The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles sends out letters to some drivers once a year, reminding them that they have to prove that they are still able to drive safely. Licensed drivers with certain physical disabilities are targeted with this practice, and are given 30 days to pass driving tests and physical examinations in order to show that they are not a threat to traffic safety. The 30-day notice that is send to certain drivers is part of the Medical Evaluation Program carried out by the NC DMV, which is intended to evaluate the current medical condition of licensed drivers or applicants for driver’s licenses who suffer from some physical disabilities that might affect traffic safety.

This program has always been considered to be slightly controversial, but it was not until a couple of weeks ago that it caught the eye of advocacy groups for protecting the rights of people with disabilities, after Pam Dickens, a 53-year-old driver living in Hillsborough, North Carolina, decided to voice her frustration with this procedure. Dickens said that she didn’t want to be forced to take tests each year and face the possibility of losing her driving privileges for no apparent reason, so she, along with five other drivers with disabilities, filed a lawsuit against the DMV, accusing it of discrimination against disabled people.

Disability Rights North Carolina, a non-profit organization representing people with disabilities living in North Carolina, was the official plaintiff in this case, claiming that the DMV’s Medical Evaluation Program discriminates against safe and capable drivers, and that is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. The judge ruled that the DMV will have to address the allegations.

The DMV, for its part, dismissed the allegations entirely, and said that asking drivers suffering from specific disabilities to prove they are capable to drive each year is not discriminatory. In a statement, the DMV’s spokesman Brian Smith said that the department hopes to resolve the lawsuit quickly, and that it “remains committed to providing the highest level of road safety, for the individual and motoring public.”

The advocacy group’s Executive Director Vicki Smith says that the DMV can not determine who is an unsafe driver based exclusively on a person’s disability, and that it should not single out people with disabilities. She finds the process of evaluating a person’s driving abilities while only using that person’s medical records and statements from doctors, along with their driving history, to be arbitrary, claiming that these factors are not indicators of their ability to drive safely.

However, while Disability Rights North Carolina fights its battle against this, as they say, discriminatory procedure, the requirements under the Medical Evaluation Program remain in effect, and drivers with disabilities will have to take road tests and undergo medical exams each year to be able to continue to drive, all at their own expense.