Ghost drivers are persons driving a car in the wrong direction on the highway. In Denmark you can get a drivers license at the age of 18, and you have to renew the licence at the age of 70. To get a license requires education in theory and practice at a driving school. When the teacher thinks you are ready to test, you get a theoretical part and then a practical test. Unless you have a disease which makes your capacity to drive substantially diminished, you keep your license until the age of 70.
To get a new license, you have to go to your GP for a medical examination. Unfortunately, no cognitive evaluation has had to be done until now. In 1996, a report from the traffic ministry brought attention to problems of elderly drivers. They were more involved in traffic accidents. And with changing demographics, more elderly people means an increasing problem. The National Board of Health, in the summer of 2001, asked to make a supplement to obligatory investigation, which had to be done when renewing drivers' licenses. The report was sent to the involved ministries after a hearing process in Jan 2003.
Those who wish to renew a drivers' license, have to go to the doctor and have a medical examination, including a cognitive test.
Back to S101 Driving Abilities and Mental Health
Back to The Eleventh International Congress