Older drivers cause growing number of accidents in Switzerland
Swiss retirees are committing more and more traffic offences, according to the Sunday press.
In 2018, 1,802 convictions were handed down against people over 70 years of age, twice as many as in 2008, according to the Swiss Council for Accident PreventionExternal link (bfu), cited by Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung.
License withdrawals are also on the rise. The licenses of 7,446 seniors were revoked in 2018, twice as many compared to a decade earlier.
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The Federal Roads Office reports that 315 accidents with serious injuries or deaths involved drivers over 70 years of age in 2018.
By comparison, young drivers in the 18 to 24 age group caused 238 such accidents in the same time frame.
In relative terms, the proportion of young drivers causing serious accidents remains higher than older drivers (3.6 versus 2.7 per 10,000 inhabitants).
In Switzerland, drivers over the age of 75 are bound to undergo a medical test to determine their roadworthiness.
Practices vary in Europe when it comes to licensing older drivers. More details available here.External link
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