but hardly ever needs them.
Not really a big deal but does anyone else have experience of this? Thanks in advance.
My wife just received a letter from the Strassensverkehrsampt saying she needs a medical check related to her Swiss driving license as she is over 50. Is this a new regulation? I am older and have not received this, but I do not wear glasses, she does
What categories does she have in the licence
Such speed reply!
I have just looked at her license and am amazed to see not only the B car
category but also C1, BE, and C1E.Also moped A1.
I only have A (motorbike) and B.
Will look into it further. Thanks.
medical will be for the C1/C1E
Just get those categories taken off her licence- easy.
Seems strange to get this letter at 50.
I thought that they send these letters out a few months before your 70th.
cheers
SC
Many thanks to Rob1 forum legend, all is now clear.
Short explanation may help someone else:
When we got our Swiss licences we had eye tests.
I was A OK, my wife has glasses,which she hardly needs.
Also she was converting from her German license, and had more
complicated paperwork than my British/French conversion.
I believe the optician made a mistake with the form resulting in
the transport people thinking she had the C group, trucks and buses stuff.
We never noticed, and the medical is needed for truckers etc, as Rob1 pointed out.
My wife is NOT a trucker!Anyway we will get the groups removed as suggested
and all is well.
English forum is amazing!
someone made a mistake but doubt it was the optician, the licences are checked and entered at the STVA. If she has never had the C1/C1E then take it off, if she had them in the past personally I would keep them and do the quick test every year
I had the same thing when converting my licence ( German) as these categories are marked on German licences. I was given the option of doing the medical or removing the categories from the licence and opted for the latter.
My husband didn't have the same issue as he was exchanging a Belgian licence which didn't have those categories listed. Not sure what happened yo them on the way as he also had a German licence before the Belgian one.
It has nothing to do with the eye test but the original driving licence that was being exchanged. I suspect the mistake was made either by them not requesting the medical when the licence was exchanged or someone at the licence office putting them on there by mistake.
My Swiss licence was concerted from my UK one.
In the UK, I took and passed two tests only - motorbike and car, but this entitled me to drive nearly every vehicle, except for HGV, specialist vehicles, and public transport (full size bus).
This entitlement was transferred to my Swiss licence and, yes, from fifty onwards, medicals and eye tests are needed.
I always do these to maintain my categories, for as long as I am able.
Just because I haven't needed them, yet, doesn't mean that It may not be useful to have in the future.
It would be easy not to bother with medical and eye test, but once the privileges are lost, it would be nye on impossible to get them back.
Unrelated to your original question, but just a word to the wise - if her license says she needs to wear glasses (there will be an 01 on the back, I think), make sure your wife always wears her glasses while driving. See this thread for reference:
Thanks this is very informative...she does have a 01!
I would never have known.
does anybody know how much does medical check cost, and what needs to be checked? Eyes, hart,..???
I was told never give up something on your licence if you don't have to. I never use mine but best to keep it. Besides makes the police do a double take when they see it.
Blood pressure, urine sample, joint mobility, peripheral vision can't remember what else.
Cost 2 years ago was 150CHF I think.
My experience for a normal category B, car driving license:
The types of medical testing depends on your Canton! I live in Fribourg, but my doctor is in Bern, and she was muttering
that some things are tested in Fribourg, but not in Bern. The eye test in Bern was very crude: - read the letters on the wall.
Last night I heard from older drivers in Canton Solothurn and Aargau, that they were asked to do mental arithmetic:
Q. Which is the next number in the sequence 3, 6, 9 ...?
A. 12, 15 etc.
Q. Count backwards from 888, giving all the numbers with an 8 in them?
A. 878, 868, 858... 88, 78 etc.
So at last those bad Aargauer drivers will be taken off the road?
I am happy with all this testing, better than in most other countries, but I am thinking that nobody tested me for
diabetes when I was younger, so why start now and not at the age of 40 when I might have had it?
Two years have passed, and again I had the medical today for the normal 'B' car driving licence.
Canton Fribourg must have the toughest medical requirements:
Weight and height measured for BMI
Normal eye sight test, reading characters from the wall chart
Peripheral vision
Colour blindness
Hearing, normal speech
Blood pressure
Reflex check
Urine tested for sugar, - diabetes
Lungs tested with stethoscope
Digestion questioned
Balance when walking
Touching nose with closed eyes
Taking pulse rate, then 10 knee bends, then taking pulse rate again
I think that was all.... (I am good for another 2 years)
I'm idly wondering if one can have one's licence removed for being *too fat* (well - BMI too high, anyway), and if so what the cut-off point is
I got the letter today from Srassenverkehrsamt Zürich regarding a driving health check up with 70 years of age. Do I have to get an eye check up as well from an eye doctor and a general physical check from a general doctor?
And why is there no " sticky" for this topic. Would seem important to have!
Just check that your doctor can do that test: