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

I agree, there is only one bus a day into the local town so I understand why they still want to drive.

How very original OP. Maybe you could've read one of the other 150,000 threads on this very subject rather than posting about it again

On the plus side, The elderly driving population does keep an entire bodywork and repair industry alive due to their very high usage of said facilities.

thing is, if it's safety driven then young men are absolutely the only place to look - their risk levels of actually serious accidents are so much higher than average it's ridiculous - for example they are statistically far more likely to be driving between 2 and 5 am and 17(!!!) times more likely to crash then compared to the average.

old drivers do have more crashes per mile driven than any other group, but that's 85+ and they tend to be low speed damage ones rather than fiery ball of death.

All that said, id absolutely support a retest for everyone at say, every ten years. Force the industry to grow and create a load more jobs (paid for by the test takers) and make everyone safer. All those saying 'well lots of 70+ year olds are fine'. Great, then they'll pass easily so who cares?

cost wise. It costs an average of between £3,500 to £5,000 just to have a car sat on the drive per year. That would buy you between 1600 and 2800 taxi miles a year. And that doesn't even include the cost of a car!

I must admit, me and my siblings are very tempted to report him. We’ve had numerous conversations with him about driving, to no avail.
I need to look it up on the DVLA website what the criteria are, as saying he’s generally unsafe (in our opinion) probably isn’t enough. Thank you.
I’d have to do it anonymously; he’d never forgive me!

As is often the case, the first post nails it. I think 70 is too young.

What we need, which I mentioned on another thread recently, is for the DVLA to get off its metaphorical bottom and actually do something when people are reported to them as being unsafe to drive. Clearly eyesight issues and cognitive decline affect most people to some extent and at some point - could be at 70 in a few cases but more likely 80s and 90s, so opticians and GPs should be able to send a notification to the DVLA.

I do think that it needs two people though because some people may get a bee in their bonnet or not understand the rules (as an example, you don't have to tell the DVLA if you have glaucoma in one eye if you are not a commercial driver eg HGV or bus, but some medical staff don't appear to know that and think you do). So you need two people to agree and send the declaration.

Also if you are going to make the rules stricter then you need to improve public transport but people don't like paying taxes.

Yes, absolutely incapable in some cases.

At the very least there should be a full medical every few years post 75 and a doctor to sign off on someone's capacity to drive. Too many older people are understandably so desperate to keep their cars that they become completely selfish.

Nah. The vast majority of car accidents/fatalities are by young male drivers. I’m not at the 60/70 age group yet, but if I was I would only agree to retake a test if young male drivers were also forced to take yearly tests. Otherwise it just wouldn’t make sense…

I though the rules were going to change to require compulsory eye tests here.

https://www.aop.org.uk/campaigns-and-policy/policy/consultations/2026/05/11/introducing-mandatory-eyesight-testing-for-older-drivers

though I think it's just at consultation stage currently

When Prince Philip nearly killed someone due to his age whilst driving he got away with a servant sending flowers.

So many Hughs waiting for a test.

I don't disagree as such, but have you seen the waiting lists for tests just for learners??

Yes as sometimes their children have to take them to the Dr for them to realise they shouldn't drive and have to the keys away

Why choose the age of 70 in particular? Why not 65 or 60? Or 75 or 80?

It may be interesting to consider how other countries operate.

Japan, for example, (a country with far more elderly people than here) has a cognitive assessment for every driver when they renew their driving licence after the age of 75. Not a driving test, but a test of memory and time perception similar to tests for risk of dementia. If anyone fails the test then they have to get a medical certificate stating that they do not have dementia before they can drive again.

Also, a few years ago, they introduced a driving test from the age of 75. Although this is not for everybody but only for those who have committed certain traffic violations in the three years prior.

So, if a person got a ticket for, say, running a red light, speeding, not stopping at a stop sign etc in the three years before and they are now over the age of 75 then they have to do a mini driving test.

If they are over 75 and did not get a ticket for anything then they do not have to take the test.

It has been reported that there are 8.35 million licence holders aged 75 or older and a total of 156,513 people (1.9%) were required to take the test in 2025. Of those, around 93% passed the test. Although they are making it more strict from next year and the estimate is that only around 80% will pass.

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Japan are also more robust when it comes to renewing driving licences anyway. Licences are renewed either every 3 or 5 years. Everybody has to have an eye test when they renew their licence. Everybody also has to attend a mandatory road safety lecture, depending on your driving record this can be up to two hours.

If you have a clean driving record for at least five years (no accidents or traffic offences) then you can renew every five years - instead of three - and you only have to sit through a 30 minute road safety lecture.

Grant, Bonneville, Fearnley-Whittingstall.... surely not many more? Jackson, I guess?

I agree but with the current state of getting a test not gonna happen. I know lots of older people who are still super competent and confident drivers, but I also know some who are not. My aunt goes so slow to the point it’s actually dangerous and FIL is banned from driving my kids anywhere because he’s an accident waiting to happen. Yes speeding is more dangerous, but going criminally slow and having poor reaction times can be an equally dangerous combo. Both FIL and my aunt would absolutely fail a test without a doubt.

My elderly mother in law didn’t stop till she hit a parked police car. My friend’s dad only stopped when he hit a tree and ended up in hospital. I don’t know what the answer is. Thankfully my parents voluntarily gave up in their 80s due to lacking confidence. It will be person-specific. Perhaps a shorter test or refresher course could be devised.

I think in one of your other posts you talk about proportionality. This isn’t proportionate and could be absolutely isolating for older people. It’s not like public transport is useful outside major cities. Younger drivers, especially teens and those in their 20s, kill other people at the highest rates (both per mile and in absolute terms). So it’s not, as you claimed in your op , that they mostly hurt themselves.

I think 70 is too young. But 80+ maybe.

Tough for older people who live in rural areas though where there is very little public transport.

Also it's a law you will be in favour of OP - until you are about 68/69...

My dad wasn’t.

Despite braking too soon, braking too late, dithering at junctions and passing parked cars way too close he ‘was fine’ apparently.

I was thankful when he had numerous health issues back to back and ended up in a nursing home as I knew I’d have to wrestle those car keys from his cold dead hands.

The problem is, a young male would be likely to pass a yearly test. They cause accidents due to being dickheads and drunks, not cognitive decline.

Yes.

There's a Marks and Spencer near me, and a woman in her 70s lost control and drove right through the glass entrance the other day, seriously injuring several people. Lots of people usually congregate in the entrance, mothers with prams etc, chatting. So, so lucky she didn't crash into a baby. It could have been absolute carnage.

But then I also think that everyone should have to do the theory test, I mean retrospectively. It's glaringly obvious that (some of) those above the age where it came into effect haven't bothered learning about where to apply which speed limits, and don't know what certain signs mean, because they never had to do the theory test.

I don't think you're entirely unreasonable, but 70 is way too young. 80 maybe. As others have said, older drivers are statistically safer. Just because there are some terrible drivers among them doesn't make everybody bad. There are terrible drivers in every demographic group for different reasons. I think a diagnosis of dementia or similar should automatically invalidate your license though.