Road Safety & Fairness Act Signed Into Law
SPRINGFIELD – Legislation championed by Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and AARP Illinois that makes roads safer and removes age barriers to align Illinois with the rest of the nation was signed into law recently by Governor JB Pritzker.
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The Road Safety & Fairness Act (HB 1226), introduced by State Senator Ram Villivalam (8th District – Chicago) and State Representative Jay Hoffman (113th District – Belleville), passed the Illinois House and Senate chambers unanimously during the General Assembly’s Spring session earlier this year. The legislation, which passed with 70 percent of lawmakers signing on as co-sponsors, takes effect on July 1, 2026.
The legislation creates new procedures aimed at preventing unsafe motorists – regardless of age – from driving by enabling immediate relatives to report a decline in cognitive or medical issues to the state for review. Illinois is currently one of only five states that do not allow immediate family members to report concerns about a relative’s driving ability.
The measure also increases the age at which Illinois drivers must take a behind-the-wheel driving test from 79 to 87. Illinois is currently the only state in the nation that requires a behind-the-wheel driving test for seniors based on age. Meanwhile, the latest statistics from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) reveal that in 2023, the crash rate for drivers 75 and older is 24.61 per 1,000 drivers, which is lower than every age range of drivers between 16 and 74 years old.
“The Road Safety & Fairness Act is common-sense, bipartisan legislation that will make our roads safer for everyone and make the process more fair for seniors,” Giannoulias said. “In signing this legislation, the Governor has aligned Illinois’ reporting and testing standards with other states that have long since made these changes to increase safety and fairness on our roads.”
“The Road Safety and Fairness Act is a vital step toward ending outdated and discriminatory practices that unfairly target older drivers in Illinois,” said Philippe Largent, State Director of AARP Illinois. “With 1.7 million members across the state, AARP Illinois proudly supports this legislation because it promotes fairness, respects individual ability over age and helps older adults stay safely connected to their communities. We commend Governor Pritzker, Secretary Giannoulias and the General Assembly for their leadership on this important matter”
“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,” Villivalam said. “It’s time to adjust this unnecessary and burdensome requirement unfairly placed on our state’s safest drivers.”
“A birthday is not an accurate gauge of one’s ability to get behind the wheel safely. Driving ability and medical health should serve as the determining factors,” said Hoffman. “Allowing immediate relatives – who have the most consistent interactions with their loved ones – to report medical concerns about a licensed driver is a more effective approach to maintaining road safety.”
“Illinois was an outlier as it was the only state that still had this antiquated law on the books, and I’m proud that we’ve finally brought that to an end,” said State Sen. Don DeWitte (33rd District – West Dundee). “It was a privilege to work on a bipartisan basis to get this important legislation signed into law. I can’t tell you how many phone calls my office received from seniors who felt unfairly targeted and discriminated against, despite having stellar driving records. With this new law, we’re finally treating them with the fairness and respect they deserve."
“I want to take a moment to thank the seniors who came out to our events, called, sent emails and shared with me their concerns and frustrations on their experiences in the senior license renewal system,” said chief co-sponsor State Rep. Jeff Keicher (70th District – Sycamore), “We need to use this as a positive example to encourage engagement in your state government. What helped this issue prevail is the input and actions of Illinoisans and I thank the seniors who started the conversation for that.”
Under the Road Safety & Fairness Act, behind-the-wheel driving test requirements will be amended as follows:
Drivers ages 79 and 80 will still be required to visit a DMV facility if they need to renew their driver’s license and take a vision test (and a written test if a driving violation exists) but would not have to take a driving test.
Drivers between the ages of 81 and 86 will still be required to visit a DMV facility to renew their license every two years, which is a shorter renewal period than most drivers, which is every four years. They will still be required to take a vision test (and a written test if a driving violation exists) but will not have to take a driving test.
Drivers aged 87 and older will continue to be required to renew their license annually. These renewals will include a vision test and a driving test. A written exam may be required depending on the individual’s driving record. The law governing this age group will not change under the new law.
A temporary measure sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic that raised the age of mandatory driving tests from 75 to 79 became permanent in 2024 after an office-commissioned study found no significant increases in crashes per licensed driver in each affected age range.
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