28% of fatalities on Spanish roads in 2019 were people over 65 years of age
The figure “will worsen” due to aging
When does your driving license? The most likely thing is that you have to put your hand to the wallet and see what date it puts in the document before answering. The validity period of the permit is 10 years, hence we do not worry about when it is time to issue it again.
However, and although In Spain there is no age limit to continue drivingpeople people over 65 have to be more attentive than the restsince the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) forces them to pass more checks to continue driving on Spanish roads with the aim of mitigating fatalities behind the wheel.
In Spain there are currently more than 27 million drivers, of which 5.2 million are over 65 years of ageaccording to the DGT Census of 2021 drivers. If you have just turned that age, the date is approaching or you are already part of this interest group, you are interested in knowing when your driving license expires. Because the period of validity changes: from that age, the renewal is every five years.
It is not worth asking for a duplicate of the card, but You have to redo all the procedures, psychometric test included. In addition, the law takes into account whether the person concerned suffers from any physical ailment or significant illness. Yes that’s how it is, The validity of the permit can only be two years.
The reason for the change is that the increase in life expectancy has translated into an increase in the number of older drivers on the roads. “30% of those killed in traffic accidents in the European Union are over 65 years of age,” María José Aparicio, deputy director of Road Education and Training at the DGT, warned in January.
“The figures can be aggravated by aging”
In Spain they supposed 28% of fatalities in 2019, added Aparicio. “The figures are going to aggravated by the aging of the population if we do nothing”warned the deputy director of the DGT.
With the modification of the law, the autonomous body requires that physical medical tests be carried out and approved for older drivers, since the only way to verify that they continue to maintain the necessary skills to drive without being a danger, both for themselves and for other drivers.
Health problems that can reduce the validity of the card
Having a birthday entails a series of effects that can be negative for driving on the road. These are the risks that the DGT intends to avoid and that may mean a reduction in the renewal periods of the card up to two years:
Stiffness in muscles and joints.
decrease in reflexes.
vision difficultiesespecially when driving at night.
problems of hearing.
complications for Divide attention among various tasks.
Trouble drive through unfamiliar areascongested or in any situation that generates stress.
Greater propensity to fatigue.
Difficulty Quickly read the signs and comply with the signs.
Problems when driving adverse weather situations.
diseases will be the same
The DGT assures that a possible reduction in the years of validity of the permit It will not be given by the diseases stipulated as causes of non-renewal, which are:
cardiac: arrhythmias, pacemaker intervention and acute myocardial infarction.
respiratory: sleep apnea or permanent dyspnea.
Chronicles: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and others similar.
some conditions degenerative, vascular, oncological and endocrine.
Disorders psychiatric patients in severe phase: depression, personality or sleep disorder, ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, among others.
problems of vision.
Diseases neurological such as loss of consciousness, ischemia and epilepsy.
How to renew driving license
The renewal of the driver’s license is processed in a Medical Recognition Center authorized by the DGT, that subjects the interested party to a psychotechnical examination. Also take pictures of drivers. Still, they charge an amount for the medical examination and for the traffic fee. There is an exception: those over 70 are exempt from paying this last amount.
Once the process is done, and as long as the psychotechnical test is passeda provisional permit is issued with which you can circulate until the final one is issued, which It is sent by post within a maximum period of six weeks.