Registry Procedures Manual - D.100

Appendix D. Act Relative to Safe Driving Act of 2010, Ch. 155
SECTION10.Said chapter 90 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 22H the
following section:- Section22I. (a) For the purposes of this section, health care provider shall mean a
registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, physician, physician assistant, psychologist, occupational
therapist, physical therapist, optometrist, ophthalmologist, osteopath or podiatrist who is a licensed
health care provider under chapter 112. (b)If a health care provider acting in his professional
capacity or law enforcement officer has reasonable cause to believe that an operator is not
physically or medically capable of safely operating a motor vehicle or has a cognitive or functional
impairment that will affect that persons ability to safely operate a motor vehicle, the health care
provider or officer may make a report to the registrar, requesting medical evaluation of the
operators ability to safely operate a motor vehicle; provided, however, that such report shall not be
made solely on the basis of age. The report shall state the health care providers or officers good faith
belief that the operator cannot safely operate a motor vehicle and shall disclose the medical
information underlying his good faith belief in his report to the registrar. The good faith belief shall be
based upon personal observation, physical evidence, or, in the case of a law enforcement officer, an
investigation which shall be described in the report. A report regarding an operators ability to safely
operate a motor vehicle shall not be based solely on the diagnosis of a medical condition or
cognitive or functional impairment, but shall be based on observations or evidence of the actual
affect of that condition or impairment on the operators ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. A
health care provider or law enforcement officer who reports, in good faith, pursuant to this section
shall be immune from civil liability that might otherwise result from making the report. A health care
provider or law enforcement officer who does not report shall be immune from civil liability that might
otherwise result from not making the report. (c)Not later than 30 days after receipt of the report, the
registrar shall conduct a review to determine the operators capacity for continued licensure to
operate a motor vehicle. The commissioner of public health shall, in consultation with the registrar
and with medical experts on cognitive or functional impairments, and with the medical advisory
board established in section 8C, promulgate regulations designating the cognitive or functional
impairments that are likely to affect a persons ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. The registrar
shall consider information contained in a report under subsection (b) in determining whether to issue
or suspend a license to operate a motor vehicle. (d)A report to the registry pursuant to this section
shall be confidential and shall be used by the registrar only to determine a persons qualifications to
operate a motor vehicle. All reports made and all medical records reviewed and maintained by the
registry under this section shall be confidential, or upon written request of the respondent to
examine any medical records or reports made about the respondent under this section. A report
made under this section shall not be a public record as defined in section 7 of chapter 4. The
registrar shall include the information about the procedures authorized in this section on the electronic
website of the registrar.
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