A new study has revealed the growing number of drivers on UK roads who are in their 90s, and identified which areas of the country has the most.
Figures revealed following a Freedom of Information to the DVLA show that there are 113,000 registered drivers in the UK aged 90 or over. Hippo Leasing, who published the information in the Daily Mail admitted that age should not necessarily be a barrier to driving, and a University study revealing that younger drivers are more likely to be in an accident.
Tom Preston, managing director at Hippo Leasing, told MailOnline : "Age is just a number when it comes to a person's ability to drive.
"So long as motorists are medically fit to drive and their vehicle is road-legal, it doesn't matter if they're 20 or 120."
But this year’s crash involving the Duke of Edinburgh and heightened worries over slower reaction times and fears over dementia and now a new study has revealed the top 10 postcodes which have the most nonagenarians.
Birmingham, Brighton and Bournemouth come out top of the old pops, each of them having more than 2,300 drivers in the 90-99 age bracket. Brighton actually has the highest number of registered drivers over 100, with 11, only matched by Llandudno.
|
Postcode Area Name |
Postcode Area |
Total number of drivers in 90-99 age bracket |
Total number of drivers in 100+ age bracket |
Total number of drivers over 90 |
Number of licence holders in postcode |
% of licence holders in postcode |
|
Birmingham |
B |
2,861 |
8 |
2,869 |
1,410,300 |
0.2 |
|
Brighton |
BN |
2,346 |
11 |
2,357 |
641,279 |
0.4 |
|
Bournemouth |
BH |
2,315 |
4 |
2,319 |
458,217 |
0.5 |
|
Norwich |
NR |
2,213 |
7 |
2,220 |
577,514 |
0.4 |
|
Peterborough |
PE |
2,210 |
7 |
2,217 |
727,937 |
0.3 |
|
Portsmouth |
PO |
2,184 |
9 |
2,193 |
653,579 |
0.3 |
|
Guildford |
GU |
2,059 |
7 |
2,066 |
632,856 |
0.3 |
|
Bristol |
BS |
2,001 |
7 |
2,008 |
760,909 |
0.3 |
|
Tunbridge Wells |
TN |
1,999 |
5 |
2,004 |
573,930 |
0.3 |
|
Exeter |
EX |
1,907 |
5 |
1,912 |
454,456 |
0.4 |
|
Source: Hippo Leasing/DVLA, data accurate for end of May 2019 |
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Despite the worries, leading charity for the elderly, Age UK says older drivers to be able to drive.
Speaking earlier this year Age UK director, Caroline Abrahams said: “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.”