The Division of Motor Vehicles will begin incorporating a medical indicator onto the Delaware driver licenses or identification cards as of Wednesday, August 8, 2018.  The medical symbol will be displayed on the front of the card and the back will identify the individual’s condition so that law enforcement officers and first responders can adjust treatment accordingly.

Delaware Secretary of Transportation (DelDOT) Jennifer Cohan was joined by State Representative Valerie Longhurst to announce the implementation of incorporating this essential medical information of Delaware residents onto their driver licenses and/or identification cards at an event at the Delaware City DMV.

State Representative Valerie Longhurst explained how the program was initiated: “A constituent came to me concerned about his son’s medical condition and how it could be misunderstood if an officer pulled him over while driving. It raised concerns about a larger issue that we wanted to address. A driver’s license has a lot of critical information that first responders need to know immediately, and knowing a driver’s medical condition someone will be invaluable in an emergency. This new voluntary program will give Delawareans the option to have their vital medical information easily accessible to first responders. I’m proud to have helped establish this new indicator on our driver’s licenses.”

Secretary Cohan added that, “A voluntary medical indicator makes a lot of sense for providing additional peace of mind for any of our customers who have a condition they would want a law enforcement officer or emergency responder to be aware of. This is another example of how the Delaware DMV is being responsive to our customers’ needs, and providing personalized service.”

Participating in this program is voluntary and there is no charge to have the indicator on the license or ID card. The customer would need to complete a form indicating their condition and sign it. The signed form gives the DMV permission to notate the condition on the back of the card along with the medical indicator on the front. The form can be obtained at any DMV location.

“The Delaware Trauma System operates under the saying, ‘Getting the right patient to the right facility in the right amount of time,’ said Division of Public Health Director Dr. Karyl T. Rattay. “Allowing Delawareans to voluntarily list a medical condition on their driver’s license or photo identification card is a valuable tool that will assist our first responders when providing care in the field during a medical emergency.”

Sergeant Richard Bratz, Public Information Officer for the Delaware State Police emphasized that, “The medical indicator on your Delaware Driver’s License or identification card is important to share with first responders especially those giving medical care or first-aid. It allows law enforcement to gain some insight on medical conditions like those drivers who may have a specific medical condition like; seizures, arthritis, insulin required, hearing impaired, visually impaired, PTSD or autism just to name a few.”

Statewide ADA Coordinator John McNeal added, “The voluntary Medical Indicator program can provide an invaluable safety net for people with disabilities and others to allow for prompt notification and awareness of medical conditions to all emergency responders. Voluntary information provided can help pave the way to accurately accessing an individual’s medical condition or disability which will assist first responders by providing an information sharing process that can potentially be lifesaving.”

Nick Fina, Chairman State Council for Persons with Disabilities, commented, “The availability of critical medical data to first responders can mean the difference between life and death in emergency situations. This is a great use of technology that will make a difference in the lives of Delawareans, especially individuals with chronic diseases and disabilities.”

For more information on the new medical indicator program please visit the DMV website at www.dmv.de.gov

The Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has launched a mobile driver license (mDL) pilot study that will run for six months. The pilot, which includes approximately 200 state employees and stakeholders, is designed to test user acceptance and new innovative features that can only be achieved with an mDL.

“Delaware is among the first states to test a mobile driver’s license, and we’re excited to help move this new technology forward,” said Governor John Carney. “Across state government, we remain focused on innovation, to connecting Delawareans with new technology, and finding new, more efficient ways to deliver services to Delaware taxpayers. This program is a great demonstration of that effort. Thank you to Secretary Cohan, her team at DelDOT and IDEMIA for making this pilot a possibility.”

“This six month pilot will help us see what mDLs look like in real-world scenarios and address any issues that arise as a result before we decide to fully adopt and implement this application for our more than 800,000 licensed drivers and ID card holders,” said Secretary of Transportation Jennifer Cohan.

“Keeping our personal information secure continues to be an important issue and I am proud to have sponsored the legislation to allow for this pilot study to move forward,” said Senator David McBride.

“It is exciting for us to be one of the first states to test this innovative technology that can both protect the privacy of our customers and enhance safety in ways that can’t be achieved with a traditional driver license or identification card,” said Scott Vien, Director of the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. “It is our responsibility to always bring the best-in-class offerings to our State and an mDL holds the promise of offering an always-updated, secure credential that will be easy-to-use by our consumers, businesses and law enforcement.”

The pilot is being run by both the Delaware DMV and IDEMIA, the company that produces the State’s physical driver licenses and identification cards.

Features of the mDL that will be tested include:

• Enhanced privacy for age verification – no need to show a person’s address, license number and birthdate, the mDL will verify if the person is over 18 or 21 and display a photo.
• Law enforcement use during a traffic stop – the mDL will allow law enforcement officers to ping a driver’s smartphone to request their driver’s license information prior to walking to the vehicle.
• Business acceptance – understanding how businesses that require identification or age verification interact with the mDL will be advantageous throughout pilot.
• Ease of Use – ensuring the mDL is able to be presented to any organization without difficulty.
• Secure access – the mDL is only unlocked and accessible by the mDL holder. The mDL is accessed through an app on the owner’s smartphone and is opened/unlocked by entering a user-created pin number or using facial recognition.

“We are pleased to be working with our long-standing partner, the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, on this innovative mobile driver’s license,” said Ed Casey, Chief Executive Officer, IDEMIA Identity & Security Business. “As the leader in driver’s license solutions in the United States, it is our responsibility to take the lead in bringing secure IDs to people’s smart phones. The variety of value-added features that protect and offer safety to all that interact with the digital ID is something we are excited about and pleased to be making a reality.”

The Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announces it is now offering online driver license and ID card renewals. DMV customers needing to renew their Delaware driver license or ID card may now do so in just a few minutes at their convenience, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In September, Governor John Carney signed House Bill 146 into law which removed the requirement for signatures to be in pen and ink when provided for a driver license, identification card, or registration application processes. With the removal of this provision, the DMV is now able to develop more efficient means of serving customers and expand online services.

Customers over the age of 18, with a valid Class D driver license or ID card within six months of expiration, may now easily renew online whenever and wherever they want. Access to this and many more online services is via a customer’s secure MyDMV account easily created on the www.dmv.de.gov website. This new and exciting process will create a temporary paper driver’s license or ID card to be printed at home with a new card that will be mailed to the customer within two weeks of the online process. The new online renewed documents will use the most recent photo taken at the DMV and will cost the same as a traditional DMV visit. Online renewal is not available for holders of commercial driver licenses, graduated driver licenses, or to persons who utilized the self-service kiosk at their last DMV visit. Anyone who has lost driving privileges cannot renew online until satisfying all requirements with DMV.

“Allowing residents with a current license or identification card to complete the renewal process online when it works for their schedule is another great example of how we are working to make our services more convenient and efficient across state government,” said Governor John Carney.

“Our DMV continues to expand its services to ensure that we are serving our customers in a manner that is modern and most convenient for them. I frequently hear from satisfied customers which is a great testament to our employees which is why Delaware has the best DMV in the country!” offered Secretary of Transportation Jennifer Cohan.

DMV Director Scott Vien added, “The Delaware DMV is providing our customers with even more flexibility and convenience to process their transactions, and this service adds to our many online offerings which include renewing vehicle registrations, creating/updating a next of kin registry, registering for motorcycle training courses, scheduling road tests, and ordering vanity or specialty license plates.”

The Delaware DMV serves a customer base of more than 812,000 license and identification holders.

Dover-  Do you have a young driver in your house? Do they think they are a safe driver? Through a Ford Motor Company Driving Skills for Life Grant, The Office of Highway Safety, along with the state’s Teen Driver Task Force and other partners, will be hosting two teen driver safety events this month for parents and teens. Parents and teens will participate in several interactive stations together to build their driving relationship in a positive way. The event is open to students from all Delaware high schools regardless of event location. In addition, students will be entered into a drawing for a scholarship if they attend one of the events and complete all of the activities. A total of 6 scholarships will be randomly awarded. Three scholarships will be given away following each event. First place will be awarded $1,500, second place will be awarded $1,000 and third place will be awarded $500.

The events are scheduled for:
Saturday Sept. 19, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Sussex Technical High School
17099 County Seat Highway
Georgetown, DE 19947

Saturday Sept. 26, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
St. Marks High School
2501 Pike Creek Rd.
Wilmington, DE 19808

Each event will include two guest speakers on teen driving issues, Tim Hollister and Jennifer Macauley. Tim Hollister is a fellow parent and has become a national authority and spokesperson for safer teen driving since he lost his 17 year old son Reid in a car crash in 2006. He served on the Connecticut state taskforce that overhauled the state’s teen driver laws. He has also written a book Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving, an informative and vital guide for parents to help them understand the causes of teen crashes and head them off before their teen gets behind the wheel. Copies of Hollister’s book will be distributed to parents at both events. (http://www.nsfteendriving.com/).

The second speaker, Jennifer Macauley, was hit at an intersection in August 2004 when a large truck ran a red light (unknown cause) and struck her car on the driver’s side. She was 20 years old at the time and had just graduated from Cecil County Community College three months prior. Jen was admitted to Christiana Care’s trauma ICU for a traumatic brain injury. She was eventually transferred to Bryn Mawr rehabilitation hospital to learn to walk, talk and take care of herself again.

Additional event activities include Christiana Care’s distracted driving simulator, Smart Drive’s SIDNE Driving Simulators and Distraction and Reaction, Delaware State Police’s No Zone Truck Display, Delaware State Police’s Rollover seat belt convincer, Safe Driving Pledge Display, and information tables with Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), State Farm, and AAA.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 14-18 year olds in the U.S. There are over 33,000 licensed teen drivers in Delaware. Teen drivers account for five percent of all drivers in Delaware yet are involved in approximately 15 percent of all reportable crashes in Delaware.

The events are funded through a grant from Ford Motor Company’s teen safe driving program and supported by the state’s Teen Driver Task Force and other partners including Smart Drive, DMV, DSP, AAA Mid-Atlantic, Christiana Care, State Farm, Delaware Safety Council and Delaware Safety Driver’s Education Association of driver’s education teachers.

For more information and resources for teen drivers and the Graduated Driver License visit OHS website at www.ohs.delaware.gov/TeenDriving.shtml or visit www.teendriving.dmv.de.gov.

Jennifer Cohan began her career with DelDOT in 1989, served as Director of DMV since 2007

Wilmington, DE – Governor Jack Markell announced today he is nominating Jennifer Cohan to become the next Secretary of the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT). If confirmed by the Delaware State Senate, Cohan will succeed Shailen Bhatt, who will accept a nomination by Governor John Hickenlooper to serve as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation at the end of this month.

“Jennifer’s proven leadership skills have played an integral role in the transformation of the Delaware Department of Transportation over the past eight years, particularly as it relates to improved services and supports within the Division of Motor Vehicles,” said Governor Markell. “She has worked her way up through the ranks of state government, starting as a casual/seasonal front-line worker to Director of DMV, gaining extensive knowledge and experience that will make her an ideal candidate to serve as the state’s transportation Secretary.”

Cohan, whose state public service career spans over 25 years, was appointed Director of the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in 2007. She has held an array of leadership positions within the Delaware Department of Transportation in the areas of Planning, Finance and Motor Carrier Safety. Previously, she worked in the capacity of Financial/Program Manager at the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) managing the states Clean Water Program. Cohan also worked with the Delaware State Legislature within the Office of the Controller General.

“I am deeply honored to be nominated by Governor Markell to lead DelDOT,” said Cohan. “If confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to building on the incredible progress we’ve made to improve the state’s transportation network while strengthening the public’s trust.

“This administration has made significant investments in transportation and the dedicated employees of DelDOT play a critical role in ensuring those investments equate to positive changes for the people of Delaware. I’m proud of our team and would be honored to support their ongoing efforts if given the opportunity to serve.”

In addition to her leadership role at DMV, Cohan is an adjunct professor at Wilmington University teaching leadership and public policy in the Master’s program. She is also a member of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) International Board of Directors and serves as president of the Greater Dover Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors.

Cohan, 42, graduated summa cum laude from Wilmington University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Master of Science in Public Administration. She currently resides in Dover with her husband and daughter.

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