New driving tests for older people getting closer

By Jayne Warren - 05/09/2007

In August the Mature Times reported on the fact that older people might have to retake their driving tests, which, as Editor Tony Watts pointed out " is patently ageist and entirely misses the point that younger drivers are more likely to cause accidents than us oldies." Very true. But it looks as though the winds of change may be blowing towards our older drivers, based on the government's time-honoured 'justification' for introducing new legislation: statistics.

The DVLA's figures show that there are more than three million people aged 71 and over with driving licences, an increase of 300,000 in less than two years - and a trend which will continue as the UK's population ages and older people choose to remain independently mobile for as long as possible.

The Association of British Insurers have found that drivers aged 70 and over are three times as likely to be killed or seriously injured in a road crash as those aged between 40 and 65. From the age of 70, motorists are required to complete a form every three years on which they should declare medical conditions, but no independent check is made on their fitness to drive and the system relies on the driver’s honesty.

And so, based on these statistics, the DVLA will be putting forward various options in a consultation document this autumn, which is likely to include the proposal that older drivers undertake one or more compulsory tests. They may have to be assessed by a doctor, visit a centre and complete a half-hour paper-based test and pass a sight test.

Other proposals will include local authorities introducing voluntary driving tests, which would aim to give elderly people an opportunity to take extra training or to mitigate any risks. Joyce Mugford, an 80-year old Mature Times reader who drives a motor home, told us of a rather good scheme called "Safer Driving with Age" developed by Gloucestershire County Council. Drivers volunteer to undertake a one-hour assessment in their own car on familiar roads, and the instructor makes a note of any unsafe actions or bad habits and gives verbal and written reports, including an overall score and placement in one of five categories ranging from very safe to unsafe.

Said Joyce: "I was asked to drive around the country lanes as well as busy roads, and questioned on road signs. The examiner said he enjoyed the journey and suggested I take it again on two or three years' time. I often wondered if I had any developed any bad habits - and I had. One was using the clutch too soon after braking."

But what about the practical implications of older people losing their independent mobility? Surely, as a group, they need a car more than most - to cope with very real problems such as arthritis, carrying heavy shopping, visiting clubs and relatives. Take away their cars and you could create a potential epidemic of lonely, isolated, housebound people - especially in the winter and in rural areas. Not a sensible prospect, given that, statistically, this age group already has the highest suicide rate with the major cause being loneliness.

Thankfully there seems to be one voice of reason. Rob Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, has pointed out that any new restrictions on the right of the elderly to drive should be accompanied by improvements in public transport. “This is a difficult issue because the grey vote is so powerful. We need to discourage older drivers from placing themselves and others at increased risk but also help them to find alternative methods of transport so that they do not become housebound as a result of giving up the car.”

The Department for Transport's statement is: “We don’t want to discriminate against elderly drivers. We just need to make sure they are safe.” Safe? If the logic behind retesting is to prevent accidents, then surely those aged between 17 and 25 should be retested annually - as they have more accidents.

I imagine that most drivers over 70 would not object to a retest - providing it costs nothing. Perhaps it could be deducted from their Council tax as an incentive? In some European countries ALL drivers retake their test ten years after ten years of having a licence up to age 45, then it is every five years, and at age 70 it is every two years. It includes eyesight, coordination and medical questions that form a sworn statement punishable if answered incorrectly. How sensible.

If an over-70 test only is introduced here, at personal cost to the individual, it may well create a storm of angry protest, seen simply as yet another financial burden on people already sinking under the weight of increasing road taxes, high fuel prices, green taxes, council tax rises, recycling penalties and - well, the list goes on and on. I hope the DVLA think carefully before they inadvertently open Pandora's Box.