Sad news for drivers over 70, they will soon no longer be able to

For many older drivers, the car is more than transport; it is proof of autonomy, adulthood, and relevance. Losing that license can feel like losing a part of themselves. Yet tragedies like the crash in La Rochelle expose a brutal truth: aging quietly erodes abilities we rely on in traffic—peripheral vision, quick reactions, split-second judgment—long before some people admit it, or even notice it themselves.The answer is not to punish everyone over an arbitrary birthday, but to confront the problem honestly. Regular, ability-based assessments can catch decline early without branding all seniors as dangerous. Families must learn to speak up before disaster, and governments must offer real alternatives: reliable public transport, community shuttles, subsidized taxis. The real measure of a fair system is whether it can protect children on the street without treating their grandparents as expendable.