The observation is edifying.
Every year in the countries of the European Union, road accidents cause nearly 20,000 deaths.
To move towards a goal of zero victims in 2050, Karima Delli, European environmentalist deputy, presented in September 2023 a bill aimed at establishing a medical examination every 15 years in order to renew the driving license.
On December 7, 2023, MEPs who are members of the Transport Committee of the European Parliament adopted this proposal by one vote to modify the current European driving license directive.
This text will be put to the vote on February 27 and 28.
If the text is adopted, France will have to apply it quickly.
Concretely, this medical examination must demonstrate the driver's ability to get behind the wheel through vision or hearing examinations.
It also involves testing the reflexes of motorists who will be given a medical certificate.
This certificate may be requested during police checks.
A proposal which irritates the associations defending motorists who have decided to launch a petition.
“40 million motorists” denounces a measure openly hostile to drivers, which intends to put an expiry date on the driving license of each user.
Furthermore, according to the association, the introduction of a medical examination for all is a provision which makes no sense in terms of road safety and whose consequences could be disastrous for users who would be arbitrarily deprived of their right. to driving.
Devices already exist
“This bill calls into question a fundamental principle: the driving license for life.
Today, (the latter) is essential on a daily basis for many citizens to meet their mobility needs, particularly in areas where public transport and cycling do not constitute suitable solutions,” launches the association in adding that “the driving license is a diploma, an acquired right which can and must only be called into question in the event of repeated non-compliance with the rules imposed by the Highway Code.
In this case, we lose the points which confer validity on the driving license, or the courts decide to cancel the license due to a particularly serious offense.”
According to Pierre Chasseray, general delegate of 40 million motorists, in all the countries where medical control has been introduced, “there has been no significant improvement in road safety”.
And for a simple reason: seniors who are most likely to have their license revoked “are the least involved in fatal accidents.
They are even the least responsible for accidents.”
The association recalls that systems already exist for situations requiring medical advice: the family of a driver who considers the continuation of dangerous driving can report it to the competent authority, special driving licenses (heavy goods vehicles , public transport, etc.) already require a periodic medical examination for renewal, the medical commissions for driving licenses impose medical and psychotechnical tests in order to check the abilities of motorists who commit certain particularly dangerous offenses (driving under the influence of alcohol). alcohol or narcotics) or who present certain pathologies which require monitoring over time.
And to conclude: “let's start by making existing procedures more effective for users who have a proven need, before requiring everyone to undergo medical examinations which will, for the majority of people, be useless and costly” .