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

Rules for older drivers are changing

Self certification will not exist at a certain age

A recent eye test will be requested for everyone

A fit to drive from a doctor will be requested from everyone

Honestly I think a brief yearly test should be compulsory for everyone to check they’re still safe on the road (similar to a car needing an MOT).
Like someone above said, people over 70 aren’t statistically the highest risk group. And people can experience issues with their eyesight/health/loss of skills at any age.

young people on their 20s have much higher insurance than someone in their sixitirs because it’s calculated on risk
Well exactly, why do you think that is! So you are being ageist by saying safer drivers should be judged on their driving capacity based on their age.

@Passaggressfedup best way to make it non-ageist is that everyone should be retested every 5 years. You are quite right that those in their 20s are the biggest risk so they should be included.

Potentially have different criteria for a refresher test, so that there's an "oops try again" option for qualified drivers for a level that would be a failure for a 1st-timer, giving you 6-12 months to try again rather than screwing up someone's life by withdrawing their licence

Yes absolutely. That's literally the OPs point. My dad finally admitted he couldn't drive to the city anymore at 83, he cant merge properly on a slip road. My grandad only stopped when he had a very serious accident at 90. It's no more ageist than penalising young drivers with very high premiums. Safety should be the first priority not wondering how Jim will go to the pharmacy despite being half blind and in cognitive decline.

In the case of some, clearly.

ExMIl, for example, refused to stop driving due to her poor eyesight to the extent that she drove to her cataract surgery and drove home again afterwards, having parked in a side road so that they wouldn't see she was driving after being told by the optician five years beforehand that her sight wasn't good enough. She didn't fancy the idea of surgery beforehand and it was only when she couldn't recognise her grandchildren in front of her that she went to the GP to say she had a little bit of trouble seeing things 'far, far away'.

However, I'd actually say that I think everybody should be retested every 10 years. That'll deal with age related changes and complete idiots as well.

You can report your father to the DVLA,OP, but who knows if they'd actually do anything. If he needs to be off the road before he hits someone, you don't have many options.

The general standard of driving is getting much worse, whilst enforcement and policing of it is practically non existent in this area; maybe others too.Older drivers are less likely to cause an accident but,I agree,they should at least be medically fit enough.

I'd like to make all the drivers who jump the lights at the junction near me be made to re-take their test after they had been fined and given points on their licence. As pedestrians we take our lives into our hands every time we cross there and have been met with foul verbal abuse such as "get out of my way cunt" from a mid 30's van driver who nearly flattened me the other day. The only cameras are there to monitor traffic flow so they get away with it. Some people are dangerous and selfish drivers regardless of age.

This. We don't have the examiners.

Can you please post your contact info so that everyone knows where to reach you when they need a lift?

I disagree.

Theory tests should be every five years, eye tests every two, throughout your life. More medical tests in older age.

Re-tests should be obligatory after a driving ban.

I'd rather the police had the right (and the time) to random check any driver on the road at any time.

They could then confiscate the vehicles of drink drivers, drug drivers, lorry drivers over their hours, the vast number of uninsured drivers, those without a licence, those already banned and those with bald tyres, illegal plates and illegally lowered suspensions.

Almost none of whom are over the age of 70.

That is where the real danger exists.

Yawn ! Most accidents are caused by reckless young drivers . Thats a fact sadly.Also most 70 year old are not one homogonous mass you know. Some are still working (shock horror )Billy on DIY SOS is 75 .I doubt he gets the bus !Our BIL was working until 80.Never had an accident,While we are at it shall we re test all the young mums? they may be tired from sleepless nights . what about shift workers how can they catch the bus home after a long shift.YABVU OP

Fine. Let’s also make people who speed, talk on their phone while driving, drink or drug drive, don’t have their car serviced or MOT’d, drive through red lights, overtake on bends, park on corners and don’t make their passengers wear a seatbelt also retake their driving tests because they too are putting other people at risk through their poor understanding of driving rules and regulations.

Add in the idiots who use public roads as race tracks, though luckily it seems they often manage to delete themselves from the equation..

I think it you drive then it should be mandatory to have an eye test at least every 2 years, regardless of age. Or more frequently if the optician recommends it.

My elderly mum was knocked over by a driver in his 90s. He pulled across in front of a bus and drove on wrong side of road hitting my pedestrian mum who was crossing but virtually across the road. He then drove into her again (presumably hit accelerator not brake). The bus driver and a lady ran to her aid and spoke to him and he was confused, unable to give his details or age. He also failed to report accident to his insurance or police. I contacted police and they had a special officer whose job it was to persuade drivers to voluntarily surrender licence in cases like this. Luckily when officer visited him he couldn’t read the plate in eyesight test so officer could email dvla and licence was revoked without him having a say in it. My mum was very lucky not to be badly injured. The man said the usual excuse I only go locally to shops. There was a bus stop close to his house.
My mum voluntarily stopped driving in her late 70s not too long after this and has persuaded neighbours to stop.

So instead of tarring the entire over 70's driving population with the same brush, anonymously report your Father to the DVLA explaining why he is a risk by continuing to drive.

If the DVLA have concerns they can send him for a driving assessment at any one of the specialist centres throughout the UK. They do not tell them who has reported them or why.

They are required to attend a session at specialist centres and they have something akin to a driving lesson but they drive, the driving instructor is in the dual controlled passenger seat and there is an occupational therapist in the back seat.

They go out on the road and depending on what the driving instructor and occupational therapist witness, they can tell them they can no longer drive, then can offer adaptations to allow them to continue driving or they can sign they off as fine to drive. If they fail to turn up without good reason the DVLA may pull their licence anyway.

I used to work at one such centre and I can tell you there are a lot of safe older drivers out there, there are a lot of older drivers who are are not safe because as they have aged and their body fails, they need adaptations to help them drive safely. So for instance, if they have neck or shoulder problems they may not be able to move sufficiently to do mirror and manoeuvre, so are unsafe but because their body fails slowly, they subconsciously adapt and do not realise the deterioration. But with adaptations they will be fine and the occupational therapist may spot that.

And then there are those who are not alert enough and do not have the response times needed or indeed the memory of the highway code they should have.

Just because that's your experience of your father there's no reason to retest every driver at 70.

If only there were some way of recruiting more examiners.

I definitely think there should be some sort of standard assessment every few years after a certain age. Maybe not a driving test- I think tests of reflexes, vision, co-ordination etc and medical info would work too.

I think many people just don't realise that their reflexes etc are slowing, or perhaps do realise but think they have the skill to make up for it, or don't drive far so it's OK.
My late DF had an accident in his late 70s that was definitely his fault (he claims not, but from his description of what happened and my experience in the car with him I'm sure it was and the insurance found the same). No one was injured, but I am certain that was only due to the fact that the other driver's actions and the fact that there were not many other people on the road. Since no one called the police, he was not stopped from driving (although his insurance was sky high) and would not listen to anyone telling him he should consider not driving because he didn't want to lose his independence. DM has vision problems and dementia but has not had any official notification that she should not be driving and her licence is still in date. Thankfully she decided herself that she shouldn't drive as she's never been a confident driver but we have never been asked by HCP etc and she has not had so much as a letter advising her against it. I'm sure some in her position would still be trying. I also have a family friend who is very annoyed that he has been asked to have an assessment to confirm that he is fit to drive due to Parkinsons. His DC do not think he is, and having seen him drive I agree. That's 3 potentially dangerous elderly drivers that I know if without thinking too hard.
Yes, younger drivers are also statistically more dangerous and I would support more education, training etc to help them be better drivers. But with elderly drivers I think it's invariably about physical and mental ability to drive, not training etc, and that won't improve.

• There’s a section “you meet the minimum eyesight requirement”

I'm 70 and still working. I had my eyes retested last birthday and I see no reason why my driving should be subject to retesting.

What about those who live rurally with no public transport. How would you suggest they get to gp, hospital appointments whilst waiting - as the wait could easily be up a year.

Your logic is that because they are potentially higher risk they should have to take regular driving tests? Would you also apply this to other statistically higher risk groups, such as young men?

If there is someone you are specifically concerned about, then I believe you can proactively notify the DVLA of your concerns for them to consider.

I think everyone should be team tested every 5 years

however, that requires access to tests without long waits and in reality most dangerous drivers ( ie young teens or drunk drivers) ignore the rules of the road anyway so it probably wouldn’t have no impact to their safety records