which that tend to accompany increasing age; how these problems may affect driving performance; how to compensate for the problems;

2. Fatigue; drugs, both over-the-counter and prescription; alcohol; the interaction of drugs, alcohol, fatigue and other conditions; effect on driving and precautionary measures;

3. Updates on recent signs, signals, and pavement markings;

4. Travel time and route selection for optimal driving conditions; alternatives to driving offered by public transportation, senior citizen groups, and other organizations;

5. Safety belts and the special needs of older people to use them;

6. Updates on safe and defensive driving under modern conditions; e.g., such as the 3-second three-second following distance, how to deal with tailgaters;, lane positioning;, safe passing;, safe turning;, freeway entrance and exit;, maintaining prevailing speed;, right-of-way rules;, and the driver's responsibility to yield; and

7. Techniques to gain increased time for decisions; e.g., such as situations requiring greater following distance;, pre-trip planning;, passenger assistance;, recognizing hazards in time;, and unfamiliar areas and construction areas.

B. Instructional methods shall be used which that capitalize on the greater experience level of the older adult and which that provide ample opportunity for participants to relate the material to past experience and present needs.

1. Courses shall provide a minimum of eight hours of classroom presentation and discussion. This eight hours of time shall be divided over at least a two-day period, in order to allow time for better integration and comprehension of the safety concepts.

2. Courses shall incorporate a high level of student-instructor interaction and structured group discussions in order to relate the concepts to past experiences.

3. Vision and other physical problems should be considered in designing instructional materials and aids and classroom setup.

4. 3. Courses shall focus on factual information, its meaning, and how to apply it in driving. Shock effects and scare tactics are to be avoided.

5. Course materials shall be clearly and simply written, avoid technical terms, and be printed in large enough type to be easily legible. Insofar as practical, written materials should be personal in tone; e.g., use "you" instead of "the older driver." The materials should focus on specific driving information needs, rather than present age itself as a problem. Terms which emphasize aging, such as "elderly," should be avoided, since research has shown that people do not tend to identify with such terms. Illustrations, in addition, should not present physical stereotypes of older persons.

6. 4. Films, filmstrips, and audio recordings shall not exceed an aggregate of one quarter of the total presentation time.

7. 5. One or more written examinations shall be given to cover all subject areas, with scoring and feedback to reinforce learning.

8. Classes may not exceed 35 students or the maximum capacity of the accommodation, whichever is less. Classroom facilities shall provide adequate lighting, space, ventilation, and freedom from distracting noise.