Greens want to sentence seniors to driving lessons

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Anyone over the age of 75 who holds a driver’s license in Switzerland must undergo a medical examination every two years. The GP will provide insight into whether the minimum requirements are met in order to be able to continue driving the car. This should contribute to road safety.

Last November, however, the Accident Prevention Advisory Center (BfU) came to the conclusion that the regular checks are practically pointless. Senior citizens in Switzerland cause about the same number of serious road accidents as in Germany or Austria, where there is no such obligation.

«Regular driving lessons conceivable»

Civic politicians would like to abolish senior citizens’ checks. Green alderman Marionna Schlatter (42) comes to completely different conclusions. She doesn’t just want to keep the medical checks. The Bundesrat should also examine the introduction of practice tests. “Regular driving lessons by specially trained driving instructors are conceivable,” says Schlatter.

Schlatter refers to experiences from abroad. A study from Japan concludes that mandatory driving tests among seniors lead to fewer car accidents. After mandatory cognitive screening tests for older drivers were introduced there, the number of crashes among male drivers fell steadily. For female drivers, the relationship was less clear.

For Schlatter, we cannot close our eyes to the fact that the risk of road accidents increases with age. Limitations such as visual impairment or brain disorders, for example, are increasing sharply. Estimating distances and speeds is becoming increasingly difficult.

“Just another ageism”

The question is not well received by the civil side. For middle group leader Philipp Matthias Bregy (44), Schlatter is not about increasing road safety, “but about reducing the attractiveness of driving”. The goal behind that and similar initiatives, such as advertising slow traffic after 30 km/h when purchasing a car or extra barriers when purchasing a driver’s license, is always the same: to reduce motorized private transport.

SVP National Council member Benjamin Giezendanner (40) can also do little with Schlatter’s advance. “If a test doesn’t work, grab some more, you typical leftists!”, he criticizes. “But you don’t solve the problem with extra practice tests by driving instructors,” he says. “It’s just another age discrimination.”

Source:Blick