Over 70s to face driving ban...

[FridgeJenga]

if they fail mandatory eye tests.

What's your opinion?
Is 70 too "young", or about right?
Would 75 be a better compromise?
Currently there is no legal age at which you must surrender your driving licence.
Both my father and FIL voluntarily gave up their licences just before they turned 80. My mum at 76, and MIL is still driving at 78, though only very locally.

(Also in the same article, drink driving limits are under discussion to be lowered, in line with Scotland's laws. This one I fully agree with)

I could live in a city with excellent public transport, and it would make no difference - my disability prevents me from using public transport for all sorts of reasons too many to go into. And since older people can't qualify for PIP (I do now, but that may change) there is no mobility scheme for us as we age. I don't need "attendance" to live an independant and fulfilling life, but if I lose my mobility companent I become housebound.

Perhaps it is that fear that drives older people to not want to give up driving - many won't even have PIP to support them to get around, and they become trapped.

Yup I have lived very rurally for my entire life.
Being farmers does not entitle your relatives to drive when it is dangerous for them to do so on public roads, although I suppose they might be able to use staff to ferry them around rather than rely on other relatives.
I didn't mention nursing homes by the way.
You are right, not everyone wants to move away as they get older but that being the case, people should plan for the future without relying on others who have mostly no choice in the matter.

My mother has glaucoma and for years has had to have an eye test at her 3-year over 70s licence renewal. Only certain opticians (a select number of specsavers) are DVLA certified to do this. She drove over 30 miles each way for the last one. For her most recent renewal for no apparent reason this test was not required. Whilst i agree in principle I think there are many logistics to sort out before adding a deluge of new drivers to assess.

I’m not really sure what point you’re making? Are you disagreeing with the idea of eye tests? I don’t think anyone would deny that for many people, not being able to drive would be a massive negative change in their life. It’s just that that doesn’t matter when it comes to safety to drive.

It will mean that people discover when they need to wear glasses before it is too late. Some people need to be pushed into doing things like arranging eye tests.

I noticed the 4 to 7pm being the highest time for crashes. Perhaps if we ended the practice of putting clocks back in winter this would reduce. For those who think it would transfer to the morning, far fewer people start work before 8am than was the case when the current changing of clocks resumed in the 70s.

@ShesTheAlbatross
My point is that until they actually fail a sight test, and are deemed unable to.drive safely, they will continue to drive. And not be ushered into town to live or into a taxi, as per some PPs suggestions.

That's exactly why they need a sight test otherwise they'll just continue to drive.

No, not everyone should be sent into town to live but no one should be driving around with poor eyesight that makes them a danger to others, farmer or not.

Everyone should be tested every few years, with the interval between tests decreasing for older people whose eyesight tends to deteriorate faster than younger people.

People of all ages need to be physically and mentally competent to drive. No one should be driving if they can't see adequately. Ageing increases the risk of conditions such as cataracts and glaucoma developing, and without testing it's not necessarily obvious when vision becomes less functional.

There are already practical restrictions on new drivers, some have been around for 20+ years. They have a lower points threshold before being banned. Insurance is expensive and varies according to the risk factor of the vehicle. There is regular discussion of additional measures such as restricting passengers.
I can think of a couple of errors I made in my early months of driving and still cringe 20+years later, but they were a learning experience (that I fortunately got away with).
When people struggle due to limited ability to take in and process information, they're not aware of the errors to be able to avoid repeating them.

For general road safety there needs to be more active policing to deal with it. People driving idiotically aren't necessarily incapable of passing a repeat test if they focused on that purpose; many issues come down to distraction and impatience rather than a complete inability to control a car and make safe observations and react accordingly.

There needs to be better protocols to enable HCPs to report unfit drivers to the DVLA. Again regardless of age.

We know that speeding in restricted areas kill, and it's the biggest cause of injury and death at huge cost to the NHS.

Currently after 70, license renewal is every 3 years rather than 10, so restrictions are already in place; couple this with an eye test is to be commended.

@nmsi
If you read my past posts in this thread, you'll see that I have said they get regular tests.

I would fail it if I couldn't wear my glasses but I guess it means people that can't wear glasses to correct their vision

Of course you can wear your glasses as part of an assessment as to whether you eyesight is good enough for driving as, hopefully, they correct your vision so you are safe to drive.

If your eyesight loss is so severe that glasses can't correct your vision then no, you will not pass an eye test that will allow you to drive

not every person in the countryside over 70 is going to fail the eye test and be banned from driving.

People talk about the elderly being unsafe drivers and very likely quite a few are. I think we also need to address the young male drivers who think it’s all a game speeding for fun. Without even thinking about it I can immediately think of two or three who have killed themselves and/or others and left others with life changing injuries. All 100 % avoidable with even the slightest bit of sense or responsibility. Sometimes in fast cars provided by parents who should know better.

I think the eye test thing is a good idea and probably largely happens anyway - the issue is that opticians should be informing the DVLA if people's eyesight isn't good enough, GPs should be informing the DVLA of dementia diagnoses as well (I realise a lot of elderly people don't have a diagnosis and would probably avoid getting one for as long as they could if this was a rule but it would be better than nothing).

BUT I also agree that young male drivers need reining in, and we need some stricter rules generally - average speed cameras on motorways, higher fines for things like using mobile phones, sort out those dangerous headlights on a lot of modern cars and get rid of the massive screens which are really distracting. Also fine companies if their delivery drivers have accidents as they pile on far too much pressure on them to drive erratically to achieve nonsensical targets.

I see a problem with logistics. There are 6 million over 70’s with driving licenses. I wear glasses and I know that no way will the high street opticians be able to cope with this, there aren’t enough appointment available. The test takes about 20 to 30 minutes. It’s not just come in read this chart. I don’t think they’ll even want it. How much will they be paid, an NHS eye test is £20? They make their money from selling glasses.

@GoldPoster It doesn’t need to be a full eye test at the optician. Where I am, it’s just reading an eye chart from the counter when you go have your license renewed. Literally takes 5 seconds. No extra time or cost to anyone.

It really does need a full eye test to check peripheral vision as well as visual acuity.

Eye tests should be regular for everyone. They pick up a range of other health issues. Over 70 currently self certificate, so simply a change to needing an eyesight check, but I'd question anyone for not keeping on top of optical health checks at any age!

So I have epilepsy uncontrolled by medication; I’ve unfortunately never been able to drive and have had to plan my life around this problem.

I have to get a seat on a bus as it’s unsafe for me to stand when the flicker of sunlight can cause a partial seizure but obviously I don’t look disabled so I find myself having to get on the bus quite promptly as it arrives in order to be guaranteed a seat (usually I sit at the back) which annoys some older people in the queue. Sadly I have to be selfish & it’s very stressful. But at least I live in town, near a bus hub, where there are lots of taxi firms too.

I teach young people to drive in what is quite an aged area for population. I guarantee that my learner drivers can absolutely outdrive some of the elderly drivers we see. The test nowadays is not easy to pass so although inexperienced they have passed at quite a demanding standard. Certainly a tougher test that most over 50’s have had to face.

Still some of the stuff we see makes for very good experience. Not all bad!

I do agree that eye tests should be mandatory, but I’d make it across a wider age group.

Surely it's a cheap and simple test, that most sensible people do anyway, that can save lives? Pretty un arguable id have thought.
Eyesight can deteriorate with age and I can easily see people not realising or not wanting to know.
I am in my 50s and have an annual eye test. Would be very happy to have that linked to my licence.

There are restrictions on young drivers. There’s limits on the amount of points they can accrue on their licence. Price of insurance means that many have to have a black box fitted which financially penalises them for minor driving mistakes. There’s much debate about restricting the passengers they can carry and the times they can drive. And they’ve recently passed the test, which is an independent assessment on their ability to meet a certain threshold. When you see young drivers making bad choices, it’s exactly that - a conscious decision to drive badly. Elderly people who can’t see & have lost their sense of special awareness are not choosing ti be that way. They’ve deteriorated and there’s no improving that.

No such restrictions or assessments apply to older drivers currently. It’s all self certify.
I am more inconvenienced day to day by older drivers who shouldn’t be on the road (based on the quality of their driving), than I am young people.

I think insurance costs rise at certain ages, depends on insurer.

The restrictions you mention for young drivers are also applied to older people who are new drivers aren't they?

PollyPockets, that is with my glasses!

To be legal to drive you only need to be able to read the top two lines in the opticians with, or without glasses!