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Rose Mergenthal is evaluated by an occupational therapist Thursday at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in Richmond. A family member or health-care provider made an anonymous call to the DMV claiming she is unfit to drive.
Rose Mergenthal of Stafford and her son, Ken, call her doctor to obtain additional information needed for Rose's driving evaluation at a rehabilitation center in Richmond on Thursday. The DMV suspended her license in May.
Rose Mergenthal moves squares to match a diagram drawn by an occupational therapist during a driving evaluation in Richmond. |
By KELLY HANNON
After almost 60 years on the road, Rose Mergenthal has a perfect driving record.
She has never had a speeding ticket.
The only crash she was involved in, a decade ago, was a fender bender caused by another driver.
Yet Mergenthal, 80, recently opened a letter from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles informing her that her driver's license would be suspended in five days.
A family member or medical provider sent DMV information claiming that she was unfit to drive. DMV refuses to reveal the person's identity.
Now the burden is on Mergenthal to prove she deserves a license.
She had five days to get her doctor to test her vision and verify her medical condition, and send the report to DMV for review. Otherwise, she was stuck at home.
Typically, drivers in Mergenthal's situation get 15 days to respond, but the time was reduced in her case.
"I was just flabbergasted," said Mergenthal, who lives off U.S. 17 in Stafford County and has been driving since her early 20s. "I passed the driver's test last year around my birthday and passed with flying colors. It was just a total shock to me."
Mergenthal said she is in good health and is comfortable behind the wheel of her late-model Buick Century sedan.
It's the law
A little-known state law allows anyone to question a person's fitness to drive, regardless of age.
Under state law, doctors, physician assistants, pharmacists, nurse practitioners and family members can tell DMV they believe a resident is unfit to hold a Virginia's driver license. Anyone can make such a claim, but the law keeps the identity of family members and medical professionals confidential.
The Virginia General Assembly passed the law to protect the public using state roads, said DMV spokeswoman Melanie Stokes.
The original law was passed in 1950. In 1978, the law was changed to allow anonymous reports filed by family members. Doctors were added in 1988, and the privacy scope was expanded in 2004 to include pharmacists, nurse practitioners or other licensed professionals who are prescribing medication.
Two of Mergenthal's four children live in the Fredericksburg area. While her license is suspended, they drive her to mass at St. Mary Catholic Church, her bowling league meetings and medical appointments.
But other seniors might not be as lucky, said Ken Mergenthal, Rose's son and an attorney practicing in the Fredericksburg area.
He's frustrated that the person who raised the concern can stay anonymous. And the letter gave his mother little warning about her suspension, when the state law specifies drivers should be given 15 days notice.
"Credible, confidential information that the driver was unsafe was submitted to DMV, and so the 15 days was waived in that instance," Stokes said.
Ken Mergenthal contacted state legislators about his mother's experience, trying to prevent other Virginians from the same ordeal.
"It goes against everything I've ever learned about how the legal system in the United States is supposed to work," Ken Mergenthal said. "There's no due process."
FIGHTING TO DRIVE
Rose Mergenthal scheduled a doctor's appointment immediately after she received the letter.
Her doctor filled out a medical report listing all her medications and his opinion of whether she was fit to drive. Mergenthal also had a vision screening.
"Her physician said it was safe for her to drive, saying she has 20/20 vision when she's wearing corrective lenses. It's as good or better than my eyesight," Ken Mergenthal said.
But DMV's medical review office would not reinstate her license based on the medical and vision report.
Rose Mergenthal had to visit a driver rehabilitation specialist for evaluation.
Stokes said private rehabilitation specialists use cars with special features, such
Prices range from $150 to $420, depending on the amount of time the evaluation takes, Ken Mergenthal found.
The closest locations to Fredericksburg are in Alexandria, Fairfax and Richmond.
Besides the distance, Ken Mergenthal said seniors on fixed incomes may not be able to afford the test or the increased insurance costs that could accompany a suspended driver's license.
"If my mother had no family and no one to turn to, she would've really been in terrible trouble," he said.
TESTING THE DRIVER
Rose Mergenthal visited a driver rehabilitation specialist in Richmond on Thursday. She did not pass a section of the test.
She was asked to complete a number-and-letter ordering and matching exercise that was timed, although she was not told that until it was over, said Ken Mergenthal.
Her son said he would've had difficulty passing the test on the first try. He said it had nothing to do with roads, signs or driving.
"It would be interesting to see if everyone who came in to get their driver's license had to take the test, how many would be able to pass, even the 18-year-olds and the 20-year-olds," he said.
Rose Mergenthal will visit another driver rehabilitation specialist soon, he said.
If she passes, DMV will review the results of her evaluation and make a decision about her license status. She may be required to take a written exam and road test and pay license reinstatement fees.
If her license remains suspended, she can appeal the decision to a DMV hearing officer. After that, she would have to take her appeal to Circuit Court.
In the meantime, the Buick sits in the driveway of her Hartwood-area home.
"I was so independent," Rose Mergenthal said of her driving days.
"I didn't have to rely on my children."
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com
| AARP lists the following warning signs that may signal a person's need to limit or stop driving altogether.
1. Feeling nervous or fearful while driving 2. Dents and scrapes on 3. Difficulty staying in the traffic lane 4. Getting lost 5. Trouble paying attention to signals, road signs and pavement markings 6. Slower response to 7. Medical conditions or medications that may be affecting the ability to 8. Frequent "close calls" 9. Trouble judging gaps in traffic at intersections and highway ramps 10. Other drivers honking at you or instances when you are angry at other drivers 11. Friends or relatives not wanting to ride with you 12. Difficulty seeing the sides of the road when looking straight ahead 13. Easily distracted or have a hard time concentrating 14. Having a hard time turning around to check over your shoulder while backing up or changing lanes 15. Frequent traffic tickets or "warnings" by traffic or law enforcement officers in the past year or two For more information on seniors and driving safety,
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