The population of older drivers will continue to grow in the coming years, leading to law enforcement personnel interacting with older drivers more often. There are different needs when communicating, interacting, and assisting older drivers. Getting quality training on how to better serve older drivers is important. Here, you can find quick training for law enforcement, which can be shown and discussed during your daily roll calls. You can also access longer trainings, which can be shown for continuing education credit. Additionally, you can contact Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS) to set up customized training for your department.
Training and Informational Videos
- NHTSA video for law enforcement – Watch scenes from behind the wheel to learn how a person’s driving might be affected by different medical problems. See how law enforcement officials can help a driver with medical problems. (7:21 minutes)
- The International Association of Chief of Police Alzheimer’s Initiatives – offers a comprehensive toolkit for law enforcement. It includes a guide to local voluntary registry systems, roll call training videos, and webinars. The initiatives also offer a no-cost, one-day training program that features in-depth instruction on handling calls involving people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. There also is an option for a two-day, train-the-trainer program for selected participants who will continue to support and deliver the one-day training program.
- TREDS video “Law Enforcement’s Role in Identifying and Referring Medically Impaired Drivers” – Learn about the medical problems that can occur with age, chronic diseases, and medication . (15:00 minutes)
- Situations law enforcement may encounter with older drivers – What to do, and how to make a referral. (9:32 minutes)
- IACP video on the Three stages of Alzheimer’s disease – What law enforcement might observe during a traffic stop. (8:56 minutes)
- Michigan Law Enforcement Aging Driver Roll Call Video – Tips to identify potential cognitive impairment and resulting actions to take. This video explains the Michigan referral process. We encourage your department to teach new officers your state’s referral process. (5:03 minutes)
CEU Trainings
- Identifying and Referring Cognitively Impaired Drivers is an abbreviated version of the two-hour course, “Law Enforcement’s Role in Older Driver Safety.” The video includes a demonstration using DOSCI during a traffic contact. The training focuses on aging drivers, identifying drivers who are disoriented, and criteria for referral during traffic contacts. (30:38 minutes)
- TREDS has several 30-minute training videos for law enforcement. Law enforcement officers can access the training by obtaining a login and password.
- The “Law Enforcement’s Role in Older Driver Safety,” is a two-hour POST-certified training for CPT credit delivered by a team of health and law enforcement professionals.
Customized Training for your Police Department
NHTSA understands that each state has different laws and requirements. Your department might have specific needs for training staff based on the community you serve. NHTSA partners with TREDS to create a customized training to fit your needs. Training options include:
- Personalized training to reflect the state’s laws, requirements, and policies, including a video depiction.
- Scripts to help states create their own custom videos.
- Customized slides to set up your own training.
- In-person customized training for your department. This training is taught by a former officer who is a NHTSA expert in older driver law enforcement.
Call TREDS, (858)534-9313 to set up a customized training for your police department.