As of: March 12, 2024, 2:15 p.m
By: Kathrin Reikowski
Comments
Press
Split
A police officer kneels on a stroller at the scene of an accident on Leipziger Strasse.
A mother and a child died in the serious accident in Berlin-Mitte.
© picture alliance/dpa |
Christophe Gateau
The traffic accident in Berlin-Mitte, in which a mother and her four-year-old son died, is the reason for a new debate about driving tests for seniors.
Berlin - The Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag is putting the issue of driving tests for seniors back on the agenda: "After novice drivers, old people are the most likely to cause accidents - per kilometer driven - and this despite their many years of driving experience," said Stefan Gelbhaar, the transport policy spokesman Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag, the editorial network Germany (RND) on Tuesday.
“Many people have driven for decades without an accident,” says Gelbhaar, “but with age, their eyesight, hearing and ability to react slowly deteriorate.” Regular tests are therefore useful.
The majority of Germans could be comfortable with such a test for pensioners of a certain age.
In a Verivox survey, 76 percent of respondents voted for mandatory testing.
A total of 56 percent of 70 to 79 year olds were in favor of such a mandatory check.
The sad reason for the renewed debate is the death of two people in Berlin: At the weekend, a mother and her four-year-old son were hit by an 83-year-old.
They died as a result of the accident.
Compulsory testing for pensioners and seniors: Association stands up against general suspicion and “bans”
According to RND,
the chairwoman of the Federal Association of Senior Citizens' Organizations (BAGSO), Regina Görner,
speaks out against this .
Scientific studies have shown that age-dependent tests of fitness to drive in other European countries, such as Switzerland, have not had a positive effect on road safety.
She is against a “general suspicion” and rather for individual solutions.
A Japanese study, on the other hand, had already shown a decrease in the number of accidents after the introduction of mandatory tests.
The EU is working on driving license reform and presented new guidelines in March 2023.
That caused massive criticism.
In November the EU plans changed again.
Many older people fear exclusion and isolation if they are no longer allowed to drive.
This was shown by reactions to the EU plans.
“I'm 57. Then I'm excluded at 70,” wrote users on
SPD and FDP with an alternative to the Green proposal
Transport politicians from the SPD and FDP rejected the initiative, but called on pensioners to take more voluntary driving tests.
The SPD transport politician Mathias Stein told the RND newspapers that he advocated that “all road users complete voluntary feedback trips at regular intervals, because misconduct in road traffic is not a question of age”.
However, changes to the law are unnecessary because “restrictions on their car journeys can already be imposed on people of all ages who are not fully fit to drive due to physical limitations,” said Stein.
“We therefore reject age-related additional obligations.” Saxony-Anhalt’s Transport Minister Lydia Hüskens (FDP) is also pushing for more voluntary tests.
“Such reviews must not fail because of the price,” she told the RND.
“They have to be affordable for everyone.
We should work towards that.” (dpa/kat)