A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the drivers license statutes to provide for more frequent testing and shorter renewal periods for older drivers.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑7(f)(2) reads as rewritten:
"(2)	Duration of license for persons at least 18 years of age or older. – A drivers license issued to a person at least 18 years old but less than 65 years old expires eight years after the date of issuance. A drivers license issued to a person at least 65 years old but less than 75 years old expires five years after the date of issuance. A drivers license issued to a person at least 75 years old but less than 85 years old expires two years after the date of issuance. A drivers license issued to a person at least 85 years old expires one year after the date of issuance."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 20‑7 (c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Tests. – To demonstrate physical and mental ability, a person must pass an examination. The examination may include road tests, vision tests, oral tests, and, in the case of literate applicants, written tests, as the Division may require. The tests must ensure that an applicant recognizes the handicapped international symbol of access, as defined in G.S. 20‑37.5. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the Division may not require a person who applies to renew a license that has not expired to take a written test or a road test unless one or more of the following applies:
(1)	The person has been convicted of a traffic violation since the person's license was last issued.
(2)	The applicant suffers from a mental or physical condition that impairs the person's ability to drive a motor vehicle.
The Division shall require any person who is at least 75 years old to take a road test. The Division may not require a person who is at least 60 years old to parallel park a motor vehicle as part of a road test."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2008.