Should an upper age limit for driving a car be introduced?

92-year-old Stefan Stefanov from the town of Sliven remained without a car after breaching traffic rules for a second time in just a week. On March 8, Stefanov was stopped by the police while driving drunk and without a license, and today, March 14, the police impounded his car after a video on social networks showed that he was again driving his car without number plates. Stefan Stefanov will be tried for the repeat offence.

What punishment can the elderly man receive and is an upper age limit necessary for active drivers?

Shortly after the video was published, police found the car with broken windows in a garage near the 92-year-old driver's home. After the re-encounter with the police, the elderly man said he had changed his mind and that this was his last time behind the wheel.

According to people close to Stefan, someone had deliberately damaged the vehicle outside the block after the case was publicised in the media on March 8.

"At the moment they are finding out who the perpetrators are who damaged the car," said Chief Inspector Ilian Nikolov, head of the Traffic Police Sector - Sliven.

The police said that the elderly man's driving licence was revoked in 2022 again for drink-driving, and the registration was suspended even then.

"As of now, there are two pre-trial proceedings pending against him. Already in the course of the pre-trial he will be questioned and later the Prosecutor's office will be the one to decide what will happen to him," said Chief Inspector Ilian Nikolov, head of the traffic police sector in Sliven.

"The car in question has been added to the case as material evidence. A forensic psychological-psychiatric examination is to be appointed in the pre-trial proceedings to establish the mental state and health of the perpetrator," said prosecutor Katya Stamenova, spokeswoman for the Sliven District Prosecutor's Office.

According to road traffic safety experts, the debate over whether to have driving restrictions after a certain age has been going on for a long time. The Association of Crash Victims believes a workable measure could be the introduction of periodic check-ups every one or two years and more frequent licence changes.

"In order to be implemented and to be able to comply with this, we should have honest and objective medical examinations, not fictitious ones," said Ilia Todorov - Bulgarian Association of Crash Victims.

"The validity period of the driving licence is quite long. In ten years even a young person may often not be fit," said Ilia Todorov - Bulgarian Association of Accident Victims.

Road traffic safety expert and car racer Dimitar Iliev said introducing restrictions would be discriminatory.

"It is a question of self-awareness. If a person feels that they no longer has the reflexes, eye sight, hearing and abilities - they should voluntarily stop driving. There are elderly people who are absolutely adequate and with great skills. We cannot paint everyone with the same brush. Driving a car is an activity that is not very complicated, but requires dedication. It requires concentration and when a person does not understand this they may be dangerous," said Dimitar Iliev, a road safety expert.

One of the ideas at European level is to make the driving licence valid for 5 years at the age of 70, and drivers at that age should undergo a full medical check.