State Rep. Jeff Keicher seeks supporters to overturn Illinois senior driving test

SYCAMORE – Illinois drivers age 75 and older are required to take a driving test to renew their license, but a Sycamore-based state lawmaker with ties to the insurance industry wants to change that mandate.

State Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, recently filed House Bill 4431, which would end the requirement for drivers older than 75.

However, Keicher said the Illinois House Transportation: Vehicles and Safety Committee recently asked him to withdraw the legislation until the crash and safety statistics of drivers older than 75 are available.

Illinois is the only state in the U.S. to require behind-the-wheel driver tests for driver’s license renewals based on age. Keicher said members of the Vehicle and Safety Committee want to know whether Illinois drivers who are subject to the renewal testing have a better safety record on the road compared with similarly aged drivers in other states.

“We were asked to withdraw it and not ask for a vote last week. The Democrats on the committee asked for additional information supporting that Illinois seniors are or are not safer drivers,” Keicher said. “I was a little frustrated with that, in that Illinois is the only state subjecting seniors to this additional requirement, and they’re subjecting it to every single one of them.

“There is no qualification of any disability, diagnosis, doctor’s visit, concern from family, concern from an insurance company. It is a blanket additional behind-the-wheel exam that they need to undertake.”

In 2021, 3,263 drivers age 75 and older were involved in fatal traffic crashes across the U.S., or fewer than any other age group during that timespan, according to the National Safety Council.

The driver involvement rate in fatal traffic crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers peaks with teenage drivers and generally trends down as the driver’s age increases for both men and women, according to a National Safety Council analysis of statistics compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, the driver involvement rate in fatal traffic crashes increases for drivers 75 and older.

Keicher said he’s working with AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, to compile national statistics that will allow lawmakers to compare Illinois with other states in the country.

Keicher, a State Farm insurance agent with an office in Sycamore, said he couldn’t make a comment as a State Farm agent on the matter but could opine as a 28-year member of the insurance industry.

“The rub is [drivers 75 and older] just don’t drive with the frequency that everybody else does,” Keicher said. “They’re not driving to and from work or picking kids up from baseball practice or school. They just don’t have the occasion to be behind the wheel as frequently, so, therefore, have fewer accidents.”

The lawmaker said he thinks the state should focus safety efforts on those who’ve had recent tickets or crashes.

“We should be flagging folks for review of any age that have a ticket or an accident ... up to the renewal term, to have additional thresholds in place, whether that’s behind-the-wheel testing, written testing, a review of the record,” Keicher said. “But the folks who have tickets and accidents are really who we should be focusing on, and those will be of all ages.”

Keicher serves the 70th Congressional District, which includes portions of DeKalb, Kane and McHenry counties.