SALEM — The Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle office said this week it will no longer shield the names of police officers who allege someone is an unsafe driver.

Such reports, if deemed credible by the DMV, require motorists to retake the driving test or relinquish their license.

The change in policy comes in response to the persistence of Scott Rohter, who complained to public officials and the press about the secret complaint lodged against him. Rohter, who lives in the Western Oregon town of Vida, said he should have been able to face his accuser and the evidence against him.

The Legislature created the re-evaluation program in 1987. Liz Woods of the DMV said police reports of questionable drivers were public until 2003, when the program was expanded to address relative- and doctor-generated reports. Believing most people need anonymity to report a relative’s bad driving, the DMV decided to give everyone confidentiality.

But DMV records show only a small percentage of complaints come from friends and relatives. Most come from police, the courts or the DMV itself.

Although Rohter had trouble learning his accuser’s identity, he did unearth, after six calls to the DMV, that the letter questioning his driving skills came from police.

Though police will no longer be given confidentiality, Rohter said all complaints should be out in the open.

“How many people are going to go behind grandpa’s back and turn him in?” he asked. “How does destroying trust between any two people build a better society?”

The DMV says there are safeguards to prevent people from hassling others by filing unsubstantiated complaints. Reports must include the names of those filing them, and must detail specific incidents of unsafe driving.

If a driver passes a retesting, but is subject to another report of bad driving from the same reporter, the DMV will attempt to determine whether it’s a feud-driven case of harassment.

— Information from: The Register-Guard.