MEPs are discussing whether or not to require drivers to undertake medical examinations in order to maintain their driving privileges within the EU, reports RTE.
Even though this is already the situation in over half of the EU’s member states, the idea has provoked fury in France, the second-biggest economy in the EU.
Approximately 160,000 individuals are badly hurt and over 20,000 people die on EU roads each year.
Some members of the European Parliament think that altering the regulations will help bring those numbers down and increase road safety throughout the 27-member EU, reports RTE.
MEPs suggest that drivers of cars, motorcycles, and tractors should have a medical examination every fifteen years, while drivers of buses and trucks should visit a physician every five years.
Karima Delli, a Green MEP, stated that the medical exams will be “free” and “simple” and that the measure “is not intended to annoy”.
Doctors would examine ‘drivers’ sight, hearing and reflexes’, she clarified, adding that everyone would be affected by the legislation as soon as they obtained a licence, not only the elderly, reports RTE.
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