Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Definitions.
(a)
Cognitive
Impairment. A Cognitive Impairment is defined as any condition
that impairs any, or several, of the mental faculties of attention, perception,
orientation, problem solving, sequencing, organization, comprehension,
judgment, memory, reasoning, or physical action or response used by a person to
understand and interact with the environment.
(b)
A Severe Driving Relevant
Cognitive Impairment. A Severe Driving Relevant Cognitive
Impairment is a significant deficit or impairment of any cause, in any of the
above faculties, limiting the ability of a licensee or an applicant for a
learner's permit or license to resist distraction, sustain attention, react
with sufficient speed, understand the immediate driving context, refrain from
impulsive responding, identify problems that arise in the driving context, and
make appropriate decisions to address those problems necessary to the safe
operation of a motor vehicle such that operating a motor vehicle is likely to
produce an unacceptable risk to public safety.
(2) A licensee or an applicant for a license
or learner's permit who is determined by a Health Care Provider to have a
Severe Driving Relevant Cognitive Impairment shall be deemed ineligible for a
license or permit to operate a motor vehicle.
(3) A licensee with a Severe Driving Relevant
Cognitive Impairment shall voluntarily surrender his or her license or the
Registry of Motor Vehicles shall suspend or revoke that license.
(4) Upon submission by a licensee, license
applicant or holder of a learner's permit of an evaluation, including an
assessment of cognitive function, completed by his or her health care provider
as defined in M.G.L. c. 90, § 22I which confirms that the licensee,
applicant or holder of a learner's permit:
(a) No longer has a Severe Driving Relevant
Cognitive Impairment; and
(b) To a
reasonable degree of medical certainty the licensee or license applicant has
the cognitive capacity to safely operate a motor vehicle; and
(c) Any currently prescribed medications or
dosages related to cognitive function, if any, are not likely to interfere with
the safe operation of a motor vehicle, then the Registry of Motor Vehicles
shall determine that the licensee or applicant is eligible for licensure or to
be issued a learner's permit.
(5) The Registrar, or his or her designee,
may require such additional evidence of the medical qualification criteria
relative to a Driving Relevant Cognitive Impairment as he or she deems
appropriate.
