“The compulsory medical examination every 15 years is a desire to verify the aptitude of everyone, whatever their age”, defends the MEP who is leading the project

The European Parliament votes on Wednesday on the generalization of a regular medical examination to maintain your driving license. However, texts already provide for driving aptitude tests.

Will the French lose their right to a lifetime license? On Tuesday February 27 and Wednesday February 28, the European Parliament is considering the possibility of requiring drivers to undergo a medical examination every 15 years to maintain their license. The measure is supported by environmentalist MEP Karima Delli but it is far from unanimous in France, including among road safety stakeholders.

Taking a hearing or vision test or assessing your cognitive reflexes, the objective of this obligation is to fight against road mortality, assures Karima Delli. “There are 20 000 dead each year on our roads and 160 000 very seriously injured in Europe, recalls the environmentalist MEP. HASBeyond these figures, there are broken destinies, families who are bruised.”

Doctors approved for fitness to drive already exist in France

France has one of the most flexible regulations in Europe. Medical examinations are already required in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and even Finland. But Doctor Philippe Lauwick points out that there are already around 4,000 French doctors who are approved, like him, for fitness to drive in France.

These practitioners can already object to maintaining a driving license for medical reasons. “There is a text which defines pathologies which are either incompatible with driving, or which require adjustments to the driving license”, explains the doctor. For example, after a stroke or head trauma, “We must theoretically consult a licensed doctor. And no one knows this in the general population and health professionals know relatively little about it too”, regrets Philippe Lauwick.

“Rather than requiring a systematic medical visit for the entire population, let’s inform the population, let’s inform health professionals and carry out targeted visits to people affected by pathologies.”

Philippe Lauwick, doctor approved for driving skills

at franceinfo

Associations not convinced

Road Safety also doubts the effectiveness of an examination every 15 years. She refers to studies by the European Transport Safety Council which do not really show a link between medical visits and a reduction in road deaths. MEP Karima Delli opposes this argument: “The compulsory visit is a desire to check the fitness of everyone, whatever the age where you can be very fit from 80 years old, drive your car and have no problem, unlike someone who is 40 years old and who has the onset of illness, etc.”defends the chosen one.

Associations like the Drivers’ Defense League or 40 million motorists are criticizing a discriminatory measure against older drivers. The MEP contradicts them: “The visit we are offering today is a visit upon obtaining your driving license”, underlines Karima Delli. The text is still far from being applied in France. If the European Parliament gives the green light on Wednesday February 28, it will then have to be voted on by the Council of the European Union to be definitively adopted.