The EU wants to tighten the rules for driving. According to the plans from Brussels, seniors over 70 must regularly prove that they are still fit to participate in traffic.
One of the main reasons for tightening the rules is the vision of no more road deaths in the EU by 2050. That number should be halved by 2030. A very ambitious goal, especially when you look at the current figures. In 2022, 20,600 people lost their lives on European roads. That’s an increase from the two pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, when fewer than 20,000 people died.
Other driving license requirements
To achieve this goal, the EU is now planning a major reform of the driving license, which should, among other things, improve road safety. One of the requirements is that in the future the driving skills of drivers over the age of 70 will be checked every five years. In the Netherlands, a medical examination is now compulsory from the age of 75, but in many neighboring countries drivers still receive a driving license for life. They are therefore expected to determine for themselves when it becomes unsafe to go on the road.
Expanded minimum medical requirements
According to the European Commission’s draft law, driving licenses will be valid for 15 years throughout the EU in the near future, instead of 10 years now. In addition, driving licenses must become digital, so that renewal can also be handled online. However, the 15-year validity period should not apply to motorists aged 70 and over. They will then only receive driving licenses that are valid for five years. This should make it possible to regularly check the fitness of seniors to drive.
The minimum medical requirements that a person must meet in order to obtain or renew a driver’s license are also being expanded enormously. It is not known exactly when the EU intends to introduce the new requirements.
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