There has been a huge increase in drivers aged 70 or over being banned from driving on medical grounds according to a report published this week.
The Times newspaper has obtained evidence from the DVLA which shows that the increase in bans from the over-70s has sky-rocketed by 150 per cent over the past ten years. The figures which were published due to a freedom of information request and led to calls for a review on the stipulations on the various standards of fitness to drive for the elderly.
The news comes in the weeks following the Duke of Edinburgh surrendering his drivers licence following a serious car crash outside of his Sandringham Estate. Speaking about the issue, a spokesman for road safety charity Brake told The Times: “The government needs to look at how fitness to drive regulation can be more rigorously enforced, such as compulsory eyesight testing throughout a driver’s career.”
Currently drivers over 70 have to renew their licence every three years, but take no further tests and only have to self-declare that their eyesight us up to scratch, and a director of Age UK has said that many drivers over the age of 70 are more than capable: “There are more older drivers on the road today than ever before and overall their safety record is very good, in fact on average they are less likely to have an accident than younger drivers,” said Caroline Abrahams.
“For many older people, driving is crucial to maintaining independence so it’s important that they should not be prevented from getting behind the wheel by their age alone.”