Traffic
Seniors swap cars for buses and trains
A pensioner starts her car. Would she switch to buses and trains? photo
© Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
Germany ticket instead of a driving license: The Association of Cities and Municipalities can certainly imagine seniors voluntarily giving up their cars. However, under certain conditions.
Get away from the wheel and switch to buses and trains: The Association of Cities and Municipalities offers free Germany tickets Seniors who voluntarily give up their driver’s license are a good idea. However, managing director Gerd Landsberg rejects a basic check of driving ability from a certain age, as he told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Saturday). The ADAC generally agrees.
“If municipalities offer older people the opportunity to use local public transport free of charge when they hand over their driving license, that is a sensible action,” said Landsberg. “A free Germany ticket for a certain period of time makes it easier, especially for older people, to do without a car.” Landsberg cited sufficient public transport options as a prerequisite.
Waiting for the bus with heavy bags
And that is particularly a problem in rural areas. In quite a few villages a regular bus only runs a few times a day. And then wait at the stop with heavy shopping bags? For many seniors, this may not be an option.
The background to Landsberg’s statements is an ongoing debate about the EU Commission’s plans. 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 applies to them.
A spokeswoman for the ADAC automobile club told the German Press Agency on Saturday: “A free Germany ticket for seniors who voluntarily hand over their driving license can make this decision easier for them and help maintain their mobility.” However: “It is important that this decision is made voluntarily.”
Seniors should be aware that the offer is likely to be limited in time, the spokeswoman added.
Will the 49 euro ticket remain permanent?
In any case, it is unclear whether the 49 euro ticket will remain in place permanently. A week ago, the Federal Constitutional Court decided, in response to a lawsuit from the Union faction, that 60 billion euros in loans intended for the consequences of Corona could not flow into the climate and transformation fund. It is now unclear how the federal government finances important projects. This also includes the Deutschlandticket for regional public transport.
The discussion about whether drivers should give up their driver’s license after a certain age or take tests to see whether they can still drive is not new. “We do not consider a general check of driving ability from a certain age to be effective,” said Landsberg. “The psychological and physical abilities when driving a car cannot be tied to an age limit alone.” Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has also spoken out several times against stricter rules for older road users.
There are different views on the extent to which older people pose a risk in road traffic: According to the German Road Safety Council, the proportion of people aged 65 or more in the total population is currently around 22 percent. But only around 14.5 percent of all those involved in accidents that result in personal injury fall into this age group.