Eye tests for elderly, text ban vote set

State legislators today are set to vote on a bill that would require certain elderly drivers to pass eye exams every five years for a license renewal and would give medical professionals immunity from reporting problems with any drivers.

The bill would also ban the dangerous practice of text messaging while driving and would prohibit 16- and 17-year-old drivers from using any type of cell phone or mobile electronic device while behind the wheel.

The bill to ban texting was introduced last week. On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to add a provision to the bill that would require drivers 75 and older to appear at the Registry once every five years for an eye exam and license renewal, according to a committee spokesman. Right now, all drivers must appear at the Registry every 10 years and pass an eye exam to renew a license, according to Registry regulations.

In an interview on a Boston radio station, Gov. Deval L. Patrick said the bill doesn’t go far enough. He again voiced support for legislation that calls for vision and road tests every five years for all drivers 85 and older. “We should have been moving on this before now,” Patrick added.

Rep. Rosemary Sandlin, D-Agawam, a member of the Joint Committee on Transportation, said she could support eye exams every five years for drivers 75 and older, but she would oppose a bill that would include road or computer tests for elderly drivers.

The Ways and Means Committee also changed the bill to allow physicians, nurses, chiropractors and other health care providers to report to the Registry any patient 16 or older who has a cognitive or functional problem that could affect the patient’s ability to drive safely. A provider would be immune from civil liability that might otherwise result from making a report or failing to make a report.

Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, D-Chicopee, said he could support eye exams for license renewals every five years for drivers 75 and older.

“People’s vision is very likely to change incrementally over time,” Wagner said. “I don’t think it’s an unreasonable measure.”

John W. Bennett, 79, of Agawam, president of the Springfield chapter of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council, said he saw no great harm in requiring eye exams every five years for people 75 and older who are renewing a license.

“It’s not a major problem for seniors provided they can get to the Registry,” Bennett said.

The bill comes after two fatal accidents late last year involving elderly drivers in Western Massachusetts.

An 88-year-old Springfield woman who was riding in a car driven by an 85-year-old Springfield man died of injuries following a Nov. 30 accident on Parker Street in Springfield. Police said they cited the driver.

In early December, a 73-year-old Townsend driver died in a Massachusetts Turnpike accident in Ludlow after he crossed into the oncoming lane and struck a guard rail and then another vehicle.

Last week, Wagner and Sen. Steven A. Baddour, D-Methuen, the Senate co-chairman of the Transportation Committee, unveiled the bill that would outlaw text messaging while driving. If approved, Massachusetts would join Washington, D.C., and 19 other states with a ban on texting while driving.

The bill would also ban drivers younger than 18 from using any type of mobile telephone or mobile electronic device, even with hands-free technology.

A so-called junior operator who violates the ban would have a license or permit suspended for 60 days for a first offense, 180 days for a second offense and one year for a third or subsequent offense.

Adult drivers who break the texting ban would be fined $100 for a first offense, $250 for a second offense and $500 for a third offense.