The debate on the end of the lifetime license in France could be relaunched by this new measure adopted in a neighboring country.
In France, when you obtain a driving license, it is for life. Provided obviously that you do not commit serious offenses which then require the offender to retake their driving test after a suspension of up to 3 years. But the situation could soon change! In several countries, a driving license can be lost even if the driver behaves impeccably on the road. In Italy, Spain or the Netherlands, each license holder must pass a medical examination from a certain age or at regular intervals. A clever way to find out if the state of health of the motorist concerned allows him to renew his authorization to drive a motor vehicle.
For the sake of harmonization within its 27 countries, the European Union would like to generalize this practice. This is why the subject of the end of the lifetime license has come up more and more often in the French political debate in recent times. And it could well be that this new step taken by a neighboring country will relaunch discussions in France. Spain has recently tightened the conditions for renewing driving licenses. If medical tests were already compulsory every 10 years for drivers under 65 and every 5 years for those over 65, new measures have been adopted to guarantee the road safety of older drivers.
It must be said that the Spanish population is aging – more than 15% of drivers are over 65 – and that a high proportion of seniors lose their lives each year in road accidents. To fight against this scourge, the authorities have decided to toughen up their tone. A simple examination with a general practitioner is no longer sufficient to be declared fit to drive. Too many seniors were allowed to continue driving so their physical degradation made them public dangers.
Now, older people must pass more extensive tests to retain the right to drive. Vision, hearing and reflex exams are mandatory. If the driver is declared unfit, then he will still be able to drive the car but no longer sit behind the wheel. Still in an effort to protect the lives of seniors and other road users, the Spanish authorities have reviewed the frequency of medical examinations to be taken by older people. If their health deteriorates, they may be asked to take new tests two or three years after the last ones, without reaching five years. Here too, the goal is to anticipate possible physical damage to determine whether these numerous motorists are still capable of driving safely.
On this subject, France is currently lagging considerably behind. The simple presentation of a driving license allows you to drive regardless of your state of health. However, it is not said that this will continue to be the case for very long.