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Senate passes Driver Safety and Empowerment Act to flag high‑risk drivers
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Summary
Senate Bill 7, the Driver Safety and Empowerment Act, passed after sponsors said it would identify medically or behaviorally high‑risk drivers and require retesting; the measure passed on a recorded vote of Ayes 27, No 1.
RICHMOND — The Virginia Senate on March 13 approved Senate Bill 7, a measure aimed at identifying drivers deemed high risk because of medical conditions or driving records and requiring competency reexaminations.
Senator Eastman, the bill’s sponsor, framed the measure in personal terms, saying it was inspired by his grandfather’s decline from Parkinson’s disease and by incidents where drivers drifted into other lanes or onto sidewalks. "We need a law that finds these dangerous drivers before they hurt themselves or other drivers and pedestrians," he said.
Under the bill, drivers can be classified as high risk for medical reasons (for example, conditions that cause fainting or seizures) or behavioral reasons (for example, accruing 12 or more demerit points within two years or two at‑fault accidents in five years). Drivers labeled high risk would typically have a period (90 days, or 15 days for instant risks) to go to the DMV and pass both the knowledge and road skills tests; multiple failures trigger progressively stricter retesting requirements.
Senators sought details about nondiscriminatory application and penalties. Senator Davis asked how the nondiscrimination provision in the proposed code section would be enforced; Senator Eastman said penalties would be determined by the DMV commissioner and could include fines. Supporters cited crash statistics: "According to a 2025 summary of Virginia crash facts ... there were 129,244 crashes ... with 918 fatalities," Sen. Mosher said while urging colleagues to vote aye.
After floor discussion, the pending question was moved and the Senate recorded Ayes 27, No 1; the presiding officer announced passage of Senate Bill 7.
Outcome: Senate Bill 7 passed and will be forwarded to the next steps required for enactment and implementation by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
