Meeting Public Comments

Andy Nelson [Safer Driver Solutions/Driving for Exceptional Learners and Pres. of Iowa Assoc of Safety Education]

I would be happy to entertain any questions about this bill. I am one of the driving schools with the credentials to provide these services to disabled Iowans. I will be on the Zoom at 3:30pm.I am willing to come to Des Moines to visit with the committee to discuss it further. There is a barrier to equality in achieving a drivers license in Iowa. The reality is many individuals with disabilities do not get a fair and reasonable accommodation when trying to work with Iowa DOT offices and or courthouses. The reasons are both simple and biased. Many examiners do not understand or even recognize that individuals with disabilities can drive. There is a large bias out there that individuals with disabilities should not drive. This is a barrier to individuals who want to work and or be independent in a state that lacks public transportation in many parts of Iowa. This is because many examiners are not educated enough in the medical aspects of driving with a disability and/or simply have formed an opinion that they will not pass an individual with a disability. I believe the Iowa DOT does not have the internal resources or infrastructure to verify every candidate for licensure. They depend on the DOT offices and courthouse locations to do this. This can create more barriers to access to licensure.There are courthouses and some DOT centers that do try to help, but my experience is that they repeatedly tell me that they are understaffed and never get enough training as it is. The unfortunate truth is the Iowa DOT simply does not have the staffing or the budget to accommodate these individuals. It takes a lot of time to schedule and set up a DOT drive for an individual with a disability. This is an unfair barrier that a nondisabled individual does not have to deal with. Many other states have gone to a 3rd party testing system for the same reason as I stated above. Using experts in the field can streamline the process and provide DOT with expertise on the exact medical issues related to driving. This includes those older individuals who have had a medical injury or condition that can affect driving. We evaluate and can provide the best recommendations on returning to driving. This process with medical related issues often can take 3 9 months for someone to get their license back. This would not cost the state any money, in fact it would probably save the state money addressing these issues and create economic opportunities for our industry and businesses like myself who support individuals with disabilities to become independent or return to independence.Currently, a driver education school can certify anyone 14 21 who has never driven. Currently, the new 3rd party law that went into effect last year for CDL training allows a certified school to be able to train and test an 18 year old and up to drive a tractor trailer or everything in between. I feel that credentialed individuals in the medical field related to driving are equally qualified to train and administer the final driving test as the driving instructors and CDL instructors. You will note that the bill requires a 3rd party examiner to be a certified driving instructor in good standing with the DOT and ADED (the leading organization providing training to driver rehabilitation) with specific credentials to be able to provide the exam.One other point, we can be available to provide testing from 8am 7pm Monday through Sunday. We can be available to fit any schedule and we can go to the community where the individual lives and not force the individual to drive miles to reach a courthouse or DOT office. It would be a huge boost to individuals in Iowa who want to be independent, be employed, travel to school, college and beyond. Thank you