This is a compilation of three press releases courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation

Several new Oregon laws that take effect Jan. 1 will refine how Oregonians learn to drive, how they continue driving, and if and when they may need to stop driving.

House Bill 2704, passed by the 2007 Oregon Legislature, will add fuel-efficient driving techniques to the Oregon Driver Manual. The bill also will add questions about these fuel-saving techniques to the knowledge test given to applicants for Oregon driver licenses and instruction permits.

New questions on fuel-efficient driving will be added to the pool of knowledge test questions after DMV publishes the next edition of the Oregon Driver Manual, expected in late January. Passage of the knowledge test is one of the requirements for new drivers to obtain an instruction permit or for new Oregon residents to obtain a driver license in the state.

In addition, instruction permit holders will be able to renew their permit under another new law, HB 2267. This bill will allow DMV to renew an instruction permit if the holder applies for renewal within one year of the permits’ expiration date or within six months of discharge from the U.S. armed forces.

Under another new law, Oregonians who receive traffic citations will have added incentive to respond to courts over those traffic offenses and to pay any fines.

HB 2321 will allow courts to suspend driving privileges for 10 years when a person fails to appear in court for a traffic offense or fails to comply with the court’s fine or other orders for traffic offenses. The bill will extend the maximum suspension – currently five years – so that individuals with court-ordered suspensions no longer can out-wait the suspension and then renew their licenses at DMV.

The 2007 Legislature also refined laws affecting the mobility of Oregonians with medical issues. These include:

• Senate Bill 716 directs DMV to create a “wheelchair only” placard – in addition to the standard disabled parking placard – for Oregonians needing parking spaces large enough for a wheelchair-bearing vehicle. The bill requires some parking spaces to be reserved for use by wheelchair users only. Use of a wheelchair only parking space without permit will be a Class A offense with a minimum fine of $190.
• Senate Bill 728 turns Oregon’s limited-vision driving permit pilot project into a permanent program. The program allows individuals to qualify for limited driving privileges if a vision specialist certifies that they can drive safely with a bioptic-telescopic lens. The 16 individuals using the program in Oregon have been driving safely since the pilot began July 1, 2004, according to DMV records.
• SB 620 expands the term “physician” for the Medically At-Risk Driver Program. The change will add doctors of naturopathic medicine to those who can advise DMV about the physical or cognitive ability to drive safely. Oregon law requires physicians to notify DMV of a patient’s loss of physical or cognitive ability to drive safely.
• HB 2176 transfers the responsibility of determining medical eligibility for driver licensing from the State Health Officer to a medical determination officer at DMV. These new laws are only a handful of Oregon legislation taking effect Jan. 1 that involve DMV and the rest of the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Some new Oregon laws for passenger vehicles and license plates that take effect Jan. 1 will impact all Oregonians, while others will affect specific residents or vehicles. And one new law will affect only one Oregonian, at least for now.

House Bill 2390, passed by the 2007 Oregon Legislature, authorizes DMV to issue a custom Medal of Honor license plate to World War II veteran Robert Maxwell, the state’s only living recipient of the highest Congressional military award. Future Oregon Medal of Honor recipients also will be eligible for this new plate.