Age will no longer be the only criterion in Europe to assess a person’s fitness to drive, it will be necessary to take into consideration especially his specific health conditions, evaluating any substance abuse, mental disorders, epilepsy and diabetes which, as many studies have shown, ” are more important factors than age when it comes to medical fitness to drive ”. This was revealed by a new report from the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), of which the Automobile Club of Italy is a member, underlining that the current approach followed by many EU countries needs a substantial revision, scheduled for 2022. as part of the review of the Driving Licenses Directive.
According to the study, mandatory age-based screening of older drivers was not shown to be effective in preventing major collisions. In addition, it could have a negative impact on safety, as older drivers with a revoked license due to poor health become vulnerable road users. ETSC therefore recommends that national governments make wider use of ‘conditional’ driving licenses, to allow low-risk seniors to continue driving under certain conditions. The authors of the report also highlight the lack of sufficiently reliable scientific data at the EU level, which is currently only collected from a small number of countries. An important exception is Finland, where every fatal collision is followed by an in-depth investigation and where it emerged that, between 2014 and 2018, 16% of fatal accidents were attributable to driver illnesses, mainly of cardiac origin. vascular.
It is true that many countries provide some form of medical check-up for those applying for a driving license, in addition to the vision test required by EU regulations, but there are big differences in the way these checks are carried out. The medical examination can range from a self-assessment form completed and signed by the applicant, to a visit to the family doctor or a specialist. In short, what ETSC recommends to the EU is the adoption of a standardized screening process based on international best practices to be used in all Member States. The key figure in identifying those at risk should be family doctors, and new and more specific training programs, coordinated at European level, should be centered on them. Their role is also crucial in assisting patients and their families in the choices of reducing or stopping driving a vehicle.
The study also highlights that, while it is estimated that 25% of all road deaths in the EU are related to alcohol, the possible effects of driving under the influence of drugs are less known. For this reason, ETSC stresses the need for a clearer and more extensive labeling of drugs that affect the psycho-physical abilities of drivers. Furthermore, despite the current EU regulations excluding the issue of driving licenses to alcohol-dependent people, in the study it is considered appropriate to open up the possibility of reintegrating them on the road through specific rehabilitation programs, in combination with the systems for assessing the driver’s alcohol level. cars can be equipped today, with consequent immobilization of the vehicle in case they have consumed too much alcohol.
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