Doctor-issued driving bans invisible to police, FDM calls it ‘grotesque’
Tuesday 28th July 2026 on 18:15 in
Denmark
Danish police cannot see whether a driver has been issued a medical driving ban, a gap that the country’s motorists’ association FDM calls “grotesque.”
Figures from the Road Directorate show 321 reports from doctors in 2025 about patients ignoring a medical driving ban, up from 269 in 2024, according to TV2.
A medical driving ban is an agreement between doctor and patient when the doctor deems the patient’s health makes driving unsafe. The ban is not legally binding; only the Road Directorate and police can revoke a licence, confiscate a driving permit, or seize a vehicle.
If a doctor believes a patient will not comply, or discovers a breach, the doctor must report it to the Patient Safety Authority. If the report meets legal requirements, the authority contacts the Road Directorate to start revocation proceedings.
FDM proposes that police licence-plate readers flag drivers under a medical ban and that doctors be empowered to revoke licences, possibly with Road Directorate oversight.
“It’s grotesque that when a doctor judges a driver unfit, that information isn’t passed to the authorities who can monitor it—the police,” Torben Lund Kudsk, FDM department head, told DR’s P1 Morgen.
Jakob Christensen, a consultant and epilepsy researcher at Aarhus University Hospital, warns that making bans visible to police could strain the doctor-patient relationship.
“We must be cautious about breaking that relationship just to catch a few who ignore the ban,” he told P1 Morgen. He said most patients comply, and new rules risk penalising law-abiding citizens by exposing their medical data nationwide.
Kudsk countered that the goal is not to disclose diagnoses but to mark drivers with a ban. He called it “mysterious” that some doctors oppose police access, as it may shield drivers who continue to drive, including those with dementia who may forget the ban.
DR’s P1 Morgen sought comment from the Ministry of Justice, which referred the query to the Ministry of Health. Health Minister Ida Auken is on leave and unavailable.