Older drivers in France will not have to sit medical, says minister

Older drivers in France will not have to sit a medical exam in order to continue driving, the transport minister has confirmed.

Clément Beaune said he wanted to “cut short any rumours or false news” about the topic. He told Sud Radio: “We are not favourable to the idea of a licence being linked to age.”

It comes after a debate at the European Commission in which some MPs were calling for medical tests to be obligatory for drivers after a certain older age. A report suggested that extra tests - of medical conditions and/or driving skills - could be put in place for drivers aged 70 and over.

But Mr Beaune said that such a requirement could lead to the idea that some people have “a licence past their expiry date”.

He said: “France is opposed to there being an expiry date. When someone is elderly, especially in rural areas, they need their car. I have heard some worries [flying around], but we are not in the process of changing these rules.

“We are not asking for and France does not support the idea to impose any forms of constraints, walls, or an expiry date linked to age for driving licences.”

At least one area of France - Bas-Rhin (Grand Est) - is offering older people refresher driving courses. The courses are free to participants (paid for by the Bas-Rhin prefecture), and anyone who lives in the department can sign up via their local authority office. However these are voluntary only.

Older drivers can also put an ‘S’ sticker on their car to indicate that they are elderly. This is not mandatory, unlike the ‘A’ sticker for new drivers.

Some other countries in Europe do have mandatory age-related rules in place nationwide.

In the Netherlands, drivers over 75 must take a sight, hearing, and reflex test every five years to keep their licence. In Ireland, drivers over 75 undergo an annual medical examination to continue driving if needed, otherwise the licence is renewable every three years.

Read also: Should older drivers in France be required to take a medical test?

‘Staggering and appalling’

The daughter of a man who was killed by an 81-year-old driver has said she is ‘staggered’ by Mr Beaune’s announcement.

Sévérine spoke to BFMTV soon after the minister’s interview, calling his stance “incredible, staggering, appalling”.

Her father was killed by an elderly driver in Saint-Malo last July, three months after the same driver had killed another pedestrian in almost the same spot. Despite this, the 81-year-old’s driving licence had not been revoked by the police or the justice system.

Sévérine’s 13-year-old daughter was also injured in the accident.

Sévérine accused Mr Beaune of having his “head in the sand” and refusing to “see the problem that is happening in France”.

She said: “It's not a question of stigmatising the elderly and cutting people off from their vehicles if they are capable of using them, but of prevention. The current situation is incredibly absurd and unsustainable.”

Sévérine said that better testing for elderly people “could have avoided” what happened to her father. She also said she had spoken to many people “who tell me that their dad can no longer drive properly, that no-one is doing anything, and they are afraid that an accident will happen”.

She called for authorities to reconsider their stance.

“When there are deaths, they are not just ruining two people’s lives,” she said. “You’re ruining entire families.”

She also claimed that the inquiry launched after her father’s death is currently experiencing “radio silence”.

The public prosecutor's office in Saint-Malo has opened an investigation into manslaughter, and the charge of failing to give way to a pedestrian. The 81-year-old driver is currently under judicial supervision. This time his licence has been confiscated and he has been banned from driving.

Elderly ‘not cause of most accidents’

It comes after France debated the topic in April this year after a 76-year-old driver ploughed into a group of people during a festival in Berck (Pas-de-Calais). He had reportedly confused the brake and accelerator.

A dozen people were hurt in the incident, including a woman who was left with life-threatening injuries.

Statistics do not support the idea that elderly drivers cause the majority of accidents. Annual figures show around 10% of accidents on French roads involve someone over the age of 65, but more than double that – over 20% - involve a young driver between the ages of 18 and 24.

Only around 25% of driver fatalities are attributed to the elderly. La Société Française de Gériatrie et Gérontologie said that alcohol and speeding cause far more accidents and deaths than elderly drivers, who drive less, cover shorter distances and use more familiar routes.

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