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EU 'will force thousands to retake their driving test'

Thousands of motorists could be forced to retake their driving test and undergo medical checks to stay on the road under plans being prepared in Brussels.

The EU is proposing to tear up the rules on British driving licences so that they have to be renewed every ten years.

And drivers with common conditions from diabetes to angina could be subject to compulsory medical tests, according to a Tory analysis of the EU draft directive.

Last night they called the plan ‘draconian and unnecessary’.

Currently, British driving licences, which cost £38, are valid from the date motorists pass their test until the age of 70 – unless medical complications occur.

But the EU is proposing a common format for licences and tests across the Continent.

Among its key recommendations are the renewal of licences for cars every ten years, which would be dependent on a driver’s ‘circumstances’ – which the Tories say could mean many having to undergo regular medical checks.

All commercial vehicle drivers – such as lorry and van drivers – would also have to renew their licences at the age of 50 on the basis of a medical and, in some cases, a re-test or refresher course.

The plans would also introduce a photocard permit bearing the EU flag on a blue background. Each country has until 2012 to start issuing the new licences.

The Tories’ transport spokesman in Brussels, Philip Bradbourn MEP, said: ‘The EU is now trying to dictate to member states what they need to do in terms of driving tests and the issuing of licences.

‘That is wholly unacceptable – and totally unnecessary in Britain, where we have the safest roads in Europe and a driving licence system that works perfectly well.’

Currently, if a driver suffers from a health problem it is their duty to notify the authorities, who then decide if they are fit to drive.

But the new directive states that even drivers with treatable health problems will have to prove they are fit to drive through regular medical check-ups.

Among those affected would be heart patients fitted with a pacemaker – around 1.5million people – and angina and diabetes sufferers.

But a Department for Transport spokesman said it had already decided UK photocard licences would have to be renewed every ten years to ensure the photograph remains up to date, starting in 2008.

And he suggested the Tory analysis of the impact of the proposed changes was exaggerated.

‘The provisions in the draft directive would mean no change for the vast majority of UK drivers,’ he said.

All commercial vehicle drivers – such as lorry and van drivers – would also have to renew their licences at the age of 50 on the basis of a medical and, in some cases, a re-test or refresher course.