As of: March 12, 2024 9:27 a.m
A car promises mobility well into old age. If your ability to drive deteriorates, it may be worth taking driving training. A health check can also help to correct hearing or vision deficiencies.
When walking and cycling are no longer possible, for many people the car is the way to go shopping, go to the doctor or visit family and friends. Everyone wants this independence to last as long as possible. Nevertheless, the question of whether seniors of a certain age represent a source of danger in traffic or should even be required to undergo regular driving aptitude tests is still controversially discussed.
Serious errors in everyday situations
According to the Federal Statistical Office, older people are considered relatively safe drivers. Younger drivers, on the other hand, are significantly more likely to be involved in accidents with personal injuries. Most serious accidents are caused by new drivers. But even if seniors cause significantly fewer accidents overall, if you put the number of accidents in relation to the actual driving share of older road users, they are involved in an accident much more often than novice drivers. The older drivers are almost always the ones who cause accidents. It is often everyday driving situations in which serious errors occur.
Seeing and hearing: abilities decline with age
Older people have reduced responsiveness due to various age-related limitations. They are less mobile, they hear and see worse, and their cognitive abilities often decline.
Restrictions on vision lead to roadways and other road users or dangerous situations not being perceived safely. Just as many accidents occur due to poor vision as due to drunk driving. But many drivers don’t even notice their poor eyesight because they don’t notice the gradual processes themselves. Vision can be checked at any optician or ophthalmologist. Poor vision can be easily compensated for in many cases these days.
The same applies to the Hearing ability. The perception of approaching vehicles or warning signals such as horns and bicycle bells is important in order to assess what is happening on the road and can be checked by an ENT doctor. Reduced hearing can also be easily compensated for in many cases if it is recognized in good time.
Less mobility, slower reactions
General mobility decreases with age, making it difficult to turn your head when turning or parking. In addition, some medications can affect driving ability. The ability to perceive and respond to situations slows down with age. This often makes it difficult for older road users to estimate the speed of other road users. Turning and overtaking often become difficult. Cyclists are often not noticed or their speed is misjudged. In addition, some seniors do not know the current traffic rules.
Driving fitness tests only in justified individual cases
Driving tests for seniors are already a reality in countries like Norway, Finland and Switzerland. From the age of 70, medical examinations to check your fitness to drive are mandatory. In Spain, drivers aged 65 and over have to undergo a health test every five years. In Germany, driving fitness tests are only carried out in particularly justified individual cases.
EU Parliament does not want a fitness to drive check
The decision as to whether there should be regular, mandatory medical examinations for drivers is left to the EU countries. The EU Parliament decided this and thus spoke out against original plans to limit the driving license of people aged 70 and over to a maximum of 5 years. Germany is critical of the medical checks.
Have your driving ability checked voluntarily
However, every driver has the opportunity to have their driving ability checked voluntarily. Regular health checks with a doctor or a practice trip with a driving instructor can reveal limitations and deficits in your own abilities and possibly help you find solutions. It is always important that the health requirements for driving a car are met in old age. Traffic experts therefore recommend having your eyesight and hearing checked every two years. In addition, seniors should be examined at regular intervals for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and mental and neurological diseases.
Medical diagnoses are subject to confidentiality
Many people shy away from going to the doctor because they are afraid of losing their driver’s license. But doctors are subject to confidentiality. They are not allowed to report their diagnoses to the authorities. They are only allowed to inform the police if there is imminent danger. However, for certain illnesses, doctors can issue a legally binding driving ban. Particularly in the context of dementia, but also after a recent heart attack or epilepsy, you are not allowed to actively participate in road traffic.
Driving lessons, safety training and checks for seniors
Regardless of age, driving schools offer the opportunity to refresh your driving theory as well as to test your fitness and ability to drive. During a test drive in your own car, a driving instructor assesses your driving behavior. Here, too, there is no need to fear negative consequences if the assessment is not only positive. The driver may receive recommendations and information about what he or she should pay attention to. This can include correctly adjusting the car seat and rearview mirror.
Modern technologies such as optical or acoustic parking aids, parking assistants, reversing cameras, lane keeping assistants and electronic distance controls as well as larger rear-view mirrors not only simplify parking and the entire driving process, but also ensure greater safety. To check your driving ability in dangerous or extreme situations, ADAC, TÜV and Verkehrswacht offer driving safety training courses. The testing company Dekra offers mobility checks not only for seniors, the ADAC offers a driving fitness check for older people (for 95 euros or 75 euros for members).
Further information
So-called driving license tests for seniors are currently being discussed. The state traffic police rely on voluntary training. more
7 Min
The EU Commission suggests that seniors over 70 should check their fitness to drive. Accident researcher Siegfried Brockmann doesn’t go far enough. 7 mins
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NDR 1 Lower Saxony | Regional Hanover | May 11, 2023 | 07:30 am