by Sandi Gunnett, MSP, HS-BCP, CMC
Eldercare Services Director of Clinical Operations, Certified Care Manager
The State of California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) can be a complex system to navigate, but there is help! For drivers who are 65 years of age and up, the DMV has a “Senior Ombudsman Program”.
This program is designed to assist senior drivers to navigate the system and ensure that seniors are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. Their goal is to keep seniors driving as long as they can do so safely.
If you receive a notice that a physician or police officer requests that you be given a driving test, the ombudsman can be of great assistance to you. He or she can assure that you have received fair treatment and your rights have been respected. If you do surrender your license, the ombudsman can help you obtain an identification card and cut through some of that red tape for you.
DMV Answers and questions? Information about the program and contact numbers for your region can be found here.
If you receive a notice or have a complex issue that is further complicated by disability, you should call the ombudsman in your area and leave a message. As they are very busy with large areas, be sure to leave your name, telephone number, and a specific question that is clear. The ombudsman cannot return your call if there is not a clear question posed. For instance, you might say, “John Smith, 925-555-5555, I am being asked to take a written test at the DMV and I need assistance because I cannot stand in line very long.”
The new written examination is a great example. The DMV is using touchscreens in many offices (not all offices have been retrofitted with these machines) to provide a more secure testing environment. 18 questions are presented on a screen with no copies given back out to the test taker. Once 4 questions are missed, the test ends and you are advised to go study. If you obtain 15 correct answers, the test ends and you have passed. There are 3 minutes given for each question. If a person is not sure of an answer there is an option to skip and come back. The concern here is that you must remember to go back and try to answer the question later or it will be marked incorrect. If you get to 2 minutes and 45 seconds on a question and you have not been able to answer it, you should raise your hand to get the attention of a DMV employee. They can put in a password and give you a little bit longer to answer.
If the testing environment is just too challenging using a touch screen, by contacting the manager of the DMV office, you may obtain a written test using old fashioned paper and pen. This is created by the manager printing out the test for you from the touch screen. The scoring remains the same and they will not let you take the written test home.
The DMV Ombudsman recommends when you are being asked to take a written exam that you study the Drivers Handbook for 20 minutes at a time up to 3 times per day. Study in different areas of your home and outside if it is appropriate for you. This provides you better retention and correlates the learning to your studying and not your environment, better preparing you to take the test at the DMV office.
To contact your Senior Ombudsmen in California, the numbers by area represented are listed below:
- Sacramento/Northern California 916-657-6464
- San Francisco/Oakland 510-563-8998
- Orange/San Bernardino/San Diego 714-705-1588
- Los Angeles/Oxnard 310-615-3552