According to the EU Commission’s wishes, drivers over 70 should have their driving ability checked regularly in the future. Federal Transport Minister Wissing wants to prevent this – there is no reason for “compulsory examinations”.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing wants to stop the EU Commission’s plans to tighten the rules for driving license holders aged 70 and over. “I don’t want compulsory fitness tests for drivers over 70, and I’m confident that there won’t be a majority for this in the EU,” the FDP politician told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
He is against the fact that “the individual is increasingly made into an object, has to undergo compulsory examinations and go about his everyday life according to a catalog of regulations,” explained Wissing. That makes “our society more inhumane.”
He trusts seniors to “deal with their health without government guidelines and bureaucratic control.” In addition, it is “a responsibility of those around you, children, relatives and neighbors, to talk to old people about driving.” The minister emphasized that the accident statistics show “no significant numbers of serious accidents” in the age group over 70.
By car to the supermarket or doctor
For many older people in rural areas, “a self-determined life without a car is difficult.” Seniors generally don’t drive hundreds of kilometers on the motorway. “Many people use the car to visit the supermarket or the doctor in the neighboring town. However, driving ability tests include tasks such as a trip from Berlin to Hamburg. That is the objective benchmark.”
The draft of a new European transport directive stipulates that drivers aged 70 and over must refresh their driving license every five years. Your state of health should also be inquired about through a mandatory medical examination or through a self-assessment. According to the Commission’s plans, the EU member states should be able to decide for themselves which of the two variants should apply to them. The transport directive is intended to help bring the number of road deaths to zero by 2050.