After numerous road accidents caused recently by elderly people, the idea of a medical check-up from a certain age to keep one’s driving license is reappearing.
Twelve injured, including a life-threatening woman. Here is the heavy toll of the road accident that occurred on Saturday April 22 in Berck-sur-Mer in Pas-de-Calais. The driver lost control of his vehicle and drove into the crowd in the early evening. Aged 76 and with a disability, he said he had “confused the brake pedal and the accelerator”. On April 6 in Oise, an 82-year-old driver knocked down three children as they crossed a pedestrian crossing. On February 18, three people died in an accident caused by an 83-year-old man who was driving in the wrong direction on the highway and hit a car with two people inside.
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These road accidents revive the debate on the supervision of the driving of seniors, and especially the questioning of a French taboo: the driving license for life. An aberration for Pauline Déroulède. In October 2018, the young woman, aged 28 at the time, was mowed down on a Parisian sidewalk by a motorist who lost control of his vehicle. She loses her left leg in the accident. The 92-year-old man “was an exemplary driver, but he knew he was no longer fit to drive”says Pauline Déroulède who met the nonagenarian motorist face-to-face.
Pauline Déroulède, who has become French wheelchair tennis champion and who dreams of participating in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, would like a medical examination to be imposed on all drivers. “It would not only concern seniors”she specifies, but with a graduation according to age:
“This would be, for example, a visit every ten years after obtaining the permit, from the age of 65 every five years, from the age of 70 every two years, and every year from the age of 80. “
Pauline Derouledeat franceinfo
A sea serpent
Today, a medical check-up may be compulsory in order to keep your license in the event of an offense already noted or a report by a relative to the prefect of the department. If the prefect judges that the alert is legitimate, he will ask that the holder of the driving license be examined by a certified doctor who is an expert in driving fitness, explains the road safety site which highlights pedagogy before having to threaten a relative to forbid him to drive.
These reports are too rare and insufficient for Pauline Déroulède. The idea of a compulsory medical examination to keep your license is a sea serpent that comes to the surface with each accident involving an elderly person, underlines Pierre Lagache, vice-president of the League against road violence: “We understand this request from the victims and it seems quite logical, but this measure has not demonstrated its effectiveness in the countries that have implemented it.”
“The measure appears to be common sense, but we do not find a significant impact in other countries.”
Pierre Lagache, vice-president of the League against violenceat franceinfo
European countries such as Switzerland, Germany or Spain have compulsory controls from a certain age, but without conclusive results, according to Pierre Lagache. Except “if you can demonstrate your interest”he doubts the usefulness of setting up a system “heavy” And “not trivial”. Moreover, the doctor “will not be able to assess a number of things like in real driving”underlines Sylvie Bonin-Guillaume, geriatrician at the Public Assistance of Marseille Hospitals (AP-HM). “The doctor can in particular assess whether there are pathologies or treatments that prevent driving, but not if the person commits, for example, traffic violations”continues the geriatrician who believes that the aptitude tests are also limited, because “they will not be able to assess the dangerousness of the person on the road”.
“Stigmatization” of seniors?
For Anne Lavaud, General Delegate for Road Safety, speeches that revolve around age are part of a “stigma” seniors. According to figures from the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory (ONISR), seniors are nevertheless over-represented in mortality indicators. In 2022, people aged 75 and over represent 15.2% of road deaths, a figure higher than that of 65-74 year olds (11.6%) or 55-64 year olds (12%) but below that 18-24 year olds (17.2%).
There is indeed an over-risk among those aged 75 and over, underlines Pierre Lagache, with 76 killed per 1 million inhabitants. This is above the average which is 47 killed, but far from the 102 dead among 18-24 year olds, reports the vice-president of the League against road violence.
But being a victim of road accidents does not necessarily mean being responsible. Seniors, who are more fragile, will have difficulty surviving serious injuries, underlines ONISR. A certain number of these elderly people involved in road accidents are pedestrians, recalls Sylvie Bonin-Guillaume, of the Public Assistance of Marseille Hospitals (AP-HM). For her, “he there is a confusion between the actions of a driver and the pathologies that can prevent you from driving”. pathologies “that should not be limited to the question of age”continues the geriatrician.
Anne Lavaud of Road Safety also believes that seniors “are no more responsible than other age categories such as the youngest”. As proof, she puts forward the figure for the rate of responsibility of motorists involved in fatal accidents. It is 80% for those aged 75 and over, at the same level as those aged 18-24. Age is therefore not a “criteria” according to the general manager.
“You have to control people”
The causes of accidents are different between these two age categories. Alcohol, narcotics and speed are the leading causes of death among the youngest, while among seniors, these are issues of inattention or failure to respect priorities, believes Pierre Lagache: “These are not deviant behaviors but failings.” “We must not confuse offenses and incapacities”, precisely specifies for her part Pauline Déroulède. She continues her “fight” which it has been leading for four years, hoping to see new regulations appear by the summer of 2023.
“I receive countless testimonials pushing me to continue”indicates the tennis champion who insists: “You have to control people, not just seniors.” For Anne Lavaud, it is necessary to take advantage of one of the flagship measures of the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS): the three free medical visits at 25, 45 and 65 years old. “Mobility issues must be included during these visits”suggests the General Delegate for Road Safety.
But withdrawing the permit from an elderly person can also have other consequences, underlines geriatrician Sylvie Bonin-Guillaume: “If you take away his car, which is sometimes his only mobility solution in rural areas, will the person be able to stay at home?” In any case, it will be necessary to emphasize the alternative solutions, according to Pierre Lagache. “There are support systems and mobility solutions such as communities that finance very inexpensive taxis”indicates the vice-president of the League against road violence who believes that the “miracle solution” does not exist.