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EU wants over 70s to prove they can still drive every five years (www.brusselstimes.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The European Union wants elderly people (70+) to undergo medical tests from now on to prove that they are still capable of driving a car every five years. However, the proposal has been met with a lot of criticism.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I agree, especially since medical tests won’t show the driver slowing down as they enter a roundabout or taking a full minute to shift lanes or positioning themselves so they can’t even look in the rearview mirror.

A ton of driving is about behaviors and tendencies. A driver that has no awareness of other drivers is a dangerous driver, regardless of how good their heart, eyes, or reaction time. Dementia obviously affects this, but you can get a clean bill of health from your doctor and then drive off home in the left lane at 5 below the speed limit because other people are just going too damn fast.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Yep, well said :)

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

drive off home in the left lane at 5 below the speed limit because other people are just going too damn fast.

You do realize that the speed limit is an actual maximum speed, not a recommended speed?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Speed limits are meaningless when the flow of traffic is faster than that. A sign on the side of the road isn't going to keep the large swaths of people from going the speed they feel comfortable at. A comfortable driver is generally a safe driver.

And when someone is obstructing that flow, you end up with more dangerous driving conditions than even someone going faster than the flow. Those people are why traffic slowdowns and rubber-banding happen, which actually do cause accidents.

All that is not even to mention that speed limits are often arbitrary for the size of road and have not kept up with the safety capabilities of modern vehicles.