You asked if any states issue special license plates that elderly drivers may get to identify themselves so that others driving around them are aware that an older driver is operating near them.

SUMMARY

It does not appear that this type of license plate is issued anywhere. Of the 23 states we checked, several of which have large elderly populations, none offer such a plate and it appears unlikely that other states do either. We specifically checked Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

One issue with such plates could be the possibility that they might target elderly drivers, particularly those driving alone, because a potential criminal would know that the driver was elderly and therefore likely to be more vulnerable to theft or assault. In our research, we found some anecdotal information about such occurrences where vehicles with personalized license plates or license plate holders that identified their cars as likely belonging to a woman or elderly person were targeted by criminals who subsequently committed a crime when the driver returned to the targeted vehicle.

JF: dw