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Swedish experts call for new rules to get unfit elderly drivers off the road

Swedish authorities are investigating making it easier to suspend driving licences for unfit drivers following two serious traffic accidents with elderly people behind the wheel.

Published: 9 August 2017 17:11 CEST
Swedish experts call for new rules to get unfit elderly drivers off the road
A total of 109 people died in traffic in Sweden between January and June this year. Photo: Adam Ihse/TT

The Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen) every year recalls between 8,000 and 9,000 driving licences for medical reasons, including dementia, eye diseases and strokes.

More than 650,000 people aged 75 and above have a valid licence in Sweden, which unlike most EU countries does not have mandatory health checks for elderly drivers.

Instead, doctors are supposed to report their patients to the transport authority if they have an illness that makes them medically unfit to drive, but very few do. According to a recent report by Transportstyrelsen, for example, only 10-20 percent of dementia cases are reported.

Doctors may also decide not to report the patient's condition to transport authorities if he or she verbally agrees not to get behind the wheel.

“It is not a good system, and the exception makes it even shakier. But doctors have to comply more with the regulations. Tens of thousands of people become unfit for driving every year, and the doctors do not want to be the ones holding the axe. Often they have already diagnosed the patient with a disease that is not fun, and they then don't want to be even meaner. The doctor's name will also be in the legal report. Many patients get angry and change doctors,” Lars Englund, chief medical expert at Transportstyrelsen, told the TT newswire.

Transportstyrelsen last year launched an investigation into the current regulations to see if there is anything that can be done to tighten them.

“There are several ways we can do it. You could tighten the doctor's duty to report and you could introduce mandatory periodic checks. There are pros and cons of all system, and the information is vague. It is difficult to see what links there are between elderly people who drive with a medical condition and that actually hurting others in traffic,” said Englund.

Last week six people outside Tierp in central Sweden were injured after an 80-year-old man hit them with his car. According to the police the driver was blinded by bright light. On Tuesday a woman in her 90s died and two others were injured in Stockholm suburb Högdalen, after an 84-year-old woman hit the wrong pedal and reversed into them.

Englund emphasizes that many people are involved in traffic accidents without it being linked to age or health, but says the cases are typical for elderly drivers with medical conditions.

“Hitting the wrong pedal is a typical accident for someone who has a brain that is not healthy or a brain that is slow. Being blinded by the sun could be due to cataracts, as everything gets completely white when you're exposed to strong sunlight,” said Englund.

Infrastructure Minister Tomas Eneroth welcomed the Transportstyrelsen investigation.

“It is very serious when there are these kinds of accidents where elderly people are involved, and should it turn out that there is an over-representation of accidents caused by the elderly, I have to be prepared to act,” he told TT on Wednesday.

“At the same time we should remember that you can't say that elderly drivers are worse drivers in general. Most accidents are caused by younger drivers,” he added.

The Swedish Medical Association has previously been against tighter rules, but its president Heidi Stensmyren told Swedish radio on Wednesday: “There are now cases emerging that show there are flaws in the system and we then think it is reasonable to look into this.”

The Swedish National Pensioners' Organization (PRO) is against medical checks, but its president told the TT newswire she would accept an end to the controversial verbal agreements with doctors.

“I'm actually doubtful about those, you really need to follow it up then and add it to the medical records. If you have a condition that means you should not be driving, the doctor should report it. But I also want to point out that most accidents are caused by young men,” said Christina Tallberg.

The number of annual road deaths in Sweden has remained between 260 and 270 for the past three years. The tally of 2016 and 2013 was the lowest since the Second World War.

A total of 109 people died in traffic during the first six months of the year, according to Transportstyrelsen, 12 fewer than the same period last year.

Sweden's worst years were 1965 and 1966 when 1,313 people died in traffic accidents, back when there were around 1.5 million cars on the roads, compared to almost five million today.

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What parents need to know about travelling through Copenhagen airport with kids

Flying with children can be stressful at the best of times, so here are The Local’s best tips for departing from Copenhagen airport with your kids in tow.

Published: 18 August 2023 12:53 CEST
Updated: 23 March 2024 08:11 CET
What parents need to know about travelling through Copenhagen airport with kids

Things to do

Obviously, your family’s needs will vary depending on the age of your children. If you have young children, it can be a good idea for them to blow off some steam before getting on the flight.

A great way to do this can be to head to one of the airport’s playgrounds. There’s one after security near the entrance to Finger B, complete with luggage carts, a control tower complete with a slide, and a couple of planes for kids to climb on.

There’s also an outdoor playground before security with a couple of slides hidden inside a wooden cloud, outside Terminal 2.

Make sure to check out the large blue fish tank before security, too. It’s just next to Lagkagehuset/Ole and Steen and WOK restaurant near the baggage drop in Terminal 2.

There are also two Lego shops inside the airport: one between gates A&B and one between gates B&C. These are both after security.

If you want to buy something to keep your slightly older child occupied during the flight, there are a number of 7-Elevens which sell magazines, sticker and activity books and stationery, as well as snacks and drinks. Look for the 7-Eleven Read and Fly signs.

There’s also a child area in the SAS lounge with toys and children’s TV – free for SAS Business or Plus travellers or Gold EuroBonus members. 

For non-members, entry costs around 210-230 Danish kroner per person, with free entry for kids under 2. This is sometimes cheaper off-season and you may be able to pay with EuroBonus reward points if you’ve got a stash saved up.

The SAS lounge also includes a buffet with unlimited drinks (including beer and wine), as well as wifi, newspapers and magazines included in your entry fee.

As an aside, it’s worth noting that transiting, arriving and departing passengers all share the same space at Copenhagen Airport (once they are on the gate side of security). So the same areas that can be used by families before departing are also available to anyone transiting through Copenhagen and you can also use them on arrival if you somehow have the energy for this.

Getting through security

Just before you get to the actual queues for security, there will be a child-size security scanner made out of Lego. If your child is scared about flying or worried about going through security, you can act out the process here to make them feel less nervous.

If you have kids under six, you’ll be sent to the family lane at security, with another security officer made out of Lego pointing the way.

If your child uses a buggy, you may need to check it in depending on size. Usually if it’s a small buggy you can fold down (a klapvogn or paraplyvogn in Danish), you can take it through security all the way to your gate. If it’s larger, you’ll probably have to check it in at the baggage drop and borrow an airport buggy after security.

Places to eat

Copenhagen Airport isn’t cheap, and if your child is a fussy eater you might want to take something with you from home. You are allowed to bring food through security with you as long as it isn’t a paste or liquid over 100ml (so avoid any soups, smoothies, or any pots of dressings, dips or sauces, to be on the safe side).

One exception to this is food or milk for babies. You can bring enough food or milk for your baby to last the duration of your flight, including water or hot water to make formula milk, and it’s exempt from the 100ml rule, although they may make you taste it at security.

Inside the airport, there are a lot of places to buy kid-friendly food both before and after security. If you sit in a food-court area, rather than inside one of the actual restaurants, you can eat food you’ve brought with you or each member of your group can grab whatever they fancy from a couple of different restaurants. There’s one between gates A and B and another near gate C. Both have lookout points where you can look at the planes taking off or landing while you eat.

Travelling with a baby

There are changing tables (puslebord or puslerum) in most of the toilet blocks in the airport, as well as dedicated taps for filling up a water bottle. These are marked drikkevand.

In the toilet block under O’Leary’s and MASH between gates A and B there’s a room for breastfeeding, as well as a couple of microwaves you can use to heat up formula milk, although you are of course allowed to breastfeed elsewhere in the airport. There’s an elevator, so you can take your buggy with you.

There’s also a pharmacy before security where you can pick up extra nappies or any medicines, although bear in mind any liquids will need to be under 100ml unless you’re planning to put them in your checked baggage.

Leaving Schengen

Bear in mind that if you’re leaving the Schengen area, you will have to go through passport control before you can go to your gate, meaning you won’t be able to return to the rest of the airport. 

In some areas (like Gate C), there’s a 7-Eleven after passport control where you can grab supplies, but others (like Gate F) only have toilets and benches, so make sure you’ve grabbed everything you need before you head through to your gate.

Once you’re in the gate, you may not be near a toilet until you get on to the plane, so bear this in mind before you head through.

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