985

STATEMENT FOR CAPSULE HISTORY OF
DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES

December 3, 1968

The history of Maryland's Department of Motor Vehicles, as de-
scribed in the foregoing pages, indicates the prominent role of leader-
ship this agency has initiated throughout the years in attempting to
provide protection for the property as well as the lives of our citizens
on the highways.

In its progressive development of the point system for traffic vio-
lators, the Driver Rehabilitation Clinics, the thousands of personal
interviews conducted with all types of drivers and its titling and regis-
tration procedures introduced to protect people and property, the
Department of Motor Vehicles has documented an impressive record
of service to the motoring public.

While the Department's history is logged with installations of signif-
icant traffic safety programs, the horizon for the future in advanced
technology and administrative methodology is even more dramatic.

As a nation on wheels, we are fast moving into an era requiring im-
proved and expanded safety controls, including periodic motor vehicle
inspection, periodic re-examination of all drivers and separate driver
license classifications. The Department's leadership and cooperation
will be required as this new era unfolds and as Maryland comes into
full conformity with the Federal Highway Safety Standards.

This capsule history of Maryland's Department of Motor Vehicles
delineates a graphic portrayal of its leadership among the nation's
motor vehicle administrators. Maryland's third Commissioner of
Motor Vehicles, Colonel Austin E. Baughman, helped found the
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and became its
first president. And again last year, when this State's present Com-
missioner John R. Jewell was elected AAMVA's 35th president, Mary-
land became the first State to supply two presidents to this interna-
tional conclave.

In the future as in the past, Maryland's Department of Motor
Vehicles will continue to espouse methods and procedures of admin-
istration developed around the most advanced criteria for protection
of the lives and property of the motoring public.