As of: February 28, 2024, 2:02 p.m
By: Andreas Schmid
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If you want to extend your driving license in the future, you will have to take a driving test according to the EU plan.
© Sina Schuldt/dpa
The EU agrees on new driving license rules.
However, one much-discussed aspect did not find a majority after criticism, particularly from Germany.
Because of this EU plan, a number of politicians took to the barricades: Anyone who wants to extend their driving license should take a mandatory health test in the future.
But this driving ability test is off the table.
The proposal did not find a majority in parliament on Wednesday.
Instead, individual member states should continue to decide on mandatory health tests for drivers.
This means that EU countries have the choice of whether to require driving license holders to undergo medical hearing and vision tests.
This is already the case in 14 countries, such as Belgium, Portugal and Italy.
Criticism of EU driving license plans: “This is unnecessary bureaucracy”
The health checks are causing criticism, especially among German MPs.
“This is unnecessary bureaucracy that does not lead to more road safety, but only promotes frustration with Europe,” says CDU politician Jens Gieseke when asked about
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
“This paternalism has to stop.
We need more pragmatism and courage for each individual to take personal responsibility.”
The transport policy spokesman for the FDP in the European Parliament, Jan Christoph Oetjen, was pleased with the vote in Strasbourg.
“The Greens’ control fantasies for our driver’s license did not find a majority today,” said Oetjen when asked.
In any case, it is “completely excessive to test millions of people across the board for their ability to drive”.
The rules are already very clear today.
“Anyone who suffers from a disabling illness must take a fitness test for a driving license.
This means that potential dangers to road traffic are minimized with the existing regulations.” There are mandatory tests, for example, for people with epilepsy or visual impairments.
The ADAC argued similarly, speaking of “disproportionate” regulations.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) also expressed criticism in advance.
“I consider government requirements to fill out mandatory self-disclosures and issue medical reports on fitness to drive to be an enormous amount of bureaucracy,” Wissing told the
Tagesspiegel
.
That is “not expedient”.
Green politician planned night driving ban
The responsible rapporteur in the Transport Committee, Karima Delli, initially demanded much more than health checks.
She had found a majority in favor of this in the EU Parliament's Transport Committee, but after cross-party criticism, the French Green MP had to say goodbye to several other proposals.
This involved, for example, a special category of driving licenses that should be introduced for heavy cars such as SUVs and the possibility that individual EU states could introduce night driving bans for young drivers.
The new requirements are intended to make road traffic safer and fewer people die in accidents.
According to EU figures, more than 20,000 people die on the roads in the European Union every year.
The number of traffic deaths is actually supposed to be halved by 2030 and reduced to almost zero by 2050.
However, the development does not currently look like this: after a significant decline during the corona pandemic, the number of deaths recently rose again.
The law is now going into consultations between the European Parliament and member states, which, however, can only begin after the European elections in June.
The members of the newly elected parliament then sit at the negotiating table.
(as with dpa)