Age is Just a Number—Why Fitness Should Trump Age-Based Bans

In almost every field of human endeavor, we acknowledge that age alone doesn't define value, performance, or reliability. We understand that what truly matters is fitness, capability, and continuous upkeep.

Take the case of doctors. Some of the most respected medical professionals continue practicing well into their 70s or even 80s. As long as they are mentally alert, physically fit, and their hands steady, they perform critical surgeries, offer life-saving consultations, and share decades of experience that no young graduate can replicate. We don’t ask for their age—we ask for their results.

Engineers and scientists, too, never truly retire. They might step down from formal job roles in government or corporates, but their intellectual capital doesn't expire. Their experience, accumulated over years of tackling real-world challenges, continues to be in demand—whether in consultancy, design, teaching, or mentoring.

Even in governance, former civil servants, judges, defense officers, and subject experts are appointed to key advisory or administrative roles after retirement. Why? Because their knowledge is still relevant, their insights invaluable, and their fitness allows them to contribute meaningfully.

Machines Are Judged by Performance, Not Birthdate

Let’s shift focus from humans to machines. Consider airplanes. Does anyone ask how old a Boeing 747 is before boarding it? No. The airline and aviation authorities regularly check whether the aircraft is airworthy. They inspect its systems, engines, and airframe. If it passes the tests, it takes off—whether it’s 5 years old or 25. The same goes for submarines, trains, and industrial machinery. Their service life depends on maintenance, upgrades, and certified fitness, not merely age.

So why do we think differently when it comes to personal vehicles—especially in regions like New Delhi, where blanket bans are imposed based purely on age?

A Policy That Ignores Logic and Science

As per current regulations:

• Petrol vehicles are banned after 15 years.
• Diesel vehicles are banned after just 10 years.

This is done irrespective of their actual condition, maintenance record, mileage, or pollution output. A diesel car driven carefully, serviced regularly, and running perfectly clean might be declared unfit simply because it crossed a date on the calendar. Meanwhile, a newer but poorly maintained vehicle might continue to pollute more than an older one.

Isn’t this a deeply flawed approach?

By this logic, we are saying that:

• All relationships must expire after a certain time.
• All knowledge becomes invalid after a certain date.
• And every vehicle becomes a hazard just because it's reached a certain birthday.

Where is the nuance? Where is the responsibility?

A Call for Fitness-Based Certification

Instead of these age-based blanket bans, what we need is a robust, transparent, and periodic fitness certification system. Here's how it could work:

• After 10 years, vehicles undergo fitness tests every year.
• Tests include emissions, engine health, brake system, and noise levels.
• If the vehicle passes, it is cleared to run for another year.
• Those that fail must be repaired or scrapped as per norms.

This not only ensures environmental protection but also promotes personal responsibility. Owners will be encouraged to maintain their vehicles properly, knowing that age alone won't end their usability.

It will also ease the financial burden on middle-class families who cannot afford to replace a perfectly functional car or bike just because a law assumes it’s no longer useful.

A Balanced, Logical Approach

Let’s remember that climate action and sustainable transport are critical. But blanket rules that ignore context, usage, and condition do more harm than good. They encourage unnecessary scrapping, increase manufacturing emissions (by pushing new vehicle production), and penalize responsible owners.

It’s time we moved to a smarter, more logical system—one that evaluates fitness, not age, whether for people or for machines.

Because age is just a number, and fitness is what truly matters.