Should the driving license be withdrawn from French people who have reached a certain age? The question has been debated for years and it could find an answer in the coming months… Questioned on this subject a few weeks ago, the readers of Planet answered “No” at 84%, therefore rejecting altogether the idea that From a certain age – not defined – they should be prohibited from driving. However, in recent years, several road accidents have involved elderly people who have lost their means at the wheel: the wrong way on the motorway, pressing the accelerator rather than the brake… have an expiration date?
The end of the driving license for life, Pauline Déroulède has made her fight. This Paralympic sportswoman, French wheelchair tennis champion, was the victim of a road accident in October 2018. Stopped on her scooter, on a sidewalk, the young woman was waiting for a friend when she was hit by a car . The 90-year-old driver lost control of his vehicle and mowed down his victim, who lost the use of his leg and had to be amputated. Asked by RMC, she explains: “When I found out the circumstances [de son accident, NDLR], I said to myself that it was crazy that there were no measures around the driving license, that we have it for life, without any control”.
How could the driving license be better controlled in the future? Pauline Déroulède is campaigning for a compulsory medical check-up every ten years, with the aim of verifying that the driver is still fit to drive, for his safety and that of others. A control that would become more frequent with age, at 60, then 65 and finally every two years from the age of 70. If the incapacity is found, then the license is withdrawn. Examples exist in Europe, explains RMC:
Is there a link between road accidents and the age of drivers? Questioned by Planet, the president of the association 40 million motorists explains: “There is no direct link between road mortality and seniors. When we look in detail, we see that those over 65 represent 17% of fatal accidents, while 18-25 year olds represent 20%. There is therefore no frankly direct relationship between accidents and age”. For Philippe Nozière, “accidents involving the over 65s are mainly sheet metal accidents, there are fewer fatal accidents”, even if, of course, “they also happen”. Will the renewal of the driving license by 2033 be an opportunity for medical examinations?
The driving license in the form of a credit card is valid for 15 years and has existed since 2013. “The first renewals will arrive in principle in 2028”, explains Philippe Nozière, but it will be “a simple administrative procedure, it does not “There will be no driving test, medical check-up, nothing at all. It will be a renewal to update your personal data”.
From 2033, on the other hand, it will be necessary to renew all the three-part pink permits and the president of 40 million motorists specifies: “If indeed we want to look through these renewals at what is happening in the countries around us, there are certain countries where medical examinations have been introduced at a certain age, for seniors in a way. Before deciding, we must look at the impact of this measure on mortality in these countries. , has it been improved?
If the measure can reassure some, it will also worry others, especially in places where the car is essential for getting around.
Taking away the driver’s license from the elderly would be an impossible measure for all those who live in isolated places. On this subject, Philippe Nozière explains: “It is an important link for seniors and it would be a measure that would be particularly unpopular and particularly unfair. There are many elderly people in our countryside who need to move and who are fit, who have no problem”. The president of the association 40 million motorists nevertheless believes that “there can be a sight check from a certain age, without it being prohibitive”.
What would be the solutions to better control the driving license, but not to prevent some French people from moving? “We cannot leave people isolated in the countryside”, concedes Pauline Déroulède to RMC, thus evoking a shuttle system developed throughout the territory. Is his fight understood on the side of the government? She believes that the latter “has become aware of things and must find solutions acceptable to everyone”. Announcements could even take place before the summer, in the middle of the year 2023.
