NTSB - Public Hearing: Medical Oversight of Non-Commercial Drivers

WITNESSES TO THE HEARING

Public Hearing
Medical Oversight of Non-Commercial Drivers
March 18-19, 2003
Washington, DC

Dr. Laurel Evans Broadhurst, FACPM, is a practicing physician at Weaverville Family Medicine Associates in Asheville, North Carolina. From 1995 until 1999, Dr. Broadhurst served as medical advisor for the North Carolina Driver Medical Evaluation Program. In that capacity, she was responsible for oversight of the program that evaluates several hundred thousand North Carolina drivers, commercial and private, for medical conditions that may affect their ability to drive. She developed policies on several medical conditions and made presentations at national and State professional meetings. She is a member of the Transportation Research Board's Committee on Medical Conditions That Affect Driving. Dr. Broadhurst has testified before the North Carolina General Assembly and was instrumental in winning passage of a bill that allows physicians in North Carolina to report drivers without fear of liability in patient confidentiality. She received her master of public health degree from Harvard School of Public Health, has served as a U.S. Army flight surgeon, and received her residency training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Institute of Research. She serves as a medical consultant and reviews cases for the North Carolina DMV.

Mike Calvin

Mr. Mike Calvin is a safety, education and licensing specialist for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) in Arlington, Virginia. He earned a B.S. in psychology from Illinois State University in 1976 and currently serves as Senior Vice President, Programs Division, for the AAMVA. Mr. Calvin has been with AAMVA since November 1987. He has full administrative responsibility for AAMVA's Driver and Vehicle Services program areas on an international basis. He is responsible for developing, coordinating, monitoring, and disseminating information in the following areas: driver licensing, driver improvement, traffic safety, driver reciprocity, financial responsibility, vehicle registrations and titling, and for all training needs in these areas.

Dana H. Clarke

Dr. Dana H. Clarke is Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board, Driver License Division, Utah Department of Transportation. He also serves as Medical Director of the University of Utah Diabetes Center and is an Associate Professor in the University's Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology. Dr. Clarke is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, is a Fellow in the American College of Endocrinology, and is a member of the American Diabetes Association and Endocrine Society.

Richard P. Compton

Dr. Richard P. Compton is Director of the Office of Research and Technology, Program Development and Delivery, Traffic Injury Control, at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. Department of Transportation. During his 25-year tenure with NHTSA, he has directed and authored numerous research studies in the areas of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, occupant protection, and speeding and other unsafe driving actions. He has conducted evaluations of national, State, and local traffic safety programs to determine their effectiveness. Dr. Compton received his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Nebraska in 1977 and has taught courses at the university level. He is a member of the Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation and the Committee on Operator Education and Regulation of the National Research Council's Transportation Research Board. He is also a member of the National Safety Council's Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs.

Bonnie Dobbs

Dr. Bonnie Dobbs is Associate Director of the Rehabilitation Research Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She is a gerontologist (specialization in psychology, medicine, and human ecology) and has published in the areas of medical conditions and driving, driver assessment procedures, and the consequences of having to stop driving. Her recent integrative review of research on medical conditions and driving (contracted by NHTSA/AAAM) served as the scientific basis for both the new NHTSA and the forthcoming American Medical Association guidelines for physician assessment of medical fitness-to-drive. She has served internationally on expert panels on the older driver and medical conditions and driving. She is a member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Older Person Safety and Mobility, the TRB Subcommittee on Research, and the TRB Subcommittee on Alternate Transportation (NHTSA) in Washington, D.C.

Alexandra K. Finucane

Alexandra (Sandy) K. Finucane is Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs for the Epilepsy Foundation, where she serves as legal counsel in addition to overseeing all advocacy activities, including government relations and legal advocacy. She has been an employee of the foundation for 15 years, concentrating on the promotion of the legal and civil rights of people with seizures. She developed the foundation's legal rights information clearinghouse; published several versions of its Legal Rights Book, including a database of all Federal and State laws affecting people with epilepsy; and has written and filed numerous amicus curiae briefs in the courts promoting the interests of people with epilepsy. Prior to her career with the foundation, she served as an investigator assisting lawyers representing people subject to involuntary civil commitment. She also worked for the National Council of Senior Citizens on rulemaking proceedings before the Federal Trade Commission and wrote Supreme Court case reviews for a legal journal. Ms. Finucane received her law degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and her undergraduate degree from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; she is a member of the D.C. Bar, the Maryland Bar, the Federal District Court, the 9th Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Timothy Ard Hoyt

Mr. Timothy Ard Hoyt is the Vice President of Safety for Nationwide. Mr. Hoyt joined Nationwide in 1988 as director of safety. He was promoted to safety officer in 1990 and elected associate vice president of safety in February 1994. Before joining Nationwide, Mr. Hoyt worked 15 years for the U.S. Department of Transportation in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. His work focused on improving the crashworthiness of motor vehicles, vehicle damageability and biomechanics research. Mr. Hoyt received both his Bachelor's degree and his Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University. A long-time member of the traffic safety community, Mr. Hoyt currently serves on the Board of Regents for the National Safety Council (NSC), and as the Vice Chair for the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign. He is a member of the NSC Highway Traffic Safety Division executive committee, the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety's liaison committee, and the Society of Automotive Engineers' passenger safety committee.

Reginald Knowlton

Mr. Reginald Knowlton has been Executive Director of WHEELS of Wellness, Inc., since 1989 and is responsible for management, operation, development, and fund-raising for all WHEELS' programs. WHEELS' mission is to improve the quality of life for those unable to access medical care independently because of illness, handicap, or lack of financial resources by providing free, compassionate, nonemergency transportation for health care. Mr. Knowlton is also immediate past President of the Board of the Community Transportation Association of American (CTAA) and has served as a member of the CTAA Board since 1991.

Allan Krumholz

Dr. Allan Krumholz is a Professor of Neurology and the Director of the Maryland Epilepsy Center. He specializes in epilepsy, sleep disorders, neurosarcoidosis, and seizures in children. He has published many professional journal articles concerning epilepsy and seizures, including several on driving and epilepsy. Dr. Krumholz serves on the Board of the Epilepsy Foundation of the Chesapeake Region, and has served as a Board member at the national Epilepsy Foundation, including as Chair of the Professional Advisory Board. He received his medical degree from Chicago Medical School. He completed his residency in Neurology at Johns Hopkins and performed a fellowship at Johns Hopkins in EEG and Neuropsychology. Dr. Krumholz is board certified in Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology.

Richard Marottoli

Dr. Richard Marottoli is Director of the Geriatrics and Extended Care section at VA Connecticut and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine. He received his undergraduate, medical, and public health (MPH) degrees from Yale University and completed an internal medicine residency at Strong Memorial Hospital of the University of Rochester and a geriatrics fellowship at Yale. His research interests include screening approaches that clinicians can use to assess driving risk, development of interventions to lower risk, and approaches to advising patients and families about the need for change in driving patterns, as well as the factors contributing to, and the consequences of, driving cessation. He is a member and former chair of the Committee on the Safe Mobility of Older Persons of the National Research Council's Transportation Research Board.

Mary Jane O'Gara

Ms. Mary Jane O'Gara, a resident of Omaha, Nebraska, is a member of the AARP Board of Directors. Prior to her election to the Board, Ms. O'Gara served in several volunteer leadership positions for AARP in Nebraska. She has been a member of the American Diabetes Association Board and the Omaha Press Club. She also served as President of the Nebraska School Public Relations Association. In 1990, Ms. O'Gara retired from the Omaha Public Schools as assistant director of public relations.

Carl Soderstrom

Dr. Carl Soderstrom is the Associate Director of the Medical Advisory Board for the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA). He is also the Associate Director of the MVA's Driver Safety Research Program. Dr. Soderstrom actively conducts research, and has an academic appointment as an Adjunct Volunteer Professor of Surgery, at the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center and the National Study Center for Trauma and EMS of the University of Maryland.

James B. Reed

Mr. James B. Reed directs the Transportation Program at the National Conference of State Legislatures, the nonprofit, bipartisan organization regarded as the Nation's leading authority on State legislative issues. The Transportation Program assists States on numerous public policy issues, ranging from traffic safety to radioactive waste transport, through expert testimony, responses to requests for information, and in-depth research and analysis. Mr. Reed is the author of dozens of policy briefs, reports, articles, and books on transportation topics. Prior to his 15 years at NCSL, Mr. Reed worked for the Texas Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and former U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. He received his master's degree in public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and his undergraduate degree in political science from Colorado College.

Jill Reeve

Ms. Jill Reeve is Program Supervisor for the Medical Review Unit in the Bureau of Driver Services, Division of Motor Vehicles, Wisconsin Department of Transportation. She supervises staff who are responsible for the oversight of more than 3 million drivers and for applying licensing action based on statutory requirements for follow-up and enforcement of medical conditions that affect driving and highway safety.

Susan M. Stewart

Ms. Susan M. Stewart, Manager of North Carolina's Driver License Medical Review Section, has worked in North Carolina State government for more than 11 years. She has served as an Administrative Hearings Officer with the Driver License Section, Customer Service Representative, and Clerk of Court Liaison in the DMV Citizen's Affairs Section. She is also a member of the Driver License Automation Support Team of the North Carolina Department of Transportation Information Technology Systems.

Kurt Stromberg

Mr. Kurt Stromberg has been with the Utah Driver License Division for almost 14 years. He has worked as an examiner, hearing officer, and supervisor of the Customer Service Section. He is currently Program Coordinator for the medical program. His duties include helping commercial drivers who do not meet Federal guidelines qualify to drive commercially within the State of Utah and helping drivers with medical problems obtain a license by working with the Board. Mr. Stromberg prepares the cases to be reviewed by the Medical Advisory Board, obtains medical histories, and notifies drivers of the Board's decision. He also prepares appeals to the Board.

Robert Ticer

Sergeant Robert Ticer is a 12-year veteran of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Sgt. Ticer has spent most of his career in the Highway Patrol Division enforcing impaired driving laws and investigating traffic collisions. He is currently assigned to NHTSA in Washington, D.C., where he is working on a research project entitled "Data Collection on Law Enforcement's Older Driver Programs." During this 1-year assignment, Sgt. Ticer has spoken and written on various older driver topics. He is currently researching U.S. law enforcement agencies that have older driver programs, including the reporting of medically high-risk drivers to licensing authorities. The programs will be documented in a NHTSA publication as a resource guide for law enforcement agencies. Sgt. Ticer holds a bachelor of science degree from Northern Arizona University, is a nationally recognized Drug Recognition Expert, and teaches classes on a wide variety of traffic-related issues and disciplines.

Claire Wang

Dr. Claire Wang is the Medical Advisor to the American Medical Association's Older Drivers Project, created in January 2002 to promote physician awareness of older driver safety issues. In this role, she served as principal author of the Physician's Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers (in press) and is currently involved in creating a training curriculum. Her other areas of interest center on the goal of translating public health trends into clinical practice tools and include work in health literacy and obesity management.

Richard Wiederhold

Mr. Richard Wiederhold is District Chief of the Brevard County Public Safety Department, which has 34 fire-rescue stations and serves 450,000 people in a 2,000-square mile area. He has been employed in emergency services for 29 years as a paramedic-firefighter, paramedic program director, and EMS & Environmental Safety Director prior to his current posting. Mr. Wiederhold is knowledgeable about a number of State and Federal regulations, including those on fire, emergency medical services, emergency management, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Civil Rights Act. He holds a master of public administration degree, is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Central Florida, and has written three EMS-related textbooks. He holds a number of fire-rescue certifications in Florida, including paramedic, firefighter, hazardous materials technician, and incident commander.