States that require drivers to renew their licenses in person have a 17 percent lower fatality rate among drivers 85 and older, according to a U.S. study published on Tuesday.

“In-person renewal allows driver license examiners the opportunity to refer certain older drivers for medical evaluation (which) ... may include more sophisticated testing such as neurological examinations, comprehensive visual examinations, simulator tests and road tests,” the report concluded.

“The results of this study support the importance of in-person license renewal for older adults as a potential mechanism toward decreasing the fatality crash rate,” it added.

The study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham was based on a review of government statistics from 1990 to 2000 during which there were 4,605 driver fatalities involving people 85 or older.

It found that states requiring in-person license renewal had a 17 percent lower death rate among this age group than those without such laws.

In 2000, 45 states had in-person renewal laws, 40 required vision tests and two states required older drivers to take road tests at the time of license renewal.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, June 16, 2004.