In Spain, the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) does not set an age to stop driving. Getting older is not a reason to give up driving, but as the years go by it is obvious that health problems and limitations of all kinds, physical and mental, increase. So, at some point, not only for your own safety, but also for that of others, you will have to quit without waiting for an accident. According to data handled by Cleverea, an online insurance company for cars and motorcycles, in Spain there are a million people who drive between the ages of 65 and 69, approximately 700,000 between 70 and 75 years old and about 500,000 who continue to drive with more than 76.
The class B permit, to drive cars, must be renewed every 10 years until the 65 and every 5 thereafter. But if the driver recognition center considers that it should expire sooner, it can mark an annual review, for example. For some diseases, these authorized centers are obliged to require a medical certificate or a report before processing the renewal of the card.
This is how it is when suffering from cardiac ailments that have required surgery or not, vascular, neurological, respiratory, digestive, oncological, chronic degenerative diseases, diabetes, etc. That is to say, when you suffer from any of these problems, no matter how old you are, you may not be in a position to get behind the wheel.
No matter how veteran you are, years take their toll on driving skills. Many drivers have been licensed for more than half a century, but experience cannot make up for the relentless deterioration of age. Cleverea experts show what are the obvious signs that you have to quit:
–There are people who ask me: Rude drivers exist, but if you get the feeling that their number is suddenly increasing, you may be doing something wrong.
–I get lost even on familiar paths: Young people are also lost, but in older ages it is more frequent and it can be a symptom of the beginning of a cognitive deterioration that has not yet been diagnosed. A good navigator does not always solve the problem, because over the years it becomes more difficult to look at the screen and the road at the same time.
–I’ve had mishaps lately: Not necessarily major bumps, but small scratches, light bumps, or I’ve been close, quite often…
–Pedestrians or cyclists appear as if from nowhere: When these scares are repeated, braking increases and the occasions in which you have to apologize at zebra crossings is a symptom of lack of reflexes and loss of lateral vision.
–I get out of lane sometimes: The effort of concentration can be such that, frequently, it causes fatigue and makes it difficult to circulate properly.
–It stresses me to join a roundabout: Actions as common as taking a roundabout, leaving it at the right time, joining the main road from an acceleration lane, taking a detour… can start to be very stressful.
–Someone nearby complains about our driving: If our relatives, partners, or our friends begin to express tension due to our driving or act as if they were braking from the passenger seat…, we may not be as good drivers as we used to be.
–I get distracted while driving: Realizing that we are going too slowly or too fast, missing detours, braking at the last moment… indicates distracted driving.
–Others realize before me: While driving, we always find out a little later than the others that an emergency vehicle is coming asking for a way, that we have done something wrong, that there is something invading the road, of what it says on the traffic signs. ..
–I have a hard time making some moves: Some people find it difficult to move their foot between the brake and accelerator, or neck pain when turning their head to park, or hand strain when gripping the steering wheel securely.
–I don’t want to drive at night: No one sees the same at night as during the day, but if night vision becomes a serious problem for driving safely, don’t take any chances.
–I have been given several fines: This can also happen to anyone, but if it coincides with the loss of reflexes and that we have accumulated more ‘parts’ than normal, it is worth thinking about it.