KAHULUI — The county driver's licensing staff will get more training to better work with license applicants with disabilities as part of an effort to clarify state licensing standards, a county official said.

Some people with disabilities don't want to be treated "as special" when they come into the Division of Motor Vehicles and Licensing to apply for or renew their licenses, Carmelito Vila, administrator of the county's DMVL, told The Maui News.

Under proposed rules developed by the Department of Transportation, county officials will have clearer standards in assessing medical conditions that could impair a driver.

"Sensitivity training" and other instruction will be provided by the Disability Communications Access Board, which has worked with state Transportation Department officials and county driver's examiners on the proposed rules. A teleconference hearing held on Maui on Tuesday morning drew no testimony from the public.

Friday is the deadline for public comment on the proposed rules that are aimed at clarifying existing state standards for determining when a driver with a medical condition may need to get a clearance to acquire or renew a license.

State and county officials say current administrative rules do not provide sufficient guidance for the county driver's examiners to fairly and consistently determine if a person is physically and mentally capable of operating a motor vehicle safely.

In the proposed rules, the state specifies medical conditions that may interfere with the ability to control and safely operate a motor vehicle. License application forms require the driver to note potentially problematic physical or mental concerns, such as lapses of consciousness, cardiovascular conditions, mental, nervous or functional disease or psychiatric disorder, chronic alcoholism or drug addition.

While an applicant may be required to provide a medical clearance, the conditions will not automatically preclude the applicant from getting a license. A medical clearance could establish the condition does not impair the person's driving ability.

Vila said the intentions of the rules are "not to deny licenses" but to ensure drivers are able to safely operate a motor vehicle.

If the new rules are implemented, Vila said, there will be "very little change, as far as the process you go through."

He said applicants will still be subject to standardized vision tests.

Driver's examiners are already required to ask the applicant for a doctor's report if an official "has reasonable cause beyond the self-disclosure on the application form" to believe the applicant has a medical or physical condition that may interfere with safely operating a motor vehicle.

Vila said there also will still be an appeals process for anyone whose license is denied. He said the state has a medical advisory board to which the counties look to for further guidance on a driver's medial condition.

Copies of the proposed rules can be obtained by calling 808-587-2210; online at http://hawaii .gov/dot/notices; or at the Governor's Liaison Offices in Wailuku, Kaunakakai and Lanai City from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

For more Maui news, visit The Maui News.