Danger on the roads. About 200,000 drivers are over 70 years old “The car turns into a weapon if I can no longer control it”

A woman from Târgu Jiu needs a metal frame to move but was caught while getting behind the wheel. Doctors say the woman may no longer have as good reflexes.

“Patients no longer have the same ability to see, the same visual performance as when they were young. The same thing happens on the musculoskeletal system, on the nervous system, and then somehow we understand why everything happens more slowly”, says Dr. Daciana Toma.

The legislation in the field does not stipulate a maximum age limit for holding a driving license. The carnet must be renewed once every 10 years. The medical reevaluation is also done then.

“The system has many shortcomings. Because, if you have to do the medical check, the medical record, once every 10 years, it’s possible that a year after you’ve done this medical record, you’ll have a medical problem”, says Titi Aur, specialist in defensive driving .

Moreover, these medical reassessments are not always done as they should be.

The police from Bucharest and Ilfov discovered 3 private clinics that issued medical records necessary for the renewal of the driver’s license without checking the patient. The whole process took less than 10 minutes.

Although the police officers note that some drivers should not drive, they can take no action except on the basis of a medical document issued by a specialist.

“It is clear that the traffic police meet the drivers in traffic and find that they cannot see well, they try to sign the report and they get very close to him without wearing glasses. There are many medical conditions to which we do not have access, but family doctors do,” says Cosmin Andreica, president of the Europol union.

“We have a general system, education, understanding problem. To understand the danger we expose ourselves to when we drive. The car is a weapon or it turns into a weapon if I can no longer control it”, said Titi Aur.

The European Commission has proposed changing the legislation regarding the granting of driving licenses. It is proposed to increase the period of validity of the carnet to 15 years. However, people over the age of 70 would receive a driver’s license valid for only a few years to encourage periodic medical reevaluation, according to CNN Antena3.