Disabled people can drive without annual physical examination. Why do holders of long-term driving licenses after the age of 70 still need annual physical examination? Shouldn’t the protection of life

Disabled people can drive, and there are almost no special restrictions. Unless they have obvious motor impairments, can see clearly, and have no physical problems, they can basically get a certificate. Strangely, it is now mentioned that those holding a long-term driving license after the age of 70 are required to have annual physical examinations. I have never understood this thing: on the one hand, normal traffic regulations do not make much distinction between the physical conditions of different age groups. Those over 70 years old must have annual physical examinations, which is in direct conflict with the standards of young people or soldiers - this is obviously copying the requirements of young adults.

Why does this make me wonder: Do you think the physical condition of the elderly must be poor? In fact, many elderly people are in good health and can even run faster than some young people. Especially in terms of eyesight, many elderly people wear reading glasses and can see traffic lights without any problem. I once looked through several files and found that drivers over 65 years old can get a free physical examination. How can they be said to be in poor health? I thought to myself, these days, we no longer rely on instrument testing, but rely on personal feelings and daily self-awareness. Even if your eyesight is reduced, it may not affect basic driving.

Disabled people can drive, and there are almost no special restrictions. Unless they have obvious motor impairments, can see clearly, and have no physical problems, they can basically get a certificate. Strangely, it is now mentioned that those holding a long-term driving license after the age of 70 are required to have annual physical examinations. I have never understood this thing: on the one hand, normal traffic regulations do not make much distinction between the physical conditions of different age groups. Those over 70 years old must have annual physical examinations, which is in direct conflict with the standards of young people or soldiers - this is obviously copying the requirements of young adults.

Why does this make me wonder: Do you think the physical condition of the elderly must be poor? In fact, many elderly people are in good health and can even run faster than some young people. Especially in terms of eyesight, many elderly people wear reading glasses and can see traffic lights without any problem. I once looked through several files and found that drivers over 65 years old can get a free physical examination. How can they be said to be in poor health? I thought to myself, these days, we no longer rely on instrument testing, but rely on personal feelings and daily self-awareness. Even if your eyesight is reduced, it may not affect basic driving.

I think the purpose of this physical examination is besides ensuring safety. But in fact, many young drivers don’t need annual physical examinations to drive? For example, college students drive newly purchased cars without any regular physical examinations, but they are no safer than the elderly. This made me think: Have we really reached a point where we are worried to the extreme? Must this threshold be set for the elderly?

Having said that, physical examinations are helpful in detecting early-stage diseases—but the question is, are physical examinations useful? Most of the physical examination reports are actually scary. They mainly make people think: you have to look at the results every year, otherwise it is not safe. In fact, the body's self-perception is more reliable than any instrument. Many old people say: I think my health is fine, and my eyesight is fine. As you can imagine, it is difficult to define safety based on physical examination results.

I just looked through my notes and found that you can indeed continue to drive with a driver's license after the age of 70, but you still need to have a physical examination every year. Is the foundation of this system security or control? I guessed (I didn’t think it through) that on the one hand, I was worried that something might happen to the old man suddenly, and on the other hand, it was convenient for management. But from the perspective of personal freedom, is the country too worried? You said that life safety is of course important, but don’t you have to trust the elderly a little, or give them some autonomy?

One more thing: Many people say that even if the elderly are in good health, they may suddenly suffer from sudden illness, such as stroke or heart disease. Who is responsible? That's like buying insurance when driving, you're assuming the risk yourself. Others can't watch the old man driving with him every day. Most insurance companies will increase prices or deny coverage only if there are conditions and a bad driving history. This shows that if I can choose to take responsibility, don’t deprive me of my freedom too much.

You said: Why not set some scientific and reasonable driving conditions for people with high education and poor eyesight? For example: self-examination is required before long-term driving, or some high-risk groups must undergo remote monitoring (press this paragraph for now), instead of assuming that if I am 70 years old and have annual physical examinations, I must be safe. Because I know some colleagues complain: It’s so troublesome to go to the hospital for physical examination every year. Especially in the past few years, there have been many physical examination institutions, but no real preventive effect can be achieved.

In fact, eliminating annual physical exams can reduce some of the false sense of security. My own guess (without careful verification) is that many physical examinations are just a formality and have no substantive effect. Moreover, psychologically, the elderly cannot accept being monitored by you all the time and feel it is unnecessary. A friend of mine’s grandmother is in her 70s and rides a tricycle to the vegetable market to buy groceries. Her vision is a little blurry, but she is in excellent spirits and can drive by herself for several years without any problem. We all feel that her physical condition is more stable than that of many young drivers.

Here comes the problem. Why doesn’t the government consider abolishing this annual physical examination requirement? After all, as I said, the basic physical conditions of people over 65 have been confirmed by big data and life experience: most people can still cope with ordinary driving. Another point, are statistics really so many accidents caused by older drivers? I checked some data and there doesn't seem to be a significant increase. The efficiency of this annual physical examination is really questionable.

If we really want to ensure safety, is it enough to just focus on testing? Driving safety, in addition to hardware conditions, is also related to human nature, experience, traffic environment, etc. Wouldn't that be a bit much if you had to put all the blame on age? I think it is more reasonable to have a certain self-monitoring mechanism. For example, if daily performance is not good, family members may quit for a period of time in advance, or do some simple self-examinations.

Some people may ask: But what if there is a sudden illness? I think - (I haven't figured out how to say this yet)... there are many unexpected situations that are difficult to predict. We should encourage the elderly to maintain a positive attitude and enhance their ability to identify themselves, instead of restricting them with annual inspections.

A little digression: I just flipped through the photo album and remembered a photo of my dad riding a motorcycle. 40 years ago, it drove very smoothly. Nowadays, he still occasionally mentions: That car back then was my favorite. Isn’t it possible that if there was no need for physical examination in the past, life would not be worse than it is now?

Disabled people do not need annual inspections to drive and are not subject to many restrictions. As long as their health is acceptable, they can still judge their own safety. Why do seniors have to be monitored every year? Isn't this invisible discrimination? I’m afraid after hearing this, many of my friends will say: Don’t pressurize the elderly, let them be more comfortable. After all, someone will get older, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily unsafe.

In this way, what do you think: What adjustments should be made next? Should we let them have the final say independently, or should we continue to use the system to suppress the elderly? I don’t think there is a single answer to this question, but I still hope: we worry less and trust more. Or, even if you just think about it in your heart: My old man is quite stable when driving, maybe he is not that dangerous...

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