Antonino Galofaro (correspondent in Milan) // Photo credit: Magali Cohen / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP 9:07 a.m., February 19, 2024

To reduce road deaths, should we introduce a medical examination for older motorists? An idea that MEPs adopted. In Italy, the measure has already been applied since 2010. Vision, reflexes, medical problems... Everything is scrutinized by doctors during each visit which takes place every five years from the age of 70.

Should we put an end to the driving license for life? This is the opinion of MEPs who are due to meet soon to vote on a compulsory medical examination every 15 years. This text, adopted in committee last December, could quickly come into force very soon. Stated objective: reduce the number of deaths on the roads. And if certain associations defending motorists are opposed to it in France, in the rest of the European Union, countries have already adopted the initiative.

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“They consult my cardiologist’s documents”

In Italy, license renewal is largely anchored in the habits of motorists. On the other side of the Alps, a medical examination is compulsory every ten years for driving license holders over the age of 50. And from the 70th birthday, the visit increases to once every five years. In the streets of Milan, Dario, 98 years old, fulfills his niche. The maneuver is slow, but perfect. His driving license expires this summer. He has therefore already made an appointment for a medical examination.

“They control everything!”, underlines the retiree at the microphone of Europe 1. “They consult the documents from my cardiologist, then they ask me questions. But it is above all the sight that they control and the colors. Until To this day, my license has always been renewed,” he emphasizes. 

Controls that reassure

It is the doctors of the Lombardy public health service who will judge whether Dario is still fit to drive, after this visit, for which he will have paid around fifty euros. But these checks reassure the nonagenarian. "After a certain age, these visits are really necessary, even if it would be better to stop driving. But I need them, like now, to go to mass. My legs are weak. So it's practical to drive,” concludes Dario. 

Since this measure was implemented in 2010, the number of road accidents fell by 1.9%. The decrease remained constant until last year.