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By STAN FREEMAN

sfreeman@repub.com

BOSTON - A key state legislative committee gave a favorable recommendation Tuesday to a bill that would require drivers 75 and older who are renewing their license to pass tests to prove they can safely operate a vehicle.

The action comes after a spate of fatal accidents recently involving elderly drivers in Massachusetts.

"This is a starting point to bring the bill to the public and say, 'Hey, what do you think?'" said Rep. Donald F. Humason Jr., D-Westfield, who is a member of the Committee on Transportation, which recommended the bill."Sadly, these bills only seem to gain a lot of attention after a tragedy. Now we have to take some of the passion out the discussion and start to look dispassionately at the issue," he said.

The bill would also let doctors and police officers report to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles if they believe a driver is unable to safely operate a car. The operator's license would then be suspended and reviewed by the registrar within 30 days, although drivers would have the right to appeal.

Critics say the tests should be given to all drivers, not just older drivers. John W. Bennett, of Agawam, president of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council, said the bill is discriminatory because it singles out people 75 and older.

"We need something much broader than that for real highway safety," Bennett said.

Bennett also questioned if the state would provide alternative transportation for elderly people who could lose their licenses.

Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat and the co-chairman of the Committee on Transportation, called the bill "an appropriate response" to the situation.

By 2025, people over 65 will make up 25 percent of all drivers, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. And accidents increase after a certain age, research shows.

According to the institute, during 2001 and 2002, 60-year-old women drivers were in three crashes per million miles traveled, while 80-year-old women drivers were in seven crashes per million miles, and drivers 85 and older were in 13 crashes.

According to police, in June, in Stoughton, an 89-year-old woman driver killed a 4-year-old crossing the street. Also in June, in Danvers, a 93-year-old man drove his car into the entrance of a Wal-Mart, injuring six people, after mistaking the gas pedal for the brake. The next day, in Plymouth, seven people were injured after a car driven by a 73-year-old woman jumped a curb and ran into a crowd at a war memorial. It was the woman's third accident since turning 70.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.