The European Parliament voted in Strasbourg today, Wednesday, for a draft from the EU Commission on new driving license regulations. However, regular health checks for driving license holders, especially senior citizens, should not be required. The EU member states should be able to determine this themselves. The proposal is expected to go into trilogue negotiations with the EU Council after the European elections in June.
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The draft being voted on stipulated that drivers aged 70 and over would have to prove their driving ability every five years and younger motorcycle and truck drivers every 15 years, for example by assessing this themselves or through hearing and vision tests. Regarding the decision now made against the tests, the EU Parliament said that older road users should not be discriminated against.
In Germany there are currently no mandatory checks for older drivers, unlike in Italy or Spain, for example. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) spoke out against such a provision last year, and other EU states are also against compulsory tests. Wissing argued that there were no significantly high numbers of accidents in this age group, so it was a disproportionate measure. Resistance also came from the Union and the SPD.
Driving license on mobile phone
The new driving license regulations also provide for the introduction of a digital driving license that will be valid throughout the EU. It should be based on the European Digital Identity Wallets project and can be stored digitally, for example on a smartphone. However, it should still be available as a card.
The EU Commission argued a year ago when it presented its proposals for new driving license regulations that more than 20,000 people would die in European road traffic in 2022. The majority of those who died were traveling on foot, by bike, scooter or motorbike.
Young people should therefore be better prepared for sharing traffic space with “vulnerable users”. They should be able to take their driving test at the age of 17, and during the training they should also be trained and tested on how to use phones safely while driving, what dangers arise from snow and slippery roads, what risks exist from blind spots, and how to use driver assistance systems and how driving a car affects the environment. Driving ability should also be assessed more specifically, taking into account advances in the medical treatment of diseases such as diabetes.
Truck driving license at 17
17-year-olds should also be able to get a truck driver’s license; you must be accompanied in traffic by an experienced driver. This and other provisions are intended to address the shortage of professional drivers in the EU. 18-year-olds should be allowed to drive a truck or bus with up to 16 passengers if they have a professional license.
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The regulations that previously differed in EU member states should be standardized overall. This applies, for example, to the driving test at 17, then the young car drivers should gain their first experience in “accompanied driving” and with a stricter alcohol limit. There should not be an EU-wide tractor driving license, explained French MEP and chairwoman of the Transport Committee Karima Delli from the Greens/EFA group. She said that rarely has a project been attacked in advance by fake news offensives, especially by politicians on the right-wing fringe.
In February of this year, the European Parliament voted that traffic offenders whose driving licenses were revoked in their country should also be subject to a driving ban in other EU countries.
(anw)
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