The Maryland Medical Advisory Board was established in 1947 to assist the Motor Vehicle Administrator in evaluating driver license applicants who are physically or mentally impaired to operate a motor vehicle safely. During its 29 years of operation, the Board has been successful in gaining statewide support of both physicians and the driving public of its efforts to reduce medically-related highway death and injury.

The Maryland Board is unique in that it conducts personal interviews with all applicants referred for medical reasons, a practice that has contributed immeasurably to the overall effectiveness of its program.

The Maryland Medical Advisory Board was the first board established in this country, and since 1947, has evaluated literally thousands of driver license applicants. This paper will outline the Board's overall program, what it has accomplished in 29 years of operation, why it has been successful, and what are its future plans in terms of research implications of the thousands of case studies of medically-impaired drivers.