Reporting a bad driver in Oregon

Oregon bad driver reporting & safety guide

1. If it is happening now immediate danger

Emergency hotlines

• 911 — for a driver who is an active danger to other people right now. That is a police matter, and no app is a substitute for the call.
• No Oregon-specific line is listed here. We publish a patrol code only when a state police or DOT page carries it.

2. Reporting to Oregon law enforcement after the fact

Neither the hotlines above nor anything in this section is the licence-review route in section 3, and nothing filed on Jerk Alert reaches any of them.

Who takes the report in Oregon

• The non-emergency line of the Oregon municipal police department or county sheriff’s office with jurisdiction where it happened takes reports of dangerous driving that has already happened.
• Bring: the plate (full or partial) and state, the vehicle’s make, model and colour, the location, the date and time, the direction of travel, and what you saw.
• Expect a record rather than a ticket. An officer who did not witness the driving usually cannot cite for it, and what each agency acts on varies.

3. State DMV & licensing agency review

Administrative fitness process

Agency

Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services (DMV)

Unit

DMV Driver Safety / At-Risk Driver Program — Driver Specialty Services

Form

Driver Evaluation Request (form 735-6066, rev. 7-26)

Where to send

DMV Driver Specialty Services, 1905 Lana Avenue NE, Salem OR 97314

Contact

The form's own routes: email DMVDriverSafetyTeam@odot.oregon.gov, fax (503) 945-5329, or post to the address above. DMV customer service and office staff have no access to these reports and cannot answer questions about them; 503-945-5083 is for a driver asking about an At-Risk suspension, and DMV may release information to a family member or other caller only with the driver's permission.

What information do I need to report a driver?

• DMV is prohibited by law from accepting anonymous reports — the form states that anonymous requests cannot be accepted — and your name and signature are required fields.
• Mark at least one driving behaviour on the form. DMV's rule defines unsafe or dangerous driving behaviour and the form lists it: being prevented from causing a crash by another driver's evasive manoeuvre, driving too slowly, drifting in and out of a lane or driving in more than one, driving in the wrong lane or on the wrong side, turning from or into the wrong lane, failing to stop at a light or stop sign, stopping beyond the stop line, failing to stop for a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, turning in front of oncoming cars, stopping for no reason, backing or changing lanes without looking, trouble steering or braking, being confused by traffic, getting lost near home, driving on the sidewalk, and acting violently or aggressively when driving.
• Give specific information that causes you to question the person's ability to drive safely, including events, dates and places; if you believe a medical condition or impairment is involved, describe its effect on their driving.
• The most common reason DMV rejects a report is failure to meet the reporting requirements — a missing signature, or missing information in the narrative.
• Oregon also has mandatory reporting: physicians and health care providers must report drivers with severe and uncontrollable cognitive or functional impairments that affect safe driving, using a different form.

Will the driver find out who reported them?

Reports are confidential by law (ORS 807.710(6)), with three exceptions: a report from law enforcement, a court order, and an administrative hearing. Every driver has the right to request a hearing, and if one is requested your Driver Evaluation Request and its documentation become hearing exhibits, provided to the driver and to the Office of Administrative Hearings. DMV does not accept anonymous reports, so the document the driver may end up reading carries your name, your signature and what you wrote.

What can the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services (DMV) do after a report?

• DMV screens the request to decide whether to accept or reject it, which takes about one to three days, and notifies the reporter of acceptance or rejection by mail.
• When a report is accepted, a Suspension Notice is sent to the driver.
• An immediate suspension is issued where the report gives DMV reason to believe the person may endanger people or property if not immediately suspended (OAR 735-076-0020(1)); it is effective five days from the date of the notice.
• A non-immediate suspension is issued where the report gives DMV reason to believe the driver needs additional evaluation; it is effective 60 to 90 days from the date of the notice.
• The driver may be required to pass DMV knowledge, vision and drive tests, or to provide medical information.
• A mandatory provider report leads to immediate suspension of driving privileges; the driver may seek reinstatement once the condition is controlled or resolved and a provider clears them.
• Drivers may request an administrative hearing to contest a suspension.

Statutory authority: ORS 807.710 (reports of persons with cognitive or functional impairment; confidentiality at subsection (6)); ORS 809.419(3)(a) (suspension for a mental or physical condition or impairment); OAR 735-076-0002, 735-076-0005 and 735-076-0020.

What this route can and cannot do

Oregon is one of the few states whose route is built around observed driving behaviour rather than medical impairment alone: the form's required checklist is a list of unsafe driving acts, and DMV cannot accept a report based on age, a diagnosis, general health or medication alone. It is still not a plate-based complaint — DMV needs enough to identify the driver, which means a name and address, with the licence number and date of birth only 'if available', and the form has no field for a plate number. The remedy is re-examining whether the driver is competent, and a suspension the driver can test out of.