Secretary of State Ruth Johnson announced a new program to help teen drivers and their parents better practice safe driving skills this month at Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn.
 Johnson, along with representatives from Ford Motor Co. and the Safe Roads Alliance, announced The Parent's Supervised Driving Program, a new practice driving guide sponsored by Ford at no cost to taxpayers that is being distributed to parents of teen drivers at Secretary of State offices. The ultimate goal of the program is to help reduce the number of vehicle crashes, the leading cause of death for 14- to 18-year-olds in the U.S.
"Driving is a complex task and young drivers need to get some valuable supervised road experience before they are behind the wheel," Secretary Johnson said. "Anything we can do to improve upon practice time can ultimately help reduce crashes and keep our teens and other motorists alive."
The program also includes a mobile app that teens can use to log and track their driving practice hours. Teens are required to complete 50 hours of driving with a parent or guardian, including 10 hours at night, before taking a road-skills test and being allowed to drive by themselves.
Look for the guide online as well as more resources for teen drivers and their parents at www.michigan.gov/teendriver.
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Secretary of State Ruth Johnson strongly encourages Michigan residents with a Commercial Driver License (CDL) to self-certify to which type of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operation they perform to avoid losing CDL privileges after Jan. 30.
 Federal rules require a Michigan CMV operator to have his or her CDL downgraded to a standard driver’s license if the operator doesn’t provide the Secretary of State’s Office with self-certification by that date. Self-certification can be done by visiting any office, faxing it to 517-636-4359, or sending it online at www.Michigan.gov/cdl or by mail to CDL Help Desk, 7064 Crowner Drive, Lansing, Michigan 48918.
Additionally, a new federal requirement takes effect May 21 that may affect medical professionals with patients who hold a CDL and need periodic physicals to legally operate a commercial motor vehicle.
Beginning on that date, all medical examiners who wish to conduct physicals for interstate CDL drivers must be listed in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
To be listed, medical examiners must complete training on FMCSA physical qualifications and pass a certification test. Johnson said under the federal government’s new rules only medical examiners listed in the national registry will be able to perform physicals and issue valid “DOT Cards” for their interstate CDL-holding patients.
For more information regarding the Michigan CDL program and how commercial drivers are affected by the new federal regulations, please see these FAQs and visit www.michigan.gov/cdl.
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