It should be mandatory to retake a driving test again age 70 and every five years after that

Yes.

MiL went on driving with serious cataracts until her horrified optician told her to stop. She used to complain about things "popping up out of nowhere" when she was driving 🤦

(I mean anyone who is driving clearly considers themselves fit to drive, at any age, don't we? Not all of us are , and as we age the number of factors that make us less fit begin to pile up, because biology works like that. Most of us will become unfit to drive eventually, and I don't suppose all.of us are going to judge that moment precisely.)

Your father's the issue.
Don't label every 70 year old by his standards.

I only think there are fewer accidents because they are at least slow and the rest of us manage to take evasive action. Countless times I’ve witnessed some old dear sailing through a merge etc blissfully unaware while everyone else frantically seeks to avoid getting crashed into.

Not helped by many elderly like my parents friends insisting on living rurally so they are entirely dependent on the car.

I agree about the UK government, certainly on licences, driving tests and police enforcement. Much as it is detested by the very kind of motorist I think should not hold a licence, the Welsh government policy of default 20mph in urban areas (unless by exception) has reduced deaths and injuries from car crashes. The Scottish government has reduced the drink drive limit.

I don't think that would sensible or fair. Many 70 year olds will still need their cars to go to work. I rarely hear about people that age being involved in accidents, it tends to be the teens.

They make be driving after drinking at night less but I can assure that, being in that age group, that many have said that for "I'm only driving a couple of miles home" after drinking at lunchtime.

I'm also splitting my sides at you thinking they don't use phones.

When I'm old I shall either stay in my semi rural home or move to an even more rural location. I definitely won't be moving because those younger than me want me to.

Why?

In the same way people here are arguing it’s not all old people, it’s also not all young people.

My DS passed his test at 17 and 9 months. He’s had to move for his job and relies on his car to get to university (degree apprenticeship) 90 miles away. He consistently has a driving score of 99-100/100 on his black box and drives very well.

Not all young drivers are dickheads.

most over 80 know when to give the keys up, particularly when prompted by families and their doctor.

I think if you mixed with enough people in the over 80 age group you'd realise that this probably isn't true, except for being told to stop by their doctor, when they must stop. Doctors are reluctant to do this, though, a friend's father with vascular dementia was told by his doctor he could carry on. He'd never been in a car with him, of course! His daughter supported him in that and told me "he only drives to the supermarket back". Many families are complicit in keeping loved ones on the road because it's easier for them too.

I personally know of many people who refused to give up. One was almost blind with AMD, one had Parkinson's and when his wife sold the car just bought another, one had dementia and was unable to live without a carer, who he drove to the supermarket to get the shopping, one drove at crawling speed on A roads, another had dementia and drank like a fish and drove, a friend's mother with dementia crashed and killed her father, I was stationary in a half empty car park once when an elderly driver reversed into me, my own father only gave up when he caused an accident (and he hadn't reached 80)..

And that's just me. We all know them if we know older people.

There is so much bound up with driving. Independence, spontenaiety, convenience, lack of obvious cost for a single journey, helping friends who don't have a car. It's a hard, hard thing to give that up voluntarily and being nearly in that age group with many friends who are in that age group, you can see how many just can't face it.

At my last appointment with my opthalmologist told me that he had to tell a guy that he couldn't drive any more. He said the man thanked him cheerfully and told him that all he needed was to be told by someone in authority, he couldn't face taking the decision himself.

I do agree that if you look at the stats of accidents per mile driven, 70 is too young to insist on anything more than a sight test, but I think we should be hotter on cognition and physical problems from 75 when the stats show things starting to go pear shaped.

I said the same at your age. "They'll be carrying me out of here in a coffin". See if you feel the same when you're a £50 each way taxi ride to your medical appointments.

I don’t care where you live but seems insane to me to be elderly and yet live somewhere where driving a car is essential. Why would you do that to yourself?

I work with this age group and the smart ones sell up their country piles and move into town late 70s.

1000000% so many near misses with people very elserly. Driving up 1 way streets..wrong side of the road and doing illegal turns. Completely innocently. They think nothing of it.

I'd be fine with that, especially if I'd had to give up my car, since the savings on that would cover the taxis. I've lived in towns and cities and know it is not where I want to call home.

I'm fine with the money too, since I drive a car less than 3 years old and the depreciation alone will pay for taxis.

It's the calling for a taxi at school run time and not being able to get one that's more of a problem, and that's a lot more of an issue when you're miles out into the country to pick up. We had a taxi booked for the airport once and he just didn't wake up to do the early morning pickup. Bloody nightmare!

Sorry, I know I'm being a downer here, but it's not until it becomes a reality that you realise just how difficult it is to manage without a car when you live in open country miles from anywhere.

I lived in a national park with no neighbours in sight for over 30 years, and every neighbour moved down to the nearest town when they got old, except a friend who converted a barn and moved one of her children and their family in instead, and some whose children never left.

I honestly feel for you, and hope that you stay able to drive and completely healthy, or that you find yourself, like me, quite liking having a Coop and a coffee shop 200 metres away (though I am lucky enough to have open countryside 200 metres in the other direction).

I think it's more important to ban those blinding headlights. I think they are causing more accidents than older drivers .

Great scenario.
Mum won’t be able to get Dad to his chemo/specialist appointments as she is over 70, very competent driver. Make them pay for taxis, even if their only income is state pension!
And before you tell me we could take him, we all have full time jobs in industries which aren’t particularly accommodating to flexi time.

Seriously, would you pass a test the way you drive now compared to when you checked your mirrors every 5 seconds in your test? Probably not. Most 70 year olds have years of good experience behind them and as long as eyesight is good and no health issues that the doctor thinks would cause a problem then no. I’m 70 in two years and my driving is no different than at 30/40/50/60 I just don’t want the stress.

Because

You like lots of dogs around
You keep goats, hens, horses.
You don't like neighbours
You don't like light pollution
You don't like traffic noise
You don't like traffic pollution
You've lived there all your life
Your children grew up there and the memories are precious
You love walking in the countryside and don't want to have to drive to get to walk in the countryside.
The farms been in your family 200 years
You can't get a place with an acre of garden in a town and your garden is your hobby and your pride and joy.

Insane? Perhaps not.

That’s a fair point. During my menopause years, I was quite often so sleep-starved when I drove the 20 miles to work that I couldn’t remember the journey. Luckily both the car and I survived but just how I do wonder.
Do people suffering the distraction of big life issues volunteer to stop? Those with streaming colds? Screaming kids in the back?
We just get on with it, and therein lies the danger.

In other words, assume they are guilty until proved innocent.

You are making the assumption that a 70 year old does not need to drive for work. Plus you are making the assumption that all 70 year olds are like your father. The best idea would be to have a refresher for everybody at key stages ie every 20 years from when they first passed their test to maintain their licence. This would not be a full test but a driving competence test ie hazard perception, driving speed and an update on any changes to the law in the intervening period. Make the cost half of the driving test.
This test would also be mandatory for those coming from overseas who plan to become resident.

Like everything the age is just the number…the person who lives behind the number is the challenge. People don’t turn a certain number then experience a decline (similarly people don’t turn 18 and are suddenly capable of being full blown cognitive adults).

I know someone in their 50s that I avoid even parking besides let alone get in the car with them!

young people in their 20s have much higher insurance than someone in their sixties because it’s calculated on risk
You're right - and therefore older people are generally low risk (lower speeds are involved so incidents tend to be less serious).

There are people across the spectrum who drive but shouldn't. With older people I think families should step in and have those difficult conversations. Giving up driving is a life changing thing to do and a huge loss of independence so not something anyone decides lightly.

Also, 70 is only just past retirement age. Most 70 year olds I know are perfectly capable of driving well. Perhaps a better approach would be a mandatory resit if you have an accident after 70, but that feels a bit like shutting the door after the horse has bolted.

And of course - once you reach 65 this test would be every 5 years with mandatory eye sight test every 2 years.