Driving in France

I recommend she exchanges her licence, she then has the choice whether to drive or not.

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Thats what I’m worried about :roll_eyes:

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Oo bit harsh … :slightly_smiling_face:

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Indeed, so I think it is worthy of mention, particularly for older people (which is where this thread started) that the list of declarable medical conditions in France is quite extensive.
Annexe 1 of the Arrêté du 28 mars 2022 is the authority on this matter, and one will see that it covers such things as cardiac problems, vision difficulties, high blood pressure, diabetes, hearing deficiency, balance problems, sleep problems such as sleep apnea, alcohol and drug misuse, neurological and neuropathie problems , Alzheimar’s disease, and stiffness in an upper limb, hip, or knee to name but a few.
Therefore, for people over 70, it is quite likely that they may well need to undergo a medical evaluation in order to obtain a French driving licence.

I fully understand that many people will fail to make the declaration on the grounds of “Oh, I’ll be alright”, but failing to make the declaration will constitute a false application, and that in turn can make a good deal of difference to matters of insurance, and indeed as to whether the person has a valid licence or not.
Therefore I am sure that the prudent reader will agree that in relation to medical conditions the best course of action is to declare it at the outset.

In case the casual reader is wondering why I have such an interest in medical situations and driving licences it is brought about by a couple of things.
Firstly, I live next door to the sole village bakery and so cannot help but see all and sundry who come to buy their daily bread. Many of these people clearly have physical limitations that really should preclude driving a car. One chap hobbles to the bakery door from his car with the aid of 2 crutches and clearly has a problem that causes him to be totally unable to stand up anywhere near straight. Can he make an emergency stop — I very much doubt it. Can he turn his head sufficiently to be properly aware of other road users around his vehicle — I doubt that as well.
OK, so this fellow is the worst example, but there are also many others, from what I see from my window, who probably also should not be driving.
Secondly, I used to be one of the ‘first responders’ (to use the in vogue term) who had to clear up the mess after traffic collisions. Such a task is never pleasant, but is made worse when the cause of the collision / injuries / death is a driver who collapses at the wheel, simply can’t see where they are going, or is incapable of correctly operating the controls of the vehicle.

Therefore I find it to be a retrograde step that a person who would have to declare a medical condition to renew a UK driving licence, can obtain a D737 certificate from the DVLA without having to declare such matters.

Driving is not a right, but is a privilege subject to a number of conditions and restrictions with which all drivers should be in compliance at all times.

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But none of that changes the facts that Kim has confirmed are necessary to replace a U.K. driving license for a French Permis at 70. Any adult who takes control of a vehicle has taken responsibility for their ability to do so.The self certification in the U.K. is a joke, it proves nothing.

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I agree entirely. My own view is that there should be an obligatory medical evaluation with an appropriate certificate issued, and not just for those who have reached 70.

The thing I worry about is eyesight. As far as I know if you wore glasses while taking your driving test you have to always wear glasses when you drive. However, I know a lot of people who passed their test without glasses who now drive without despite having obvious eyesight problems.

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Such was marked on my UK driving licence and it is also marked on my French “rose” licence:
01: Correction/protection vision

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That wouldn’t make sense. When I started driving over 40 years ago I wore distance glasses and needed them. My eyesight changed and I no longer needed, and still don’t need distance glasses. Why should I wear glasses?

You are correct David.

And that is the ethos in France, YOU are responsible for your health, eyesight etc. If you fail to do this your licence will be taken from you.

Certain conditions are reportable, but not all if they are managed correctly, it’s more nuanced than just saying these are the medical conditions that need reporting as noted by Robert.

If you are under the care of a specialist for your condition, you will know if you are allowed to drive.

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Then you get it updated on your licence by having a medical and submitting this for an update to any conditions or if you are yet to exchange you submit a medical and an explanation that glasses no longer needed.

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Whether it makes sense to you or not it is a fact and I see that it has been confirmed by others. You are in a minority as eyesight rarely improves. I know something about that because my eye specialist was amazed to find that my eyesight has actually improve in the past 10 years.

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Depends - as we age some people go longsighted, especially if they stop sitting at a computer all day long. I need glasses for reading but can see road signs at a long distance and so don’t need glasses to drive.

If, in one’s younger years, one is shortsighted, then she brings with it a definite change which can be experienced as an improvement.

Short sightedness means that one can focus on closer things, but not distant.

As we get older, we tend to become more long sighted - that is, we can no longer focus on closer things but can still focus on distant things.

It’s all further complicated by the fact that as we age, the muscles that are used to focus the lens in the eye become less powerful and at the same time, their range of contraction is reduced, hence our ability to change focus becomes reduced.

The nett effect is that someone who started off as short sighted (and needed spectacles for ‘distant’ vision - driving, for example) will become progressively more long sighted, and will almost certainly pass through a stage where their distant vision (without spectacles) is good.

Subject to the agreement of an ophtalmologue, it may well be that specs won’t be required for driving. Possibly for a few years, or possibly for a few months …

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I am astigmatic and have worn glasses to correct that since my teens. A couple of years ago I had an appointment with a Canadian English speaking eye specialist who had moved into the area. After the various tests I was called back into her office. She looked concerned and I thought that she might have bad news. She was confused rather than concerned because she had detected an improvement in my vision which she would not have expected and was thinking about how to explain it. All that concerned me was there was no evidence of more retina damage but after her lengthy explanation I was relieved that it was a conversation in English not French because it was not straightforward. It was quite different from a transfer from being short sighted to being more long sighted. My eyesight might well be good enough to read a number plate at the required distance as it was when I was 17. However I know how much I miss if I don’t wear my glasses and wouldn’t ever drive without them. I have always been aware that as I had taken my test wearing glasses I was obliged to wear them when driving.

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Apparently astigmatism reduces as one gets cataracts.

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Something to look forward to :joy::joy::joy:

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What the gov.uk site states is

You must wear glasses or contact lenses every time you drive if you need them to meet the ‘standards of vision for driving’

It defines the standards of vision for driving as

You must be able to read (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) a car number plate made after 1 September 2001 from 20 metres.

So, if you don’t need them subsequently then you can legally not wear them as I don’t now.

If your licence is endorsed on the rear with Code 01 then glasses/contact lenses/vision correction are obligatory when driving. To get the code removed will require an eye test result submitted to DVLA with a licence application.