DRIVER’S LICENSE RULES: There are approximately 60,000 people over 80 who drive a car in Norway. Photo: dszc/iSTOCK
Elderly and driver’s license:
After many discussions and a long political process, it has been established that at the age of 80 you must have a health certificate to renew your driving licence. But you don’t need the controversial cognitive test unless your doctor suspects an incipient impairment.
“I wonder if Motor can write something about renewing a driver’s license and health certificate at the age of eighty.”
Writes one of NAF’s members. She finds it confusing that you have to submit a health certificate when you are 80 years old, despite the fact that she submitted a new health certificate in 2021, and received a driving license valid for three years – i.e. until 2024. She has not been able to find out whether she could keep her old driver’s license, or have to renew it.
This case was first published in the magazine Motor, issue 2/2023.
And in the letter she receives from the National Roads Administration together with the new driver’s licence, it says, among other things, that you must always submit a health certificate at the age of 80.
– This is clumsily worded, says Marianne Søhagen, senior adviser for traffic safety at NAF.
BEHIND THE WHEEL: Marianne Søhagen is a senior advisor for traffic safety at NAF. Photo: TOMM W. CHRISTIANSEN
Senior adviser Jørgen Melbye Ingebrigtsen in the Norwegian Road Administration agrees that it is a bit challenging to communicate this clearly, but that there is a requirement for a certificate at the age of 80 – as long as you have not renewed before the age of 80 – with validity beyond the age of 80.
Unclear with cognitive test
The answer to the “riddle” is that the woman who thought this was unclear – and who was told by the National Roads Administration that she could keep her old driving license until the expiry date, falls between two provisions.
Because last year, Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård determined that the requirement for a health certificate will be maintained, but that there should be a limit of 80 years (which was moved from 75 years in 2019) – and the cognitive test should only be used when there is a suspicion of cognitive failure.
– What is a cognitive test?
– A cognitive test is a test that tells us something about our thinking and how we acquire knowledge. It is used to detect incipient dementia, which is difficult for the individual to detect themselves, says Marianne Søhagen.
Have you read these cases?
60 000 over 80
There are around 60,000 people over the age of 80 in Norway today who drive a car. With the wave of older people, there will be far more.
Losing your driving license can be a difficult issue because for many elderly people (and others affected by illness) the driving license is of great importance for the quality of life, while at the same time it is important to ensure the safety of everyone who drives and travels along the road.
The discussion around mandatory health certificates for elderly people who want to renew their driving license has wavered back and forth for years. A majority in the Storting originally decided that it should be scrapped as compulsory with age as the only criterion, and the Labor Party supported this. But the implementation of the decision was postponed, and the then transport minister Knut Arild Hareide left the matter to the new government and a new committee.
So last year, the decision came from the Labor Party minister, after professional input from the Directorate of Health and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, that the limit of 80 years from 2019 be retained, while at the same time the ministry and the minister specify that cognitive tests should only be used if cognitive impairment is suspected.
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Difficult concept
Cognitive impairment is a difficult term, and contains a number of factors. Some of the factors can be clarified with a driving assessment at the road authorities, others are incompatible with continuing to sit behind the wheel.
– Typical cognitive characteristics that are relevant for driving and weaken with age are, for example, reaction ability, the ability to make quick decisions (decisiveness), perception of space and direction and an overview in complex traffic situations, Søhagen explains.
Driving assessments are a helpful tool for clarifying the health of older drivers, linked to driving licences.
– Figures from the Norwegian Road Administration show that in 2021 there were 338 candidates for driving assessments aged 80-100, and the most assessments were made in the 80-84 age group with 215 candidates, says Søhagen.
In this group, 47 per cent of the candidates passed, while in the age group 90-94 it had fallen to 30 per cent.
On the human level, it can be an unfortunate effect – regardless of how the cognitive tests are used – that the use of cognitive tests can be a strain on the doctor-patient relationship, and that there is no attempt to catch elderly people who make repeated attempts to obtain a health certificate after refusal, for example by changing GPs.
But there is broad agreement among GPs that the health certificate scheme contributes to many catching people who pose a danger in traffic, and who would otherwise not be caught. This is shown by a survey from the Institute of Transport Economics.
The most common reason
– At the same time, it can probably be challenging to get the assessments completely fair. I recently read in the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association where the question was raised as to whether one limit value fits all. There is also disagreement about this among professionals and the tests are carried out differently, says Søhagen.
In any case, cognitive impairment is the most common reason why older people are not allowed to keep their driving licence. But it is not only doctors who can report conditions that cause elderly people to lose their driving licence, so can opticians and psychologists, although this is far less common.
Marianne Søhagen reminds that it is important to have a safety culture that encourages older drivers to be honest with themselves and others about their ability to drive. It can also help to change attitudes and increase awareness that road safety is a collective task.
A few complain
If it is the opinion of a doctor, optician or psychologist that the patient’s state of health will not change within six months, this message is sent to state administrators (formerly county governors) who will assess this. The message then goes to the police, where necessary, who revoke the driving licence.
If you lose the note, you will receive a verbal notification then and there from your doctor. As long as the health requirement is not met, you are not allowed to drive a car.
At the state administrator in Oslo and Viken, Acting Head of Section in the Health Department, Une Borg Kjølseth, states that you can complain.
– After the police have made their decision, you can complain about this.
– How many complaints?
– There are a small number of people over the age of 80 who complain, but we do not have specific figures on this.
Codes on driving licences
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration states that a driver’s license can have codes that give rights or restrictions. There are a total of 160 codes.
It may be that the driver in question has, for example, a hearing aid or has undergone vision correction. Other codes may be that you can only drive in daylight, or within a limited radius, such as from the person’s home to the nearest centre.
– Why are these codes no longer used?
– These codes are generally of little use for drivers of all ages. This is related to the fact that they are only intended for very special cases, where the person in question does not meet the health requirements in the vehicle regulations. When the health requirements are not met, it is traffic safety considerations that decide, and this helps to limit the spread of such codes, says Jørgen Melbye Ingebrigtsen.
Digital news
The health requirements have been adapted to the EU’s driving license directive, where road safety is given crucial importance.
In May, news came from the Norwegian Directorate of Health about simpler procedures. Several of the country’s 4,900 GPs can now ensure that your health certificate is easily sent digitally to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and you can renew your driving license digitally on your page. If your doctor is not able to do this, or if you wish, you can do so by turning up at the traffic station (it is recommended to make an appointment) or send it in the post.
It can take up to a week before it is registered, states the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. You will receive a confirmation by SMS and e-mail when it is registered. Validity is set from the date the certificate was issued.
2023-07-30 04:48:47
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